Atletico Madrid continues to dictate matters at the top of the standings. Diego Simeone and his boys have a massive five-point lead at the top with two games in hand – at the time of writing.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
Real Madrid and Barcelona have picked up form at the right time and there’s still a possibility of catching up the log leaders. With all the big teams now in top form, it makes the league very interesting and we look forward to each gameweek.
Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore
Friday 19 February
11/10 Real Betis | Draw 2/1 | Getafe 31/10 (22:00)
Real Betis will be hoping to build from a 2-1 win at Villarreal last Sunday when they host midtable Getafe in the first La Liga game of the weekend. Betis have done incredibly well to put themselves in the mix for Europa League spots as they are now three points off sixth-placed Villarreal. Getafe are really struggling this season and are one of the teams that can’t cope with the new norm of playing behind closed doors. Back Betis to win this match against a struggling side.
Saturday 20 February
26/10 Elche | 22/10 | Eibar 11/10 (15:00)
Relegation-fighting
rivals Elche and Eibar are set to take on each other this Saturday to kick-off
the day’s fixtures. At first glance, this game has a 0-0 scoreline written all
over it. I feel it will be very hard to find the difference between the two
sides at the moment. It’s hard for me to
separate these two teams so back Under 2.5 Goals in this match.
5/10 Atletico Madrid | 31/10 | Levante 54/10 (17:15)
Levante
made a massive step towards securing survival when they enjoyed five-match
unbeaten run in La Liga until losing 1-0 to Osasuna last time out. Marcos
Llorente and Angel Correa were on target in Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 at Granada
last Saturday. Simeone’s men thus kept a five-point cushion ahead of their
bitter city rivals Real Madrid at the top of the standings. If Atletico are
serious about winning the title, they should be winning matches against
midtable teams. Back Atletico Madrid to
win this game at 5/10.
29/20 Valencia | 9/4 | Celta Vigo 39/20 (19:30)
Valencia continues
to be the most inconsistent team in the division and their form for the last
three games backs that up – losing, drawing and winning. Celta Vigo are unbeaten
in the last four matches, drawing three and winning their last match. The visitors
have scored five goals in their last two La Liga matches, including a 2-2 draw
against runaway leaders Atletico Madrid and beating Elche 3-1. One thing the
Celtics have been consistent about is scoring goals and I’m most confident that
they will score again in this match. Back
Celta Vigo on the Win/Draw Double Chance at 5/10.
48/10 Valladolid | 32/10 | Real Madrid 5/10 (22:00)
Valladolid
and Real Madrid are set to lock horns in one of the most exciting games of the
24th round of La Liga on Saturday night at Estadio Jose Zorrilla. Los Blancos
have been flying high lately. They picked up three straight clean-sheet
victories in the league. The three La Liga wins have helped them climb back to second
position in the standings. Back Real
Madrid to keep pressure on Atletico Madrid by winning their fourth straight La Liga
match.
Sunday 21 February
1/6 Barcelona | 6/1 | Cadiz 14/1 (15:00)
Barcelona
keep getting better and better in the league this season and they’re now close
to being the respectable Barcelona we know and fear. The Catalans won their
fifth game in a row last time out when thrashing Alaves 5-1. Trincao scored a
brace, making it three goals in two matches for the young Portuguese. This
should be another comfortable win for Barcelona. Therefore, back the Catalans to Win Both Halves at 21/20.
13/20 Real Sociedad | 26/10 | Alaves 44/10
(17:15)
Real
Sociedad have returned to the form they showed us in the first round where they
were brushing aside teams. The hosts have made it back-to-back La Liga wins for
the first time in the new year. Imanol Alguacil’s men have been presented with
a fantastic opportunity of making it three wins on the spin when they welcome
strugglers Alaves who have won once in their last seven matches. Back the hosts to win this game.
12/10 Huesca | 22/10 | Granada 24/10 (19:30)
Both Huesca
and Granada will be hoping to bring their dreadful streaks to an end on Sunday
evening when they take on each other in a low-profile La Liga outing at Estadio
El Alcoraz. The hosts are in a very tough position ahead of the remaining part
of the season. They have been the worst team in the division so far in the
campaign and deservedly hold the very foot of the standings at the moment as a
consequence. Granada have been disappointing
this season, but I fancy them to come away with all three points.
18/10 Athletic Bilbao | 21/10 | Villarreal 16/10 (22:00)
Villarreal
have not been pulling up any trees lately. They took just one win in the last six
league matches, with most of their recent wins coming in the Copa Del Rey where
they play lower division teams. This is certainly not a great time for Unai
Emery’s men to take on the free-scoring Bilbao. Bilbao are desperate for points
as they seek to be within the Europa League qualification zone. Back Both Teams to Score at 19/20 in this
encounter.
Monday 22 February
34/10 Osasuna | 23/10 | Sevilla 9/10 (22:00)
Osasuna
caused an upset last weekend when they beat high-flying Levante on their turf
and registered back-to-back league wins. Making it three in a row will be
extremely difficult as they take on the Europa League champions who are on
cloud nine at the moment. Sevilla are in the form of their lives, winning nine
games on the bounce. I’m backing Sevilla
to make it 10 wins in a row.
QUAD @ 9/1
Real Betis Win 11/10
Atletico Madrid Win 5/10
Sevilla Win 9/10
Real Madrid Win 5/10
Written by Banele Pikwa
