Our football expert previews the Spanish La Liga Week Seven action which kicks off on Friday 5 October 2018.
Things are getting heated up in the Spanish La Liga. Real Madrid, for the second consecutive time, were unable to take advantage of a major slip-up from log-leaders, Barcelona, with the two big guns dropping points at home last weekend, although, Real’s stalemate did come against crosstown rivals, Atletico Madrid.
Ernesto Valverde’s men failed to win for the third straight game last Saturday, being held 1-1 by Athletic Bilbao at home. Real and Barca are joint-tied at the top with 14 points, one more than Sevilla, and two more than Atletico, who are slowly picking up form. Let’s see what gameweek eight has in store for us.
Friday 5 October
Athletic Bilbao 21/10
Draw 23/10
Real Sociedad 26/10
Athletic Bilbao return to the San Mames stadium in high spirits after picking up a point against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Their last home game was a disappointing 3-0 loss to Villarreal and Eduardo Berizzo’s men will be looking to change the recent bad record at home after registering just one win in four matches.
Real Sociedad have been the most unpredictable team this season, with two wins, two draws and three defeats, leaving them with eight points. Surprisingly, seven of those points have come on the road. Both teams can’t be trusted on current form, so, back Both Teams to Score at 9/10.
Saturday 6 October
Girona 23/20
Draw 22/10
Eibar 51/20
After the surprise point earned at the Camp Nou in gameweek five, Girona returned to their usual disappointing performances, drawing against newcomers Huesca and losing at home to Real Betis. The Catalan club has been really struggling this season under new management, winning only once at home.
Eibar are one of four teams that haven’t won on the road this season – they have been struggling since towards the end of last season. The fan-owned club come into this game with a two-match losing streak and they will be looking to repeat last season’s results where they thrashed Girona 4-1 in both legs. Although head-to-head favours Eibar, I’ll back Girona because of home ground advantage.
Getafe 15/20
Draw 26/10
Levante 15/4
Getafe return to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium since their 2-0 defeat of Atletico Madrid three weeks back. The Azulones come into this game off two consecutive 1-1 draws at Alaves and Celta Vigo. Their last victory was when they beat Sevilla 2-0 on their turf. Jose Bordalas’ men will hope for a repeat of that performance in order to ease their woes of the current season. Three draws and two defeats in seven matches so far indicate that this is a must-win game for the Deep Blues.
Levante ended their three-match losing streak when they beat Alaves 2-1 at home last weekend. Prior to that, the Frogs took only one point from five matches and they’ve dropped down to 16th place as a consequence. Get on Getafe to register their third win of the season.
Deportivo Alaves 57/10
Draw 38/10
Real Madrid 4/10
Alaves have been by far the most improved team this in this campaign. They are sixth on the log with 11 points, three behind their opponents Real Madrid, who are second on the table. Madrid once again failed to take advantage of Barcelona’s slip-up, leaving Julen Lopetegui’s men winless in their last two league games.
The former Spain national team coach will fancy a win here as his side holds a strong head-to-head record against the hosts, with nine consecutive victories. Back Real Madrid to make it 10/10 wins against Alaves on the (-1) Handicap at 9/10.
Leganes 11/10
Draw 9/4
Rayo Vallecano 26/10
Leganes are responsible for the biggest upset of the season so far in La Liga. They shocked the defending champions Barcelona 2-1 at home last Wednesday to clinch their maiden victory of the campaign.
The Legionaries are still rooted at the foot of the table with four points and five losses in seven games. Rayo Vallecano come into this game with two consecutive 2-2 draws against Real Sociedad and Espanyol respectively. It’s hard to separate these two sides, back the stalemate at 22/10.
Sunday 7 October
Real Valladolid 9/10
Draw 24/10
SD Huesca 32/10
Valladolid seem to have turned a corner after making a dreadful start in top flight football. Sergio Gonzalez’s men were winless before the start of gameweek five. They offered a brilliant showing to storm past the likes of Levante at home, and Villarreal on their turf last Sunday.
After a fairy-tale start to their first La Liga campaign – earning four points in the first two games – Huesca are back to where everyone expected them to be: at the bottom of the standings. The newcomers are second to last at the bottom of the log after picking up just one point in the last five. Get on Real Valladolid to make it three top-flight wins in a row and include them in all bets.
Atletico Madrid 5/10
Draw29/10
Real Betis 6/10
Atletico Madrid are still searching for their form as they’ve booked just three victories in the seven rounds played. They are not far off the pace in terms of the log standings as both their fierce rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been struggling in recent games, leaving Atleti two points behind the two giants who are tied on points at the top.
Just like the hosts, Real Betis are also two points behind the top two teams. These sides come into this game with identical form of three wins, three draws and one defeat, with only goal difference separating the two teams. Because of home ground advantage, back Atletico Madrid to win.
Sevilla 11/20
Draw 34/10
Celta Vigo 17/4
Sevilla are flying high coming into the weekend’s fixture against Celta Vigo. Los Rojiblancos picked up three consecutive league wins in a phenomenal fashion, beating all of their respective rivals by three or more goals, including a 3-0 win over Real Madrid in their last home game.
Andre Silva has been the standout player for the Sevillistas. The Portuguese international is leading the Pichichi race with seven goals. Celta Vigo have lost in all three of their last visits to Sevilla and they will need an incredible performance to change that poor record. Back Sevilla to make it four wins in a row.
Espanyol 13/10
Draw 43/20
Villarreal 22/10
Espanyol are enjoying a solid start of the season as they are positioned in the top half of the table. From the first seven rounds, the home side managed to snatch 11 points in pretty tight clashes. Rubi’s team has been very strong at the back with three clean sheets so far in this campaign and they are yet to concede at home, with a 100% record of three wins.
Villarreal have been inconsistent this season. Losing at home to Valladolid last weekend is enough evidence that you never know what to expect from the Yellow Submarine. Espanyol have been brilliant at home and there’s no reason to back against them, get on at 13/10.
Valencia 36/10
Draw 32/10
Barcelona 13/20
Valencia got their season up and running after registering their maiden victory of the campaign last weekend at Sociedad. Los Che are one of five teams who are without a win on their home ground and doing it against the wounded defending champions may be a tough task for Marcelino’s men. Champions Barcelona stretched their winless run in La Liga to three games for the first time since December 2016, after being held 1-1 by Athletic Bilbao.
The Blaugrana rested star player Lionel Messi in that game, preparing for their UEFA Champions League match against Tottenham and they paid the price. Messi is expected to start in this game and that’s bad news for Valencia’s shaky defence. Back Barcelona to return to winning ways and add on more pressure on Marcelino.
TREBLE @ 4/1
Real Valladolid Win 9/10
Sevilla Win 11/20
Barcelona Win 13/20
Written by Banele Pikwa
