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La Liga Tips: Can Real Madrid make ground on Barcelona?

| 25.01.2019

After a round of mid-week Copa del Rey fixtures for those left in the competition, it’s time to return to La Liga action.

Real Madrid are looking to continue their push to catch Barcelona and Atletico Madrid ahead of them, with an away game at Espanyol on Sunday night.

Elsewhere, Barca and Atleti will be looking to extend the gap to Real Madrid with games against Girona and Getafe.

Surprise package Alaves are looking to close on Los Blancos with a home game against Rayo Vallecano.

We’ve tipped up these four matches…

Espanyol v Real Madrid

Santiago Solari’s men have been on an indifferent run of form since their return from the Club World Cup.

Two league wins in a row may have given them a much needed confidence boost, with a 2-0 victory over Sevilla last time out being a big result for their league position.

Los Blancos head into the game as favourites to pick up the win at 4/5. A 1-0 win in the first meeting between the two this season was a close encounter, but with some of Real’s key men expected to return from injury in the build-up to the game, it could allow for a more open encounter.

Match-winner Marco Asensio and Welsh wing-wizard Gareth Bale are due back anytime, and their inclusion would give a further boost to the Whites.

Espanyol are battling among the mid-table slots and have picked up only one league win in their last five, losing the other four. They’re priced at 16/5 to be victorious.

Karim Benzema and Borja Iglesias are joint favourites to open the scoring at 4/1¸with odds on either of them to score anytime sat at 13/10.

Atletico Madrid v Getafe CF

Atleti will be looking to heap more pressure on Barca by beating Getafe and closing the gap to two points.

A Rojiblancos win looks most likely with a home win sitting at 4/7. Getafe are sat 6/1 to pick up the win in the Spanish capital.

Diego Simeone’s men are defensively sound, and have won the last three meetings between the two without conceding. They’re 6/5 to win to Nil again.

Antoine Griezmann leads the scoring charts for Atleti so far this term, netting nine in the league. He’s favourite to open the scoring at 16/5, or 13/10 to score anytime.

Girona v Barcelona

Seven straight league victories for Barcelona has given them a firm grip on top spot in the league, and they’ll be looking to make it eight on the spin.

Unsurprisingly, on their current run of form they’re heavy favourites at 1/3. Getafe are out at 8/1 to spring a surprise.

The first meeting between the two this season saw it end in a 2-2 draw, and a repeat of this scoreline is 16/1 with our traders. A draw of any kind is 5/1.

Cristhian Stuani netted twice in that meeting, and he’s 7/1 to do so again. Lionel Messi leads the league’s goalscoring chart, and he’s 23/10 to open the scoring, 4/7 to score anytime.

Alaves v Rayo Vallecano

Alaves look to continue their sensational campaign by picking up another victory at home to strugglers Rayo Vallecano.

In the previous fixture, Alaves romped to a 5-1 away win. They’re favourites to win again at 6/5, although Vallecano sit as slight outsiders at 12/5.

A repeat of the 5-1 demolition job has odds of 150/1.

Click here for the latest La Liga odds.

All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication

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Author

Drew Goodsell

Drew is a journalism graduate of UEL where he worked as a Business Editor for the university news website. He is a Chelsea fan, but closely follows American sports, being an avid fan of the New York based Knicks (NBA) and Giants (NFL).