Getafe vs Real Madrid

The first LaLiga match of 2022 sees Real Madrid make the short trip to the south of the capital to take on Getafe. This has been an uncomfortable fixture for Real Madrid in recent years, with two of their past three visits to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez finishing as goalless draws, while they won the other 3-0.

It could be a tricky game for Real Madrid once again, for a variety of factors. Firstly, Carlo Ancelotti will be without a few players as a result of COVID-19, with Vinícius the most high-profile doubt. He has started Real Madrid’s past 23 matches and has been the difference maker this season, so they might struggle to break the lines if he does indeed have to watch on from home.  

That brings us on to the second point, which is Getafe’s deep defensive line. The relegation battlers’ form has improved of late and it has done so because of their new defensive-minded 5-3-2 formation. They should sit back against Real Madrid from minute one and play for a draw.

We saw just two games ago, in their 0-0 draw against Cádiz, how Real Madrid were frustrated by that low block, despite creating enough opportunities to have won that fixture. This should be a similar kind of game. Real Madrid should still have enough to overcome their opponents, especially with Getafe missing defensive leader Djene Dakonam through suspension, but it’s more likely that Real Madrid will have to grind out a victory, rather than starting 2022 with a big win.

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Atlético Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

There was talk of this fixture even being postponed, given how many COVID-19 cases there currently are at Rayo Vallecano. There are at least 10 first-team players believed to have tested positive, the most at any LaLiga club right now, while they already had the significant absence of Álvaro García through injury. Even if a few of these players might come off the COVID-19 list in time for this game, they won’t have trained for almost two weeks.

Atleti aren’t immune to the virus either and they have key men Koke, Antoine Griezmann and João Félix on their COVID-19 list, as well as coach Diego Simeone. But, Atlético’s coronavirus problems pale in comparison to those suffered by their neighbours at Rayo this week.

This, then, is the main reason to believe Atlético Madrid can secure a comfortable home victory to start 2022. While Rayo actually come into this fixture ahead of Atleti in the table by one point, this is actually down to Rayo’s Europe-leading home form in front of their home fans at their atmospheric Estadio de Vallecas. On the road – even if this is only a seven-kilometre road – Rayo have the fifth-worst away form of the division.

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Elche vs Granada

Elche vs Granada is one of the most even matchups of this matchday. Both clubs come into the game in decent form, with Elche putting in good performances since coach Francisco took over, even if the results haven’t always followed, while Granada have three wins and a draw from their past four LaLiga outings.

Looking at the potential absences for this one, both sides are set to miss a similar number of players, so there isn’t a clear advantage in this sense.

Where there is a big difference is in the profiles of players missing. Elche’s handful of COVID-19 cases have taken out most of their attack, with forwards Lucas Pérez, Lucas Boyé, Dario Benedetto and Pere Milla all out with COVID-19. Between those four players, they’ve scored 11 LaLiga goals this season, which is 61 percent of their total of 18. This means Guido Carrillo should lead the Elche line, but he hasn’t been a reliable goalscorer for several years now.

For this reason, Elche should find it very difficult to score in this Sunday’s match. That could make a punt on Granada an interesting one, with a draw no bet adding some extra security in case Granada struggle in attack themselves. 

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Alavés vs Real Sociedad

After Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad are the club with the second-most COVID-19 cases in LaLiga this weekend. They already navigated an injury crisis earlier in the season, but this time it’s different for La Real as there are also coronavirus cases in the club’s B team, so they can’t simply call up the next best player from their excellent academy. Furthermore, star forward Mikel Oyarzabal, one of the few to have avoided COVID-19, has to serve a suspension.

That makes this weekend’s trip to Basque rivals Alavés a daunting one for Real Sociedad, as does the fact that they’ll be going up against a club who could benefit from a new manager bounce. Alavés sacked Javi Calleja during the Christmas break after a Copa del Rey exit and after six LaLiga games without a win, hiring former Eibar coach José Luis Mendilibar to replace him. Mendilibar is an old-school taskmaster of a coach, one who his new Alavés players will have to give 110% for, especially in this first game.

A festive bonus for Alavés is the fact that they have so far managed to dodge the latest wave of COVID-19 cases. The fact that they’ll have nearly their full squad available against such a depleted Real Sociedad, in addition to the extra motivation the hiring of Mendilibar should bring, means they could even be considered favourites for this game, even if the bookies don’t see if that way. Perhaps a double chance bet on Alavés is the way to go.

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Real Betis vs Celta Vigo

“We’ll have to play this weekend with the Under-12s,” Iago Aspas jokingly wrote on Twitter. That was the first warning sign that the COVID-19 situation at Celta Vigo was bad and, sure enough, it emerged in the following hours that the Galician club had nine cases over the Christmas break. Four of these were early enough that the players might be negative in time for this trip to Real Betis, but six of the nine cases are defenders to mean it’s a far from ideal situation for the team from Galicia.

Real Betis have had some cases too, as has almost every club in Spain’s top flight, but their situation isn’t as bad as that of Celta Vigo, even if playmaker Nabil Fekir is believed to be one of the positives.

