LaLiga

Spanish La Liga Week 22 Preview

by
Lungelo Mdladla
February 2, 2018

Our football expert previews week 22 of the Spanish La Liga kicking off on Saturday the 3rd of February.

The Spanish La Liga continued to bring joy and excitement, with more late goals, high-scoring matches and just four draws to speak about. Lionel Messi netted his 20th league goal to maintain Barcelona’s 11-point lead at the top of the table, while Madrid giants, Real and Atletico, cruised to victories. Just one team from the bottom half of the table won last weekend, showing the difference in class from top to bottom. This weekend should be just as exciting as the previous 21 rounds, so let’s get straight into it!

Friday 2 February

Real Sociedad 5/10
Draw 34/10
Deportivo 47/10

Real Sociedad get Gameweek 22 underway when they host Deportivo on Friday night at the Anoeta Stadium. The hosts will be looking to turn around their dismal form which reads four losses in a row. They’re still seven points off the drop zone, but even that is a gap that Sociedad are not used to. Deportivo are that team seven points adrift of their opponents and they’ll be hoping to get out of the red zone this weekend. The visitors are winless in six matches, with four losses under their belt. Neither side are in terrific form at the moment, but I suggest you back Over 2.5 Goals at 5/10, based on Sociedad’s scoring prowess and their knack of shipping in goals at ease.

Saturday 3 February

Eibar 16/10
Draw 23/10
Sevilla 33/20

Eibar will be pushing for a return to winning ways when they do battle with Sevilla at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium. It’s now three games since Eibar’s last victory, with Jose Mendilibar’s side drawing 1-1 in back-to-back games. Sevilla have been disappointing this season and face a huge mountain to climb in their pursuit for top four. They’ve won once in the last seven league games and are tipped to struggle once again. The draw is tipped here at 23/10.

Real Betis 18/10
Draw 49/20
Villarreal 14/10

Real Betis dropped down three places to 13th in the standings after their second defeat on the bounce, losing 3-2 to Celta Vigo on Monday night. Betis have shipped in goals aplenty this season, however, their goalscoring prowess has put them far ahead of a relegation battle. Villarreal stretched their unbeaten run to six matches with a resounding 4-2 win over Real Sociedad. Away from home, the Yellow Submarine have won three games in a row, all by 1-0 scorelines. The away win offers plenty of value and is certainly worth backing – get on!

Alaves 33/20
Draw 9/4
Celta Vigo 33/20

Alaves’ survival hopes were dented as they suffered an unfortunate 2-1 defeat away to Barcelona. El Glorioso still find themselves two points above the relegation zone, but are just two points off it. Celta Vigo snatched their third La Liga win in a row and fourth in five games to keep up the pressure for the UEFA Europa League spots. Celta also came out 1-0 victors in these sides’ previous league meeting this season. It will certainly be tougher away from home for Celta to do the double over their opponents. For that reason, play it safe and back Over 2.5 Goals at 19/20.

Levante 11/1
Draw 13/2
Real Madrid 2/11

Levante face another uphill battle when they welcome Real Madrid to the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia. The home side are winless in nine league encounters and sit two points above the relegation zone. Real Madrid seemed to have turned the corner in recent weeks, picking up two emphatic wins in the last two weeks. Cristiano Ronaldo now has eight league goals after last weekend, but it’s Gareth Bale who deserves a bit of credit as well. The ‘BBC’ trio is back again and they’re ripping teams to shreds. Los Blancos on the (-1) Handicap is tipped at 9/20.

Sunday 4 February

Getafe 9/10
Draw 21/10
Leganes 37/10

Getafe kick-start Sunday’s La Liga action, hoping to extend their unbeaten run to four games. The hosts come off the back of an impressive 1-1 draw at Sevilla, scoring in the last dying seconds. Leganes have had a good week, beating Espanyol 3-2 at home, after knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey with a hard-fought 2-1 win at the Bernabeu. Getafe won the reverse fixture, but I’m expecting the visitors to pull one back. Back Leganes at a valuable 37/10!

Espanyol 15/2
Draw 4/1
Barcelona 7/20

Espanyol suffered their second consecutive defeat this past weekend when they lost 3-2 away to Leganes. In between those two losses, they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey to Barcelona, losing 2-1 on aggregate after an emphatic 1-0 win on this ground a fortnight ago. Barca remain unbeaten in La Liga after their come-from-behind 2-1 win at home to Alaves. Philippe Coutinho had a debut to forget, luckily, he has a chance to redeem himself in the Barcelonian Derby. The away win is simply too tempting to pass up at 7/20 – get on!

Girona 31/20
Draw 22/10
Athletic Bilbao 37/20

Girona come into this matchup in decent form. They may have drawn their last two games, but that was away to both Malaga (0-0) and Atletico Madrid (1-1). In Girona’s last home match, they battered Las Palmas 6-0. Athletic Bilbao drew their third successive league game to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches. Bilbao’s record is very similar to Manchester United’s unbeaten streak last season, there are plenty of draws in that run. Girona are tipped to come out on top and end Bilbao’s unbeaten streak.

Atletico Madrid 9/20
Draw 33/10
Valencia 6/1

Atletico Madrid eased to a 3-0 victory over Las Palmas last weekend, despite missing Diego Costa due to injury. Veteran striker, Fernando Torres, rolled back the years with a great display, forming a lethal combination with Antoine Griezmann. Valencia suffered their second defeat in a row and third in all competitions when they were humbled 4-1 by Real Madrid. Atletico are in great form at the moment and should have Costa back in time for Sunday’s tie. Back the home win at 9/20!

Monday 5 February

Las Palmas 27/20
Draw 23/10
Malaga 2/1

Las Palmas and Malaga battle it out in a relegation dogfight on Monday night. The sides sit 19th and 20th respectively on the table, meaning this tie is a massive six-pointer. The home side come off a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid, while Malaga had to settle for a share of the spoils in their goalless draw against Girona. Not much separate these sides. Back the Under 2.5 Goals market at 17/20.

QUAD @ 6/1