La Liga Betting Tips: Real Madrid return as Silva makes Sociedad debut
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La Liga continues its bit-part start to the new season this weekend with champions Real Madrid in action for the first time against Real Sociedad on Sunday night.
Zinedine Zidane’s men begin a week later than the 14 sides who started the campaign last week following their run to the last-16 of the Champions League. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, both reached the quarter-final stage at Europe’s top table last term and will join the party next weekend.
Those factors have allowed a clutch of teams to get a jump on the rest, with Valencia, Granada, Osasuna and Real Betis all securing maximum points on Matchday 1. Now it’s onto Matchday 2, and we’ve previewed the best of the weekend action in our La Liga Betting Tips.
Celta Vigo v Valencia, 20:00 Saturday
It’s been a summer of turmoil at Valencia, but that didn’t stop Javi Gracia leading his side to an excellent comeback victory against Levante on the opening day having twice seen his team fall behind in the contest.
23-year-old Manu Vallejo was the star of the show at Mestella, and after doubling his Los Murcielagos tally with a brace, we make him a 3/1 chance to continue his fine start to the season with another goal here.
Matches between these two have tended to be tight in the recent past, with four of the last five ending 1-0 or 1-1. Our traders go 3/4 about that trend to continue and for there to be Under 2.5 Goals in the match.
In the outright betting, Celta are considered narrow 23/20 favourites against 2/1 for Valencia, although there’s plenty of potential for the Draw at 21/10.
Real Betis v Real Vallodolid, 17:30 Sunday
Betis left it until the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure all three points against Alaves last week, and our traders think they have every chance of making it two from two against Vallodolid and Sunday. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are 4/5 favourites to come out on top against 3/1 for the visitors. It’s 11/5 for the Draw.
Matches between these two are generally characterised by a lack of goals. Both teams have found the net in just two of their last 13 meetings, which makes Both Teams to Score – No, an interest proposition at 17/20. A 0-0 stalemate is available at 8/1.
And while goals may be at a premium, bookings are less likely to be. Betis picked up three bookings last week, while Vallodolid players were cautioned on four occasions. Over 4.5 Bookings and Nacho to Win 1 or More Tackles is priced at 11/20.
Real Sociedad v Real Madrid, 20:00 Sunday
Not many sides can lay claim to having won more matches than they’ve lost in a five-game spell against Real Madrid, but Real Sociedad can. Imanol Alguacil’s men tend to give Los Blancos a game and have beaten them 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 over the last two seasons.
Of course, it could mean nothing. But equally, it could mean something as Sociedad head into the match with a game already under their belt, while Real may be undercooked following a disjointed pre-season campaign.
The visitors are our favourites at 7/10, with Sociedad available at 16/5 or 10/11 on the Double Chance. Whatever the outcome there should be goals, with their last 18 head-to-head encounters producing a total of 82 goals. We go 17/10 about Over 3.5 Goals, while there’s 4/6 on offer for Both Team to Score.
The presence of new signing David Silva should aid the possibility of a high-scoring encounter, while Karim Benzema is the visitor’s best chance in front of goal after he scored four in a friendly against Getafe earlier in the week.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
