Goals on the cards at Vallecas

Rayo Vallecano v Eibar
Friday, 20:00
Live on Eleven Sports 1 and Betfair Live Video
There's a good chance Jornada 14 will start on an exciting note on Friday evening, with struggling Rayo Vallecano welcoming Eibar to Vallecas.
The hosts have managed just one win so far - away at Huesca - and are probably going to need reinforcement in January if they're to have any hope of staying in the top flight. Their defence is simply too porous, and while coach Míchel has called on his charges to kickstart their campaign with a win here, there's no real reason to have faith in them.
Eibar, of course, will be in confident mood after their demolition job on Real Madrid. It's shaping up to be another quietly impressive season for the minnows, who continue to outperform teams with far deeper pockets, and this looks like an excellent chance to improve upon a middling away record.
But the angle here is to back both teams to score. Rayo, for all their struggles, have netted in all seven of their home games so far, with striker Raúl de Tomás especially effective in front of his own fans.

Valencia can make life tough for Madrid

Real Madrid v Valencia
Saturday, 19:45
Live on Eleven Sports 1 and Betfair Live Video
Will the real Real Madrid please stand up? It's almost impossible to get a handle on Los Merengues this season, with every green shoot instantly hacked back. Santiago Solari looked to have restored some belief, then they were thumped by Eibar. At which point the doom and gloom was lifted just a touch with a creditable win in Roma. It has been a truly schizophrenic season.
We should probably not read too much into Tuesday's win at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma were without their best player, Edin Džeko, and even then, the victory was businesslike rather than brilliant. Marcos Llorente did a half-decent Casemiro impression - someone had to at least try - and Dani Carvajal's return made a difference, but there wasn't a great deal of fluency.
Of course, the one man who really knits things together is on the outside looking in: Isco was left out of the squad entirely in midweek and appears not to be in Solari's good books. With Marco Asensio completely out of form, Madrid are hugely reliant on Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema conjuring something from nothing.
With that in mind, there's no way we'll be backing the hosts at 1.49 here. Especially once you consider that Valencia have finally found a bit of form after their soporific start to the season. Los Che came up short against Juventus in midweek, but had won three on the trot before that, and there are signs that the attack is beginning to function. Santi Mina, who didn't score between April and the end of October, now has six in six.
Will Valencia win in the league at the Bernabéu for the first time in over a decade? Maybe, maybe not. But they look a solid pick on the Asian handicap.

Clean sheets unlikely at Camp Nou

Barcelona v Villarreal
Sunday, 17:30
Live on Eleven Sports 1 and Betfair Live Video
Barcelona were knocked off top spot by Sevilla last weekend, but it could have been so much worse. Had punctuality fan Ousmane Dembélé not popped up with a late equaliser against Atlético Madrid, the Blaugrana would be third now. Fourth, had Alavés beat Leganés. So much for running away with the league.
They returned to winning ways against PSV Eindhoven in midweek, but it was not a display to write home about. The Dutch side carved out plenty of chances, hitting the post on one occasion, and it took a hugely jammy Gerard Piqué goal to secure all three points. It all adds up to a picture of a fragile side - and one that, with Luis Suárez sidelined, is freshly reliant on You Know Who.
The fixture list has done them a favour this weekend: Barça have not lost any of their last 18 La Liga games against Villarreal, and this current edition of the Yellow Submarine is hardly one to strike fear into opponents. They are 16th, with just three wins to their name, and to say coach Javi Calleja needed last week's 2-1 success over Real Betis is an understatement.
Still, there's reason to think the visitors can get on the scoresheet. Both teams have scored in each of Villarreal's last six games in La Liga, and in all of Barcelona's last 11. We'll use the Same Game Multi Tool on the Sportsbook to combine that pick with a goal for Lionel Messi, who loves playing against Villarreal: he has 13 league goals against them.
RECOMMENDED BETS
Back both teams to score in Rayo v Eibar at 1.75
Back Valencia +1.0 against Real Madrid at 2.34
Back Lionel Messi to score and both teams to score in Barcelona v Villarreal at 2.30 (Sportsbook)


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