In-form Betis plays host to Real Sociedad on Sunday while La Liga revelation and newly promoted Rayo Vallecano travels to play Villarreal, the last team to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage. Our sportsbook is offering a huge range of props for the Spanish La Liga.
Villarreal vs. Rayo Vallecano
Former Bournemouth striker Arnaut Danjuma scored a brace on Thursday as Villarreal beat Atalanta 3-2 in the final stage of the Champions League Group Stage, booking the final UCL knockout stage spot. The match was supposed to take place on Wednesday but was postponed due to heavy snowfall. The Yellow Submarine finished second in their group to join Manchester United in the next phase of the competition.
The team returned to Spain on Thursday night and has just two days to prepare for the home clash against Rayo Vallecano. They are favorites to win this fixture at -135 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds.
Last season, Villarreal finished seventh in La Liga, but they won the Europa League by beating Man United in the final to earn their Champions League tickets. This season they are struggling in the domestic league, sitting 13th in the standing with just 16 points earned in 15 games.
On the other side, Rayo Vallecano is one of the most impressive teams in the league, sitting sixth in the standings mostly because of its home games. They picked up 27 points in total, with 22 of them earned on home soil. On the road, they won just one in eight games while conceding 13 goals. We love betting on Rayo when they are playing in front of their fans, but we also love fading them on the road.
We don’t expect a high-scoring affair, but the host team enters this one full of confidence after beating Atalanta on Thursday. They are the better team on paper, and they should have enough to win this clash and climb in the standings. They are not the most consistent team in the league and we usually avoid adding them to our soccer picks and parlays, but given their great squad and Rayo’s poor road record, we expect them to win the three points.
Pick: Villarreal -135
Betis vs. Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad’s form is awful. They dropped 10 points in the last five rounds and lost the leading position, dropping to fifth place in La Liga. On top of that, they failed to find the back of the net in their last three domestic fixtures.
On the other side, Betis won its last three games in La Liga scoring, seven goals in the process. They managed to beat Barcelona last weekend and they are sitting third in the standings, one point behind second-placed Sevilla. This weekend, their city rivals travel to play Bilbao and they are expected to drop points, so a win against Sociedad could allow Betis to leapfrog Sevilla and finish the round in second place.
Both teams had commitments midweek in Europa League action with both qualifying in the knock-out stages. We expect a high-scoring affair and if you’re betting online, you should skip the winners’ market as the game could go either way. We’ve seen at least three goals in the last five encounters between the two sides.
