The fixtures are coming in thick and fast in Spain ahead of La Liga’s winter break and fans can look forward to action every day this week. Real Madrid are back from winning the FIFA Club World Cup and will try to cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of the table when they meet at the Bernebeu for El Clasico on Saturday. Challengers Atletico Madrid and Valencia are also in action, while the relegation battle is heating up, and there is plenty of value on offer for punters in the week ahead at green-listed bookmakers:
Getafe v Las Palmas
Getafe’s form has been patchy and that has left them in mid-table, but they should be able to beat Las Palmas on Wednesday night. Las Palmas do not like leaving the Canary Islands and have the league’s worst away record, having lost six of eight games on the road. Paquito Ortiz’s men are bottom of the table, with a goal difference of -23, and do not inspire much fear in opponents. Getafe beat Valencia a week ago and have plenty of quality in their ranks, so a home win here looks good at 4/5 with William Hill.
Real Sociedad v Sevilla
Sociedad arrested a run of four straight defeats by drawing away at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend, but they are in poor form and tumbling down the table. It is a great opportunity for Sevilla to take three points, but they do not travel well. Both teams are low on confidence and both drew 0-0 at the weekend, so under 2.5 goals looks good in this game at 6/4 with William Hill.
Espanyol v Atletico Madrid
Atletico have the league’s best away record, having won six and drawn three of their nine fixtures on the road. Diego Simeone’s men are still unbeaten as we head into mid-December and that is a remarkable feat in such a competitive league. They are just six points behind leaders Barcelona and are shaping up as genuine title contenders (they are as low as 12/1 with Betway, but out at 28/1 with Bet Victor). They should be able to pick up another victory here as Espanyol are in dreadful form and have a poor recent record against the big clubs. They have taken just one point from their last three games – and that was a draw at bottom club Las Palmas – so they will be low on confidence and Atletico can ruthlessly pick them off. Odds of 41/50 look very attractive with Marathon Bet.
Real Madrid v Barcelona
This game feels crucial to Real Madrid’s chances of clawing their way back into the title race. They won it last season, ending a period of Barcelona dominance, and were made pre-season favourites to defend their crown after Barca lost Neymar to PSG. But Los Blancos have started sluggishly, winning just nine of 15 games. They are 11 points behind their bitter rivals, with a game in hand, and if they lose this the title will look beyond their grasp. However, if they win it will blow the title race wide open, so the atmosphere should be electric inside the Bernebeu and we should have a cracking game on our hands. Barcelona are in superb form: they too are unbeaten this season, but they have won more games than Atletico. Barca have won 13 and draw three of their 16 games and do not seem to be missing Neymar at all. They have been keeping lots of clean sheets and defending diligently, while Leo Messi and Luis Suarez are on fire up front. A draw would suit Barcelona in this away game as it would preserve their lead over their rivals, and that looks a good bet at 3/1 with Bet Victor, William Hill, Betfred and Stan James.
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