the international break is over, meaning domestic football returns around europe. la liga is returning in a big way this weekend, as atletico madrid host barcelona on saturday night. before that game real madrid make the short trip south to getafe, as they look to close the now seven point gap between themselves and barcelona in the table. can the spanish champions keep their title hopes alive with a victory? read on for our tips, preview and the latest odds comparison for both of those matches.
barcelona head into this weekend with a perfect record in la liga so far, but can they add to that on saturday? they’re making their first trip to the wanda metropolitano, atletico madrid’s new ground. diego simeone has led his men to a strong start, taking 15 points from a possible 21. they’re six points off barca, while they’re currently keeping real madrid out of the top four.
however, barcelona’s start is hard to argue with. lionel messi seems to have stepped up his game through sheer necessity of late. his hat-trick for argentina in midweek was brilliant, and he’s scored 14 goals in his last nine matches for club and country. after hitting 27 goals in his last 19 la liga games, he looks like great value at 11/8 with bet365 to score at any time here.
given that barca have won five of their last six trips, and conceded in five of those six, we see them edging a high scoring game this weekend. they should have more than enough talent to break through this atletico madrid defence, given how well messi is playing. chelsea showed that atleti are vulnerable at their new ground, and we’re backing barca to add to their misery.
the visitors look really well priced at 31/20 with betvictor to take all three points here. however, we expect atletico to score a goal, so we’re backing barca to win and btts at the bigger odds of 4/1 with william hill ahead of this clash.
before this weekend’s huge la liga clash, don’t forget to check the latest betting odds on our odds comparison. it compiles the latest prices across a wide range of markets, and gives you the best betting odds available. our odds comparison could add a few quid on to your potential returns, so it’s always worth checking that you’re getting the best price on either our tips or your own predictions.
getafe v real madrid: are real madrid finally up and running?
real madrid seem to be back in form after winning five of their last six matches, which is bad news for spurs. tottenham travel to madrid in the champions league on tuesday, but first real face getafe. can they claim a result and look to stay in the hunt for the league title?
their form suggests they can, especially as they’ve done well on their travels of late. real have scored at least three times in all but one of their last five away, and we expect them to rack up a few goals here. we’re backing over 2.5 goals for the visitors, which can be backed at 10/11 with coral.
real have seen their fair share of high scoring away games, shown by the fact that they have kept just three clean sheets in their last 16 away trips in the league. getafe have been solid at home of late, scoring against barcelona and beating villarreal 4-0. we expect them to hit the target against real, but the european champions should still claim the points. real have won five of their last six trips here, and we’re backing an away win and btts at 8/5 with bet365.
we’re rounding off our predictions in this one with a 3-1 win for real, a scoreline they’ve seen in three of their last five away trips. at 9/1 with ladbrokes, we think that’s big price given real’s scoring form and their inability to keep a clean sheet on the road.
if you’re following our la liga betting tips or making a few bets of your own this week, then don’t forget to check out our odds comparison. with a slight odds shift making a big change to your potential returns, it’s always worth double checking that you’re getting the best betting odds with your current bookmaker. landing a winner would feel even better if you knew you were getting the best possible price.