La Liga Betting: Barcelona unlikely to be troubled by Sevilla

Barcelona v Sevilla
Saturday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports Football and Betfair Live Video

No team can keep winning ad infinitum and Barcelona can be pleased that the two blips in their season so far have been minor disturbances. The first, that draw away to Atlético Madrid in mid-October, was actually a good result. The second, the midweek draw with Olympiakos in the Champions League, is unlikely to disrupt their serene progress to the knockout stages.

Barça did not play badly in Greece and might have scored two or three on another day. The only slight worry for Ernesto Valverde will be the continuing struggles of Luis Suárez, although the former Athletic Club coach was at pains to show his faith in the Uruguayan after the game. "I like this version of Suárez a lot," he said. "Sometimes the goal depends on one more centimetre to the left or to the right. I like that they have chances to score."

You fear for opposition teams when Suárez does locate his shooting boots, for Barcelona have now compiled a 15-game unbeaten run, with their home form particularly commanding. The Blaugrana have won their five league games at Camp Nou by an aggregate scoreline of 18-1, which is bad news for a shaky Sevilla outfit.

The Andalusians have picked up much-needed home wins over Leganés and Spartak Moscow in the last week, but Eduardo Berizzo knows he still has much work to do if he is to win over his new public. Since a trio of handy results against Getafe, Liverpool and Girona to start the season, Sevilla's away form has been shoddy: trips to Atlético Madrid, Athletic, Spartak and Valencia yielded no points, one goal scored and 12 conceded.

Barcelona have won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the sides at Camp Nou, scoring 38 times in that run. 1.23 isn't much of a price, however, so we'll take a chance on them winning without conceding. They have conceded just three times in 10 Liga games - a record for them at this stage of the season - and Sevilla haven't exactly been firing on all cylinders in the final third.

Recommended Bet
Back Barcelona to win to nil at 3/2

Real Sociedad v Eibar
Sunday, 17:30
Live on Sky Sports Football and Betfair Live Video

It seems a bit contrary to side with Real Sociedad at home, given they haven't won at Anoeta in the league since seeing off Villarreal in August. Your eyes may narrow even further when you note that they've conceded 11 in four on their own patch since then. But context is key here: La Real have had a tough fixture list early on, with Real Madrid, Valencia, Real Betis and Espanyol all having visited.

They'll be desperate for a positive result in front of their fans and should find local rivals Eibar to be obliging opponents on Sunday night. José Luis Mendilibar's overachievers are in miserable form, with a run of just one win in nine pushing them towards the relegation zone. They have always struggled to match the division's more expressive sides on the road and things appear to have worsened this term: trips to Sevilla, Barcelona, Villarreal and Real Madrid have all ended in heavy defeats.

Real Sociedad are not at the level of Barça or Madrid, but they have more than enough attacking tools to damage Eibar, not least because the away side are missing midfield guard dog Dani García, who is suspended. Having built up a bit of momentum with a 3-0 Europa League win over Vardar in midweek, Eusebio Sacristán's charges could cut loose.

Recommended Bets
1.5pts Real Sociedad to win and over 2.5 goals at 3/2
0.5pts Real Sociedad to win both halves at 10/3

Real Madrid v Las Palmas
Sunday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports Football and Betfair Live Video

"No, I'm not worried, and never will be worried this season, whatever happens." Zinedine Zidane's stoicism is admirable, but this is probably not quite the reaction that Real Madrid's fans - and directors - were hoping for after Wednesday night's Wembley meltdown. There was more, too: "We saw things we're not used to... How can you explain it? The answer: this is life. You have to accept things are not always going to go your way."

Acceptance isn't usually a pillar of the Madrid vocabulary, of course, and deep down Zidane will surely know this. The defeat to Tottenham wasn't just a defeat; it was a footballing lesson, the type that Los Merengues are used to dishing out rather than receiving. Managers with less credit in the bank than Zidane would probably be in a fair bit of trouble at this point.

A Champions League defeat would be less of a big deal were things going well in the league, but they aren't. Last weekend's defeat to Girona left Madrid eight points adrift of Barcelona, and Valencia don't look to be going anywhere soon, either. It could be a long old season at the Bernabéu if things don't pick up in the weeks ahead.

At least this weekend there should be some solace: if Madrid could have picked any opponent, it surely would have been Las Palmas. The Canary Islanders have lost six on the spin, have shipped more goals than any other side in the league (25), and are notoriously poor travellers: they have claimed a pathetic six points from their last 23 away games in La Liga.

Madrid are 1.10 favourites and should win. But the markets are skewed towards a goal fest, perhaps because the two games between the sides last term produced 10 goals (2-2, 3-3), which looks overly ambitious given Madrid's struggles in front of goal. Las Palmas did manage to keep things relatively tight against Valencia and Sevilla (both 1-0 losses) and may do similar here.

Recommended Bets
1.5pts Under 4.5 goals at 9/10
0.5pts Under 3.5 goals at 2/1