La Liga Tips: Real Madrid will scrape another victory

 La Liga Tips: Real Madrid will scrape another victory

Real Madrid are picking up points, but not easily, and Dan Fitch thinks they will only win narrowly against Levante, as he previews the weekend's best bets from La Liga

Bilbao can get back to their best

Alaves 3.50 v Athletic Bilbao 2.52; The Draw 3.10
Sunday 4 October, 13:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Two struggling teams meet in La Liga's Sunday lunchtime kick-off, as Alaves host Athletic Bilbao.

Alaves are without a win in four games so far this season (D1 L3). All of their opponents have been strong sides who should finish in the top-half of the table, such as Villarreal who beat them 3-1 on Wednesday. Still, Alaves must occasionally pick up results against these sort of teams if they're to stay up, having only avoided relegation by three points last season.

If Alaves were bound to struggle, more was expected from Bilbao. They beat Eibar 2-1 last weekend, but have lost both of their matches either side of that win, with Bilbao losing 1-0 at home to promoted Cadiz on Thursday, despite the visitors having two players sent off.

Athletic haven't lost any major players from last season, when they proved their quality by reaching the final of the Copa del Rey (still to be played). They are simply underachieving and Bilbao's quality should tell at a price of 2.52 to win.

Madrid struggling for creativity

Levante 6.80 v Real Madrid 1.54; The Draw 4.70
Sunday 4 October, 15:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Real Madrid were odds-on favourites to retain their La Liga title, but on the evidence of the season so far, they could be in for another tough battle.

Due to the nature of their title win last season, when they produced ten straight wins following lockdown, it's easy to forget that despite all of the issues that Barcelona experienced, Real only won the league by five points. If Barcelona can achieve more consistency away from home, Real immediately have a difficult task on their hands.

Madrid are unbeaten (P3 W2 D1), but the points have not come easily. After a 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad, they had to come from behind to beat Betis 3-2 and then on Wednesday, edged past Real Valladolid with a 1-0 home win. A lack of creativity in attacking areas is clear, with Eden Hazard being badly missed and Luka Jovic still struggling to score.

Levante could be hard for Real Madrid to break down, as was the case in midweek when they were holding Sevilla to a 0-0 draw, before conceding in injury time. It's worth taking a chance on a Real Madrid win and under 2.5 goals landing at 4.80.

Title contenders can test each other

Barcelona 1.63 v Sevilla 5.70; The Draw 4.40
Sunday 4 October, 20:00
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Barcelona and Sevilla have both made perfect starts to the season and this looks like an appropriately intriguing match to end the weekend's La Liga action.

These teams have much to prove. Last season was a disaster for Barcelona, with the club sacking two managers. Under new coach Ronald Koeman and Lionel Messi committed to staying, Barca have made a promising start, with a 4-0 win over Villarreal being followed by a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo on Thursday. Barcelona's attacking prowess is not in doubt, but Sevilla should provide more of a test of their defensive abilities.

Though Sevilla have won both of their games, they are playing within themselves a little. They've needed last-gasp goals to beat Cadiz and Levante, but we have to remember that they've had very little recovery time since winning the Europa League.

We should also remember that as poor as last season was for Barcelona, they only lost once at home in La Liga (P19 W16 D2 L1). A Barcelona win and both teams to score is appealing at 2.90.