La Liga Tips: Back Betis and Sociedad to share point

La Liga Tips: Back Betis and Sociedad to share point

Real Betis and Real Sociedad are both in the top three and Dan Fitch is expecting an entertaining draw from these well-matched sides.

Sevilla will continue unbeaten run

Granada 4.5 v Sevilla 1.99; The Draw 3.5
Saturday 17 October, 12:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Last season's top four are all unbeaten so far and it's perhaps Sevilla that have the right to be the happiest with that fact.

Sevilla faced a difficult away trip to Barcelona in their last fixture before the recent international break. They took the lead through Luuk de Jong and though Barcelona equalised, Sevilla did not let the hosts take control of the game. Julen Lopetegui's team enjoyed plenty of possession and had more shots on goal than Barca in a 1-1 draw.

Granada's excellent seventh placed finish last season saw them qualify for the Europa League. Their involvement in Europe could stretch a thin squad and after starting the La Liga season with two wins, they were thrashed 6-1 by Atletico Madrid and then could only draw 1-1 at Cadiz, with both of those games following Europa League ties.

They should be fresh for this one, but we have to expect Sevilla to have too much quality. You can back the visitors to claim their third win of the season at 1.99.

Getafe can breach Barca defence

Getafe 5.2 v Barcelona 1.82; The Draw 3.8
Saturday 17 October, 20:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Barcelona will be disappointed to have failed to beat Sevilla, but their home form is not the major issue that they need to address.

It was away from home that Barcelona dropped the points last season that allowed Real Madrid to overtake them and win the title. Barca won their first away game of this season with a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo, despite being reduced to ten men for much of the match when Clement Lenglet was sent off.

Getafe are likely to present a greater test of Barcelona's resilience on the road. Currently seventh in La Liga (P4 W2 D1 L1), they have won both of their home games this season, as they look to recapture the consistency that put them into contention for Champions League qualification prior to lockdown in Spain.

Barcelona's price looks about right, but it will be some time before we can draw any real conclusions as to whether Ronald Koeman has solved their issues. The 4-2-3-1 formation used by Koeman so far looks a little fragile given the personnel at his disposal and Getafe could take advantage, with both teams to score available at 1.96.

Improving high-fliers will draw

Real Betis 2.54 v Real Sociedad 2.94; The Draw 3.5
Sunday 18 October, 20:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

The weekend La Liga action concludes with an intriguing clash between second placed Real Betis and a Real Sociedad side in third.

Betis finished fifteenth last season, but in a way their current position is no real surprise, as they badly underperformed under Rubi in the 2019-20 campaign. Over the summer they brought Manuel Pellegrini back to Spain and the former Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga coach looks better equipped to get more out of a talented squad.

Real Sociedad really fell apart when last season resumed after lockdown, so it's good to see that one of Spain's most entertaining sides have started brightly (P5 W2 D2 L1). Their last game before the international break was a 3-0 win over Getafe and David Silva is now established in the Sociedad team and building up his match fitness.

This should be a competitive game and the odds are appropriately close. Back the draw at 3.5.