Spanish La Liga: Gameweek 11 Preview

Gameweek 11 kicks off at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque where league strugglers Leganes welcome Atletico Madrid. The Legionaries are relegation favourites at the moment but they can rely on their outstanding home record to save them from elimination. Mauricio Pellegrino’s men have lost once in their backyard this season, drawing one and winning two – including a win against log leaders Barcelona. Leganes are a completely different team at home and seven of their eight points were earned in their grounds. Atletico Madrid needed the confidence boost on Saturday when they beat Real Sociedad 2-0 after their disappointing 4-0 defeat at Dortmund on Wednesday. It’s hard to pick a result here, so I suggest backing Under 2.5 Goals at 9/20.

Julen Lopetegui appears to be on the brink of being sacked following Real Madrid’s humiliating 5-1 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou last Sunday. Madrid have lost five of their last seven games in all competitions, and strong reports are claiming that Conte is set to take over after the Italian reached an agreement with Chelsea over his contract payoff last week. Madrid are ninth on the table and welcome sixth-placed Valladolid who last tasted defeat in September. The newcomers will fancy their chances against this Los Blancos team and they have the form to show for it, winning four of their last six and drawing two. Maybe a win at the Bernabeu could be a bit too much to ask but I fancy the visitors to get a goal. Take Real Madrid to Win and Both Teams to Score at 13/10.

Valencia have drawn eight of their last 10 fixtures and come into this game with five consecutive draws. Los Che are really proving to be the draw specialists and that horrendous run sees them sit at a disappointing 14th on the log. Girona’s win over Vallecano saw them steer clear of the relegation zone. They now sit in a comfortable 10th place and know that a point won’t be a bad result for the Catalans. Take Valencia on the Double Chance and Both Teams to Score at 13/10.

The writing is on the wall for Rayo Vallecano and avoiding relegation looks impossible at this stage. The newcomers have not won a game at home since their return to top flight and they have seen their side concede 14 goals in front of their fans. Playing a team like Barcelona that recently thrashed Real Madrid 5-1 will be extremely difficult for the Vallecans. Back Barcelona to win at 3/10.

Real Sociedad have been inconsistent this season and are making it hard for pundits to predict which team will show up. In this campaign, they have won three, drawn three and lost four, scoring 12 while conceding 13. Sevilla did enough to get maximum point against Huesca last Sunday evening. An unusual scorer, Pablo Sarabia, netted a brace in the 2-1 win. With Real Madrid dropping points, this is a must-win game for Los Rojiblancos as they aim to close the gap with Barcelona while stretching the lead against the Madrid sides. Get on Sevilla at 15/10.

Eibar dropped down to 15th place in the La Liga ladder after they were smashed 4-0 by Celta Vigo last weekend. Alaves continued their fine start to the season with their third straight victory as they swept aside Villarreal 2-1. The Babazorros are at an unbelievable second place on the log and the momentum is clearly with them. The last time these sides met in April at this ground, it was Alaves who stole maximum points, so they know what it takes to win such games. Back Alaves to make it four wins in a row.

The Yellow Submarine will be in full cry this weekend when they take on Levante. Villarreal are one point of the red zone and they will want to move away as early as possible. It’s been a bad season so far for the boys in Yellow, losing five of the 10 matches played and they haven’t won at home in five starts. Levante were not troubled last Sunday when they beat strugglers Leganes 2-0 at home, making it four straight wins for the Frogs. There are still major concerns though about their defence, having conceded 15 goals so far. Back Both Teams to Score here at 15/20.

Debutants Huesca last won since matchday one and they have picked up two points since that win. The newcomers have lost seven games, conceding 22 goals in the process – you can just see they’re finding it hard to cope in the elite. The new boys play their home games at El Alcoraz, where they have scored one goal and are yet to win a La Liga fixture in the 7.500 seater stadium. Getafe are on a two-match winning streak and they will be extremely difficult to stop. I’m expecting Huesca to struggle once again, back Getafe to win at 23/20.

We wrap up the Sunday fixtures with an enticing clash that promises to have goals. Eight goals were scored when these two teams faced each other last season and we can expect another thriller as both defences have been shipping in goals. Real Betis come into this game with three consecutive league defeats. Celta Vigo, on the other hand, ended their six-match winless run in style, thrashing Eibar 4-0 at home. Back Over 2.5 Goals at 17/20.

Espanyol were denied a winner at Valladolid last Friday after they conceded in stoppage time. Borja Iglesias was again on target for the Catalans, taking his goal tally to five. The hosts have won all four of their matches played at the RCDE Stadium, conceding just one goal. Athletic Bilbao are struggling to find the right rhythm at the start of the new season. The visitors continued with dismal displays last Saturday when they drew 0-0 at home to fellow drawing kings, Valencia. Bilbao have drawn seven of the 10 matches and it is only Los Che who have more draws, eight. Get on Espanyol to win at 19/20.

• Real Madrid Win & Both Teams to Score 13/10
• Valencia/Draw & Both Teams to Score 13/10
• Barcelona Win 3/10