Our football analyst previews the Spanish La Liga week 14 action which kicks off on Friday 1 December 2017.
With 13 games played in the Spanish La Liga, the top three sides, Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid all find themselves undefeated in the league thus far. They’ve all come up against decent opposition this season, so credit has to be given to them. Barcelona still occupy top spot, with Valencia trailing four points behind them. Atletico and Real Madrid are third and fourth respectively, but are a staggering eight points below Barcelona. Ernesto Valverde’s men are uncatchable at the moment and are the team to beat this season.
Friday 1 December
Malaga 8/10 | Draw 26/10 | Levante 34/10
Round 14 gets underway with relegation-threatened Malaga welcoming Levante to La Rosaleda stadium. The hosts were beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid last Saturday, but there were positive signs for Michel Gonzalez‘s side as they showed great fighting spirit against the champions. They’ve won back-to-back home matches against Celta Vigo and Deportivo. Levante were hammered 5-0 at home by Atletico Madrid last Saturday. I’m backing Malaga to claim a much-needed victory at 17/20.
Saturday 2 December
Barcelona 1/8 | Draw 8/1 | Celta Vigo 14/1
Barcelona will be looking to return to winning ways when they host Celta Vigo on Saturday. The Catalans had to settle for a 1-1 draw in last Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash away to Valencia as Lionel Messi was wrongfully denied a clear goal. Ernesto Valverde’s side will return to the Camp Nou where they’ve won all six of their games, scoring 20 goals while conceding twice.
Celta Vigo bounced back from their 2-1 defeat at Sevilla with a 1-0 victory over Leganes. Celta have lost their last two away matches and will struggle against the leaders. Back Barca on the (-1) Handicap at 7/20.
Atletico Madrid 5/10 | Draw 29/10 | Real Sociedad 57/10
Atletico recorded a thumping 5-0 win away to Levante thanks to a brace from Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann. The pair were also on target in Atleti’s 2-0 Champions League home win over Roma. Diego Simeone’s men have been in great scoring form plus Diego Costa will be available to play from next month.
Real Socieded were held to a 2-2 draw – their second in a row – at home to Las Palmas. The visitors have netted 27 goals this season, failing to score just once from 13 games. I’m going for Both Teams to Score at even money.
Sevilla 4/10 |Draw 37/10 | Deportivo 6/1
Sevilla will be hoping to keep up their great run of form when they host Deportivo this Saturday. The hosts have been comeback kings of late, coming from 3-0 down at halftime to draw 3-3 against Liverpool, then overturning their 2-0 deficit against Villarreal last weekend to win 3-2. Deportivo’s winless run stretched to three games after their 2-2 draw at home to Athletic Bilbao. Sevilla have won five of their six matches at home and should be backed here at 9/20.
Athletic Bilbao 11/2 | Draw 37/10 | Real Madrid 9/20
Real Madrid got back to winning ways by beating Malaga 3-2 in what was a thrilling encounter at the Bernabeu. Los Blancos gave away the lead twice but Cristiano Ronaldo’s strike gave them a much-needed victory.
Zinedine Zidane’s men will be looking to put together a run of wins and won’t settle for anything less than three points against Athletic Bilbao. The hosts are winless in five matches in La Liga, losing three times. Real Madrid are tipped to come away with maximum points.
Sunday 3 December
Leganes 33/20 | Draw 21/10 | Villarreal 7/4
Leganes will be aiming to stop the rot when they play host to Villarreal in Sunday’s opener. The hosts have lost their past four matches, failing to score in the last three. A 2-1 loss at Sevilla followed with two 3-0 defeats against Valencia and Barcelona, before losing 1-0 at Celta Vigo last Friday.
Villarreal threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to comeback kings, Sevilla, last Sunday. The Yellow Submarine are unbeaten in their last three away matches. After beating Girona away, they drew back-to-back games against Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. I’m going for Villarreal on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 9/20.
Getafe 21/10 | Draw 49/20 | Valencia 5/4
Valencia travel to the Alfonso Perez Coliseum to face Getafe on Sunday. The hosts have won back-to-back matches at home, including last Saturday’s 4-1 triumph of Alaves. Valencia were fortunate to earn a point at home to Barcelona last Sunday as Lionel Messi was cruelly denied a clear goal that robbed Barca of victory. However, it was a good performance from Los Che and they’ll be eager to get back to winning ways. Prior to their draw with Barca, they had won eight La Liga matches in a row. The away win is tipped at 5/4.
Eibar 27/20 | Draw 43/20 | Espanyol 43/20
Eibar welcome Espanyol to the Ipurua Municipal Stadium on Sunday. The hosts come into this tie riding a two-match winning streak, having hammered Real Betis 5-0 before edging Alaves 2-1 on their own backyard.
The visitors secured a 1-0 win over Getafe on Monday following back-to-back defeats against Alaves and Valencia. Espanyol are yet to register a win on the road this season with three draws and three losses from six games played. Back Eibar to claim a third consecutive victory.
Las Palmas 23/20 | Draw 26/10 | Real Betis 43/20
Las Palmas moved off the bottom of the table with their hard-fought 2-2 draw away to Real Sociedad last weekend. They’ll be glad their run of eight consecutive defeats came to an end as they host Real Betis. The visitors are winless in four matches after they were held 2-2 at home to Girona. If both sides can keep up their scoring momentum from last week, then we could enjoy this game slightly more than we usually would have. Get on Over 2.5 Goals at 6/10.
Monday 4 December
Girona 13/20 | Draw 11/4 | Alaves 9/2
Girona be will be looking to keep up their superb run of five league matches without defeat when they host Alaves on Monday night. The travellers shifted down to the foot of the table, suffering their 11th defeat of the campaign and second on the trot. Despite Girona’s position on the table, scoring has been a problem for them at home. Luckily, it’s only Alaves they’re up against, so they could get away with it. Back the home win!
QUAD @ 4.28/1
Barcelona (-1) Handicap 7/20
Sevilla Win 4/10
Real Madrid Win 9/20
Valencia Win 5/4
