La Liga Preview: Gameweek 23
It might seem all over at the top of the La Liga table but the scrap at the other end is starting to intensify and gameweek 23 sees some intriguing matches for those fighting against relegation to the Segunda Division. Just three points separates Levante and safety in seventeenth place with Deportivo La Coruna in eighteenth and Las Palmas in nineteenth – and all three teams face tough games this week. You can read more about our Primera Division tips and predictions right here.
La Liga Preview: Athletic Bilbao vs Las Palmas
Las Palmas make the trip to the Basque Country on Friday evening to face 13th placed Athletic knowing that even a win won’t quite take them out of the bottom three due to their horrendous goal difference.
However, if ever there was a time to play Athletic, now is surely it. Los Leones have only won once this calendar year in six competitive fixtures and they broke a sequence of four successive draws on Sunday when they went down 2-0 to Girona. Athletic are unbeaten in five at San Mames Barria in La Liga in a run going back to October but four of those games have also been draws – which have ensured they remain firmly anchored in midtable.
Las Palmas on the other hand come into the game having won at home to Malaga to end a wretched sequence of one win in nine games in all competitions. They’ve only won once away from home in La Liga this season – again at Malaga – and their previous league win before that came in August 2016. Their last four road games in the league have seen them concede 13 goals without troubling the scorers themselves.
Unsurpisingly, Athletic are heavy favourites still at 1.48 and the Asian handicap line of -1.00/1.00 indicates that the bookies think they should win fairly comfortably. Las Palmas’ wretched defence is also probably why over 2.5 goals is only at 1.63 while there might be value in the BTTS market with no at 1.83.
La Liga Preview: Valencia vs Levante
Levante travel to Valencia on Sunday looking for a win that would help propel them away from danger in another game between two teams desperately out of form.
Valencia were on an amazing run of form until November but in their last ten La Liga games they have won only three and they have lost their last three on the spin. Their form at the Mestalla has been similarly patchy, with wins over Celta and Girona punctuated by defeats to Villarreal and Real Madrid which has seen them slip to nine points behind second place Atletico Madrid.
Levante on the other hand are winless in six in all competitions and are without a win in La Liga since the November 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Las Palmas. That being said, their last game was a creditable 2-2 draw against Real Madrid when veteran striker Giampaolo Pazzini was able to take advantage of issues in the Real defence to equalise late on. Levante also have the advantage of a longer break with Valencia playing the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona on Thursday night.
The early odds massively favour the home side, with Valencia comfortable favourites at 1.51 and the Asian Handicap line at -1/1. Levante’s holey defence probably contributes to the stinginess of the over 2.5 goals market at 1.57 while the BTTS market is much more even.
La Liga Preview: Deportivo La Coruna vs Real Betis
The Monday night game in La Liga sees the Deportivo host Real Betis as they too look to build on their points total in a bid to escape the drop zone.
Deportivo are in shocking form, having not won in seven games in all competitions including thrashings away to Real Madrid (7-1) and Real Sociedad (5-0) in La Liga. Their home form isn’t much better either, with their only La Liga win at the Riazor since September coming in the 1-0 win over Leganes at the start of December.
Betis have had a mixed bag of results which is why they lie 10th in the table and while they lost their last away game in the league to Celta 3-2, they did win handsomely in the Seville derby beating their city rivals somewhat surprisingly by a 5-3 scoreline. Betis have been involved in lots of high scoring games away from home, with there being more than five goals in three of their last seven games.
Despite their poor form, Deportivo are marginal favourites for this tie at around 2.25 while Betis are as far out as 3.00 with some bookmakers. Unsurprisingly, the Asian handicap line is set at 0 which probably reflects how difficult this game is to call while goals total punters probably have to look to over 3.5 for value in this fixture.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unoodostoques/5505932328, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
