La Liga Tips: Can Barcelona get back to winning ways v Valladolid?

Real Madrid’s victory over city rivals Atletico coupled with Barcelona’s stalemate against Athletic Bilbao last week means the La Liga title race is back on.

This week’s fixtures could be crucial. Barca host relegation-threatened Real Valladolid, while Real take on near drop-zone dwellers Girona.

Add in Real Betis v Alaves in the race for the Europa League, and Villarreal’s clash with Sevilla, and you’ve got plenty to look forward to in this weekend’s La Liga Tips.

Barcelona v Real Valladolid (7:45pm, Saturday)

Lionel Messi and co. may have slipped up last weekend but it’s a mistake they’re unlikely to repeat here. Barca are 1/6 against a Valladolid side with two wins in 14 La Liga matches.

With that in mind, it’s goals we’re after – or a lack of them. The visitors have failed to score in each of their last four La Liga away defeats. We make the hosts 10/11 to Win to Nil.

Argentine maestro Messi has developed a habit of scoring late in the day. He’s 3/10 Anytime, 6/5 for 2 or More, and 9/5 to Score Last for the fourth time in five La Liga fixtures at the Nou Camp.

Real Madrid v Girona (11:00am, Saturday)

There are some matches every season which guarantee goals. Real Madrid v Girona is one of them. The two sides have shared 27 goals in just five meetings since the start of 2017.

That includes 4-2 and 3-1 wins for Real in last month’s Copa Del Rey. With an open game the order of the day, our traders go 21/20 about Over 3.5 Goals and 12/5 for Over 4.5 Goals.

You can double up on those and back Real to Win and Over 3.5 Goals at 13/10, with Both Teams to Score at even-money.

Karim Benzema is rated the likeliest scorer at 3/4, ahead of Gareth Bale and Mariano at 10/11 apiece.

Villarreal v Sevilla (5:30pm, Sunday)

Both of these sides are woefully out of form. Villarreal are winless in 10 matches in all competitions, while Sevilla have taken the spoils in La Liga twice since the end of November.

This one should be a thriller, then – or at the very least a close-run thing. A fifth draw in seven meetings between the pair is 12/5, with Under 2.5 Goals priced up at even-money.

With three of those draws ending without a name on the scoresheet, it could also be worth siding with a 0-0 scoreline at 11/1.

Real Betis v Alaves (7:45pm, Sunday)

The race is on for the Europa League, with Betis and Alaves leading the way. The visitors are three points ahead of the hosts but will need to sharpen up on the road for it to stay that way.

Abelardo Fernandez’s men have taken just seven points from 21 available away from home since the start of November and have been spanked 3-0 and 4-0 in recent weeks.

Betis are 3/4 to take advantage on Sunday and 33/20 to Win to Nil. You can back Both Teams to Score – No, at 7/10.

Click here for the latest La Liga odds.

All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication