Granada vs Real Mallorca

Sunday’s first match will take place at a very tense Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes. Granada just got knocked out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday by fourth-tier Mancha Real and that has seen frustrations reach boiling point, with fans already uninspired by the football coach Robert Moreno had brought to the club since taking over from the beloved Diego Martínez in the summer.

Granada risk entering a full-blown crisis and they have the tricky task of taking on an in-form Real Mallorca, who won their midweek Copa del Rey game with ease, thrashing Llanera 6-0, and who have just one defeat from their past eight in LaLiga. Six of these, it must be stated, were draws, in addition to an impressive victory away at reigning champions Atlético Madrid.

This Real Mallorca team do draw a lot, and they have the second-most sharings of the spoils in LaLiga with eight, but they don’t lose all that often and it would go down as a shock if they were to fall to defeat to this struggling Granada team. A draw no bet on the islanders this weekend could be the way to go as Granada play in front of their frustrated home fans.

---

Athletic Club vs Real Betis

If you don’t score then you don’t win football matches. That’s how the game works. For Athletic Club, they know this all too well as the team from Bilbao have been on a terrible run in front of goal in recent weeks. In five of their past six matches, they haven’t scored a goal. That’s why they’re sliding down the LaLiga table at an alarming rate.

Athletic are creating chances. The problem is that they haven’t had a striker who can finish since Aritz Aduriz retired last year. This is abundantly clear when looking at their xG, as Athletic have only scored 13 actual goals this LaLiga season when their xG says they should have 26, double that. That difference of 13 is the largest difference in all of LaLiga by far, with the next biggest difference between actual goals and xG being Villarreal with a difference of just 6.

So, if Athletic can’t be relied upon to score, a draw and double chance bet is a good way to go. That’s especially so this week because Real Betis are coming to town and they are on a terrific run of form, winning seven of their past eight and only losing to Celtic last midweek because they played the backups.
Add to this the fact that Athletic have just lost their two Spain internationals, goalkeeper Unai Simón and Iñigo Martínez to, the COVID-19 list and you have to feel confident backing Real Betis this weekend. Or, at least backing Athletic not to win.

---

Getafe vs Osasuna

Getafe vs Osasuna probably won’t be the most entertaining game of the matchday, but this is an interesting fixture as the home team’s form has significantly improved over recent weeks at the same time as Osasuna have faded following their bright start to the campaign. Over their past seven matches, Getafe have collected 10 points and Osasuna just four.

In the Copa del Rey in midweek, Getafe took the headlines by suffering an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of third-tier opposition, while Osasuna earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Deportivo La Coruña, one of the strongest sides they could have faced at this early stage. But, it should be noted that Getafe really didn’t care about the cup. They played an XI of backups and only made two substitutions during their annihilation, highlighting how little the coaching staff were bothered by the goal after goal Atlético Baleares were scoring.

It is abundantly clear that Getafe’s focus in LaLiga and avoiding relegation, so they’ll come in to this weekend’s fixture with far more motivation and with fresher legs. Although Getafe’s injury report is a little longer than Osasuna’s, Geta aren’t missing key players, whereas both of Osasuna’s starting centre-back are out, with suspension in the case of David García and COVID-19 in the case of Aridane Hernández.
While nobody is ever going to fully trust Getafe, they do have a great opportunity to earn a home victory this Sunday. Perhaps a draw no bet is the way to go against an Osasuna team with no league win in over two months.

---

Real Madrid vs Cádiz

Even though Real Madrid have six COVID-19 cases in their first-team squad and injury concerns over starters Dani Carvajal and Karim Benzema, they are still massive favourites to defeat Cádiz on Sunday night. That’s because Carlo Ancelotti’s side are by far the best team in Spain this season, while Cádiz are, based on performances, probably the worst, even if they’re ‘only’ third-bottom.

Real Madrid should still have sufficient quality to get the job done against Cádiz, even if they are down a few players. Ancelotti would likely have rotated in this match anyway, so the home win is very likely. The problem is that there is little value there.

To add some extra value to a bet on Real Madrid to win, you could look to the handicap markets but this should be done with caution. Cádiz are terrible, but they are defensive-minded, as evidenced by the fact that have just 36% possession on average this campaign, by far the lowest in LaLiga. They set up in a low block almost every game and especially away to the big teams. If Cádiz concede early, then they completely crumble and can concede a few. But, if they hang in there until the second half, they can be very stubborn and might only lose by one or two. Depending on when Real Madrid get the first goal, it’s just as likely that this could finish 1-0 or 4-0.

With Real Madrid’s COVID-19 absences to consider too, perhaps this is one where you don’t overcomplicate things and just back the home win.

---

Levante vs Valencia

The last fixture of Matchday 18 is a derby match, as city rivals Levante and Valencia face off at the Estadi Ciutat de València. Everybody knows that anything goes in a derby, but it would be a major shock if bottom-placed Levante can win this one against a Valencia side that haven’t lost any of their past eight across all competitions.

Levante will give it a go, though, as their home crowd will demand that they do and their position in the table means they need three-point hauls quickly. With an ambitious young caretaker coach in Alessio Lisci, we can expect Levante to throw men forward in this game and the likelihood is that Valencia will pick them apart on the counter attack. There is good value in backing a Valencia win, even if some might be put off by Los Che’s injury and suspension concerns for this game.

Another good bet, then, might be to back over 2.5 goals. Levante can score; it’s just that they concede a lot too, with last weekend’s 4-3 defeat to Espanyol exhibit A. Furthermore, this is a derby that typically produces goals. Their last meeting was a 1-0, perhaps in part because it was behind closed doors and lacked atmosphere, but the previous seven derbies produced zero clean sheets and an average of 4.00 goals per game.

---

18+ please gamble responsibly.