LaLiga

Spanish La Liga Week 16 Preview

by
Lungelo Mdladla
December 15, 2017

There are some cracking La Liga matchups to look forward to and lots of value found in our preview

Gameweek 16 of La Liga has just eight matchups taking place this week with Real Madrid’s trip to Leganes postponed due to Los Blancos’ participation in the Club World Cup. There are some cracking matchups to look forward to and lots of value found in our preview below.

Friday 15 December

Sevilla 3/10 | Draw 9/2 | Levante 8/1 (22:00)
Sevilla will be hoping to move on from their heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid and they have a good chance to do so at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Los Rojiblancos are unbeaten on their turf this season, winning six of their seven games, scoring 13 goals while conceding just three times. Levante extended their winless run to four matches as they were beaten 2-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao. Sevilla comfortably saw off Levante 3-1 at home last season and I’m backing them to repeat that feat.

Saturday 16 December

Athletic Bilbao 12/10 | Draw 47/20 | Real Sociedad 9/4 (17:15)
Athletic Bilbao’s six-game winless streak came to an end as they recorded a 2-1 victory away to Levante. Los Leones had gone into that game off three consecutive draws in La Liga, before back-to-back defeats. Cuco Ziganda’s side will be looking to build on their latest win as they aim to move further away from relegation trouble. Real Sociedad will be desperate to get back to winnings ways and spare themselves another miserable stretch of defeats. Eusebio Sacristan’s side have lost their last four matches in all competitions. In La Liga, they are winless in their last three away matches, losing twice. Bilbao completed the double over Sociedad last season, winning 3-2 at home and 2-0 away. I’m backing the home win at 12/10.

Atletico Madrid 2/13 | Draw 6/1 | Alaves 18/1 (21:45)
Atletico Madrid climbed back above city rivals Real into third place following a 1-0 win away to Real Betis. Saul Niguez scored the only goal in the 29th minute when he turned in Sime Vrsaljko’s cross from close range. That was Atletico’s third straight victory in La Liga and they’ll be eager to extend their winning streak. Alaves are down in 18th on the table, three points off 17th-placed Deportivo. El Glorioso have improved recently, winning their last three matches, including their 3-0 Copa del Rey triumph over Getafe. With little value on offer for the home win, I’m backing Atletico Win & Both Teams to Score at 49/20.

Eibar 9/4 | Draw 24/10 | Valencia 12/10 (19:30)
Eibar failed to extend their winning streak as they were held to a goalless draw away to promoted club Getafe. Prior to that game, Los Armeros had won three in a row, beating Real Betis, Alaves and Espanyol. Valencia got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo to remain five points behind leaders Barcelona. Los Che had gone into that game off a shocking 1-0 defeat at Getafe following a 1-1 draw at home to Barca. And prior to that, Valencia had won eight matches in a row. I’m going for Both Teams to Score at 13/20.

Sunday 17 December

Girona 21/20 | Draw 23/10 | Getafe 11/4 (13:00)
Girona avoided conceding late and held on to beat Catalan rivals Espanyol 1-0 at the RCDE Stadium on Monday. After allowing injury-time goals in their last two La Liga matches, Girona closed out the game at Espanyol to halt a four-game winless streak in all competitions. The victory saw Girona move from 12th position up to eighth, level on 20 points with seventh-place Getafe. El Geta had to settle for a goalless draw at home to Eibar last Saturday following their impressive home win over Valencia. Jose Bordalas’ side will be desperate to get back to winning ways, but they are winless in their last five away games, suffering two defeats. I’m backing the sides to cancel each other out.

Celta Vigo 27/20 | Draw 47/20 | Villarreal 2/1 (17:15)
Celta Vigo have travelled to face La Liga’s top two teams in the last two weeks. They earned an impressive 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, but they went down at the Mestalla Stadium, losing 2-1 to Valencia. The Celts will be happy to be back on their turf where they’ve won back-to-back matches against Athletic Bilbao and Leganes. Villarreal are desperate to stop the rot and avoid a fourth straight defeat. Get on the home win at 27/20.

Las Palmas 15/10 | Draw 23/10 | Espanyol 18/10 (19:30)
Las Palmas failed to build on their 1-0 home win over Real Betis and went down 2-0 away at Alaves last Friday – their sixth defeat from eight away games. Their home form hasn’t been too good either. Prior to seeing off Betis, the bottom-of-the-table side had lost four home matches in a row. Espanyol have also been struggling in La Liga and are only four points off the drop zone. Their 1-0 loss at home to promoted Girona was their second in a row and fourth defeat in their last five matches. The draw looks likely at 23/10.

Barcelona 1/12 | Draw 10/1 | Deportivo 22/1 (21:45)
Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-0 last Sunday thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. It was a tough game but Barca picked up another three points and another clean sheet to keep them five points clear at the top. Deportivo La Coruna beat Leganes 1-0 to record a first win in five La Liga games. Cristobal Parralo’s side remain in 17th position, just three points off the drop zone. The Catalans thumped Deportivo 4-0 at the Camp Nou last season and I’m backing another comfortable win for Ernesto Valverde’s side. Take Barca on the Win To Nil at 15/20.

TREBLE @ 37/10