Real Madrid needed 14 games to climb to La Liga first place with a relatively comfortable advantage. Los Blancos could even lose their next match and remain on the top. On the other hand, Barcelona is slowly coming back to its roots. However, they still have a long way to go to get into the top four.
Let’s check what happened in the last La Liga fixture, including how our soccer betting predictions did. Also, we look at the teams are fighting at the top, in the relegation zone and what comes next with the new month.
La Liga Breakdown
New Captain!
Two weeks ago, Real Sociedad were in charge but then they drew 0-0 to Valencia and lost 1-0 to Espanyol. In the meantime, Real Madrid beat Granada 4-1 and Sevilla 2-1. That was enough for them to climb to first place with a four-point advantage.
Real Sociedad fell to third place with 29 points, same as Atlético Madrid. The thing is that Los Colchoneros have a better goal differential.
Real Madrid is averaging 2.4 goals per game, more than any other team in La Liga. Also, they haven’t lost since early October. Midweek, they come in as the -200 betting online favorites -to defeat Athletic Bilbao, but it won’t be easy.
Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad won’t be playing until the weekend. Atletico comes in as huge favorites -315 against Mallorca, while Real Sociedad will face … Real Madrid. That’s right, they’ll play host to Los Blancos as slight underdogs at +230. They simply can’t afford to lose.
Sevilla with 28 points, and Real Betis with 27 are also in the La Liga top five. Betis is one of three teams that at least won three of its last five games. Both will have a tough test on Saturday. Sevilla (+105) will play host to Villarreal, while Betis (+525) will visit Barcelona.
Changes at Barcelona
Speaking about Barcelona, they haven’t lost in their last four games. Most recently, they got their first road victory after beating Villarreal 3-1. New manager Xavi Hernandez has a lot to do with that.
Barcelona has one of the best rosters in the competition. Last week, Sergino Dest, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Oscar Mingueza weren’t in the starting lineup. Plus, Ansu Fati and Pedri are out due to injury, but the team managed to win.
Los Azulgranas sits in seventh place with 23 points. Right now, the title seems unattainable, but there’s a lot of football to be played. They can’t give up, not yet.
Real Betis is playing well, but keep in mind that Barcelona own an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 meetings. They scored at least one goal in all those games. That should be enough for you to consider including them in your soccer picks.
Relegation Zone
Levante sits in last place thanks to a 0-7-8 record. They are the only team that hasn’t won a single game. Most recently, they lost 3-1 to Real Betis. Also, they’ve allowed 28 goals, more than any other team.
Getafe, with 10 points, and Cadiz with 12 are also in the relegation zone. Getafe just drew 0-0 to Mallorca, while Cadiz lost 4-1 to Atlético Madrid. Despite recent results, both are one victory away from getting out of the relegation zone.
This weekend, Levante will play host to Osasuna while Getafe will do the same against Bilbao and Cadiz will visit Elche. Only Levante comes in as slight favorites at our sportsbook with a +135 price. Getafe are offering +235, while Cadiz are +300.
La Liga Top Scorers
Real Madrid is leading the way here as well. Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior scored last week to increase their advantage at the top of the scoring chart. The Frenchman is almost averaging one goal per game andalso leads the league in assists with seven.
We’ve a couple of new tenants in the top five. Curiously enough, neither plays for Sevilla or Real Sociedad.
Here’s a quick rundown of La Liga’s top scorers:
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): 11
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid): 9
- Juanmi Jimenez (Real Betis): 8
- Memphis Depay (Barcelona): 8
- Luis Suárez (Atlético Madrid): 7
