Real Madrid Comfortable at the Top

Benzema got injured 15 minutes into the game, Luka Jovic took the Frenchman’s place and scored the second goal after. Vinicius scored the opener. Expect both to lead the attack on Sunday in a crucial game against Atletico Madrid. More on that later.

Defensively, that was Madrid’s third clean sheet over its last four games. Eder Militao gave a master class while Thibaut Courtois just keeps proving why Florentino Perez brought him in. He’s the reason why Keylor Navas now plays for PSG.

Real Madrid hasn’t lost in its last eight La Liga games. They definitely deserve to be soccer betting favorites against Atletico Madrid at +110. Beating them would increase the gap between the two to 13 points.

Hello, Real Betis

Atletico Madrid sits in fourth place with 29 points while Barcelona sits in seventh with 23. Most recently, Atletico lost 2-1 to Mallorca while Barcelona lost 1-0 to Real Betis, both playing at home. That was Barcelona’s first defeat since Xavi Hernandez took over.

That victory allowed Betis to climb to third place with 30 points. They’ve scored 26 goals; only both teams from Madrid have scored more. They’ll have another tough test on Sunday when Real Sociedad visits them. They’re slight favorites at +135.

Sevilla sits in second place with 31 points. They bounced back after losing to Real Madrid by beating Villarreal 1-0. Julen Lopetegui’s team has allowed only 11 goals, the fewest in La Liga.

Sevilla will be crossing fingers for Atletico to beat Real Madrid, but they have a tough matchup as well. They’ll be hitting the road to face Bilbao Athletic on Saturday. In fact, they come in as the online gambling underdogs at +205. They own a 3-3-2 record when playing away on the road.

Relegation

Enough about the top teams. It’s time to assess the relegation situation. That means we have to talk about Levante, Getafe and Cadiz.

Levante sits last with only eight points. They haven’t won a single game and have allowed 28 goals. Not having won in 16 games must be demoralizing, so I wouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Getafe has 11 points while Cadiz has 12. At least Getafe hasn’t lost in its last three games but couldn’t win in the last two, either. Getafe (+235) will have a great opportunity on Saturday when facing Alaves, which is in 17th place with 14 points. Beating them could allow them to get out of the relegation zone.

Believe it or not, Cadiz comes in as the favorite against Granada at +155. That game is scheduled for Monday. On the other hand, Levante is a huge underdog against Espanyol at +305.

Golden Boot Race

Benzema leads La Liga scoring chart with 12 goals, but he’s questionable to play on Sunday due to injury. If he sits out, it would be a great opportunity for the rest to try and close the gap.

The Frenchman is followed by his teammate Vinicius Junior with 10 goals. The Brazilian scored in three of Real Madrid’s last four La Liga games. He’s best known for his dribbling skills, but he has improved a lot in front of goal.

Then there is Juanmi Jimenez, one of the main reasons for Real Betis success. He has scored nine goals, including five in the last three games.

Last but not least, Memphis Depay. Barcelona is struggling, yes, but Depay is having a great first season with the team. He has scored eight goals. I’m not saying you should, but he’s the main reason for you to consider including Barcelona in your soccer picks.