Real Betis, then, come into this game with more personnel available and that’s a big factor, particularly with these two clubs. They are well used to rotating, having been playing Europa League football all season, and they keep performing well even when multiple changes are made to the line-up by Manuel Pellegrini. Celta Vigo, on the other hand, tend to fall apart whenever even one or two pieces are changed from Eduardo Coudet’s ideal XI.

Then, there’s the fact that Real Betis are generally in better form that Celta Vigo. Although Real Betis lost their last game of 2021 and Celta Vigo won theirs, it’s 12 points from the last 15 available for Real Betis and 8 from the last 15 for Celta Vigo. The home team look the better bet for this one.

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Real Mallorca vs Barcelona

Every LaLiga match this weekend is impacted in some way by COVID-19, but Real Mallorca vs Barcelona is by far the most affected. Between COVID-19, injuries and suspensions, Real Mallorca could have up to 13 players out for this one and Barcelona could be missing as many 16.

This means we should see two very unfamiliar line-ups with a lot of youngsters involved. It’s likely that Barcelona’s line-up will be more talented and stronger than Real Mallorca’s, but that’s still a big assumption and why few will be backing either of these teams to win outright.

With so many variables in play with these two makeshift line-ups, the only certainty is that many youth teamers will be involved on both sides, for the islanders and for the Catalans. Several players could even make debuts and will be looking to make their mark and prove a point to the coaches and fans watching on. A game involving many teenagers, who have as much pace and energy as they lack pause and control, might also be a dynamic and end-to-end affair, so we could see many goals at the Visit Mallorca Stadium. Maybe an overs or BTTS bet is one to put a small amount on for this game, then you can sit back and watch the chaos unfold as what’s left of these two depleted squads go head to head.

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Villarreal vs Levante

Villarreal have decided they won’t publicly report any COVID-19 cases, should any come up. That means any bet on the Yellow Submarine should be made with caution.

That said, this home game against bottom-placed Levante looks like the perfect springboard to start 2022 on the front foot. Villarreal finished 2021 in great form, winning their final five matches of the year and scoring 20 goals across those games, albeit with seven of those coming against lower league opposition in the Copa del Rey. Their last outing was a 5-2 home win over Alavés, with back-from-injury Gerard Moreno putting on a show.

Levante, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of the table and have shown minimal signs of improvement under the inexperienced Alessio Lisci, their third coach of the season. Their last two LaLiga games have been 4-3 thrillers, but Levante have still ended up on the losing side both times, against Espanyol and then Valencia.

Villarreal should be the clear favourites here, although caution should be taken since nobody outside the club knows for sure how many coronavirus positives they have, or who exactly might miss out if there are any positives.

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Osasuna vs Athletic Club

Osasuna vs Athletic Club should be an atmospheric one as this is one of the home fans’ favourite fixtures of the season, as there is a real dislike of Athletic in Pamplona, but it probably won’t be the prettiest to watch.

These are two stodgy teams who don’t score or concede many goals. They’ve each scored just 17 so far this LaLiga season, with only three sides having scored fewer, while Athletic have the second-best defensive record with 16 conceded and Osasuna are middle of the pack in that regard, with 22 conceded.

All of this means that matches involving Osasuna or Athletic have produced few goals so far in 2021/22. The average goals for matches involving Athletic is 1.74, the lowest in the whole division, while the average goals for matches involving Osasuna is 2.17, the third-lowest in the league.

Neither side should be overly affected by the new wave of COVID-19 cases, but they will each be missing key men in attack, with Raúl García testing positive at Athletic Club and Chimy Ávila doing so at Osasuna. Fellow Osasuna strikers Kike García and Ante Budimir should be back from COVID-19 in time for this game, but neither will have had much time on the training pitch in the days before.

This could, then, be a game that lacks goals. There’s not too much value on the under, but that does look like the way to go.

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Cádiz vs Sevilla

Matchday 19 concludes with Cádiz vs Sevilla on Monday night. This is an all-Andalusian matchup, although this isn’t a particularly intense rivalry. Likewise, we shouldn’t expect a particularly intense game, as Sevilla will likely dominate possession (they have the third highest possession in the league, with 59.4% on average) and Cádiz will likely let their guests have the ball (Cádiz have the lowest possession in the league, with 34.8% on average).

Sevilla are a better team than Cádiz and are rightly the big favourites for this game, but this is the kind of opponent they tend to struggle to break down. Over 90 minutes, they should find a way, but this shouldn’t be a big Sevilla victory, especially with their forward line depleted by injury and COVID-19.

Cádiz’s absences for this game are also mostly in attack, with strikers Rubén Sobrino and Choco Lozano and wingers Salvi Sánchez and Alberto Perea all doubtful, at least two days out from it. With the home side likely to struggle in front of goal and with Sevilla set to come up against a defensive wall of yellow shirts, this could be a low-scoring affair and a bet on under 2.5 goals might be the way to go here.

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