La Liga Betting: Atletico will share the spoils with Champions League rival

Atletico Madrid beat Liverpool on Tuesday, but Dan Fitch doesn't think they'll overcome their top four rival Villarreal, as he previews the weekend La Liga action.

Levante 7.40 v Real Madrid 1.48; The Draw 5.20
Saturday 22 February, 20:00
Live on LaLiga TV

Levante can keep it tight on defeat

With Barcelona kicking off on Saturday afternoon it's quite possible that Real Madrid will have slipped down to second place in La Liga, by the time that they start their match with Levante.

Real could only draw at home with Celta Vigo last weekend, which allowed Barcelona to close the gap at the top of the table to one point, as they defeated Getafe. Despite having a crucial Champions League match to come later on in the week against Manchester City, Zinedine Zidane can't take too many chances with his lineup on Saturday, with the title race so close.

Not that Levante should cause too many problems. They have been performing poorly in La Liga of late, losing five of their last six games (W1).

They have at least been tight defeats, with Levante not conceding more than two goals in a match during this sequence, which included an away trip to Barcelona. With that in mind, a Levante defeat and under 2.5 goals looks worth a chance at odds as big as 5.20.

Sevilla will keep on scoring

Getafe 2.44 v Sevilla 3.50; The Draw 3.20
Sunday 23 February, 17:30
Live on LaLigaTV

Third placed Getafe host a Sevilla side that are fifth in a crucial clash between two Champions League contenders.

Getafe have a two point lead over both Sevilla and fourth placed Atletico Madrid. They lost last weekend away at Barcelona, but were hardly disgraced in a 2-1 defeat. In midweek they bounced back with an impressive 2-0 win at home against Ajax in the Europa League, which means they have now won five of the last six games.

Sevilla were also in Europa League action on Thursday, as they came from behind to draw 1-1 at Cluj. That result left them without a win in their last five outings (D3 L2), which is the worst spell of form that the club has had since Julen Lopetegui took over last summer.

Though they might not be winning, Sevilla are still scoring, having found the net in 13 consecutive matches. Getafe are a good team defensively, but both teams to score is overpriced at 2.24.

Draw looks big between Champions League contenders

Atletico Madrid 1.71 v Villarreal 6.20; The Draw 3.80
Sunday 23 February, 20:00
Live on LaLigaTV

Atletico Madrid come into their match against Villarreal on a high, having pulled off a surprise result in the Champions League this week.

The 1-0 victory against the holders and soon to be Premier League champions Liverpool, was not expected. Put into the larger context of Atletico's excellent record in Europe under Diego Simeone it looks routine, but their recent form did not suggest that they were capable of such a result.

Atletico's unbeaten run is now extended to three games (W2 D1) and gives them hope of gaining something from a season that looked to be heading nowhere. They will have to be at their best again when they host Villarreal, who are in with a shout of Champions League qualification themselves.

The Yellow Submarine are two points behind Atletico and have only lost two of their last nine La Liga games (W6 D2). That run includes a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture and the odds of 3.80 for another draw are appealing.