Athletic Club v Elche

Sunday’s La Liga action will see Athletic Club looking to build some consistency up against a faltering Elche. The hosts have not been beaten in Bilbao since 2021, making up for more concerning away form with their displays in the Basque Country.

Athletic’s most recent home game, a 1-1 draw against Getafe, was a blip with an xG score of 2.64-0.56. That is more like the 3-1 thrashing of Levante and the emphatic 4-0 derby victory over Real Sociedad.

Marcelino will also be boosted by the return of forwards Nico Williams and Oihan Sancet to the ranks after injury, with Unai Vencedor also fit and fresh having returned early from international duty.

On the other hand, only Rayo Vallecano have scored fewer goals in the last six games than Elche, who have scored only one away goal in their last three games. Neither one of the team’s joint-top scorers Lucas Boyé and Pere Milla have scored in their last six outings, and a trip to San Mamés will not be an easy place to rediscover their goalscoring touch. 

Francisco will be able to count upon goalkeeper Édgar Badía, though he missed almost a week of training in the break due to illness, but that is unlikely to be enough to see Elche emerge with a point.

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Real Betis v Osasuna

Real Betis’ form has slipped of late, with only one win in their last four, but they have faced two of the top four in Sevilla and Atlético Madrid, in that timeframe. 

They will be confident of bouncing back against Osasuna at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. Their last home outing saw Betis far from their best, but they ground out a win over Athletic Club with 10 men and will need to produce a similar display against Osasuna.

The Pamplona-based side have been trounced by Betis’ top four rivals in recent weeks with a 4-0 loss to Barcelona and a 3-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid, and Betis will look to take advantage.

Betis are missing some key players, though. Centre-forward Borja Iglesias and attacking midfielder Sergio Canales are both absent due to injury. On a positive note, Willian José is a high-quality replacement for Iglesias and has been involved in four goals in his last six starts for Betis.

Osasuna have no new injuries, with Kike Barja and Jesús Areso both out for some time. However, coach Jagoba Arrasate has lost his lost four fixtures against Betis and has been beaten in all three previous clashes against Manuel Pellegrini, with only one goal scored and six conceded in those meetings.

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Granada v Rayo Vallecano

Granada’s form is giving hope to their fans that they can avoid relegation, sitting two points above the drop zone. New coach Rubén Torrecilla ended the team’s winless streak with a victory over Alavés before the international break at the perfect time. 

Perhaps most importantly, Colombian striker Luis Suárez ended a seven-game goal drought in Vitoria, and could be excellent value for first goalscorer at 5.0 to add to his seven league goals this season to date.

Rayo Vallecano’s struggles in 2022 show no sign of ending. Their last LaLiga win came on 18th December, while their last win on the road was way back in September. As a result, they now sit dangerously close to the relegation zone, with a six-point advantage, having previously been competing for Europe early on in the campaign.

What makes matters even worse for Andoni Iraola and his travelling squad is that they will be without captain Óscar Trejo due to suspension. The team’s leading playmaker, and second in the league tally for assists only to Karim Benzema, will be a huge miss in midfield and his likely replacement, Randy Nteka, is yet to register an assist all season.

A rejuvenated Granada and a confidence-drained Rayo Vallecano means that this result is likely to go one way only. Granada’s unpredictability does mean that it could be worth hedging your bet on a draw double chance, but a Rayo Vallecano win would be a real turn up for the books.

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Valencia v Cadiz

Valencia will welcome Cádiz on Sunday evening with all the pressure on the visitors as they seek to climb away from the bottom three having climbed out before the international break.

José Luis Gayá and Gabriel Paulista will both return to action for the home team as defensive reinforcements, while the attacking focus remains set entirely upon Gonçalo Guedes, who has scored three goals in his last five games and is excellent value at 7.0 first goalscorer.

Sergio González has made Cádiz a stronger side since he arrived at the club, but he is still struggling to get his team scoring away from home. Their last six games have involved an average of 1.3 goals per game, with four clean sheets kept in the process.

That means that a lack of goals is likely at Mestalla. With young goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili in the side, Valencia’s goals conceded per game drops to 1.1, down from 1.8 without him. He’s also kept three consecutive clean sheets before this fixture.

Another good bet could be to look at discipline. Valencia’s average of 3.4 yellow cards per 90 minutes across 29 games is the highest in LaLiga, and referee Isidro Díaz de Mera has dished out 6.14 yellow cards per game this season to date, the third highest figure among LaLiga referees. Cádiz, with 2.7 yellow cards per game, are no saints either.

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Barcelona v Sevilla

The blockbuster tie of the weekend pits an in-form Barcelona side up against one of only two teams above them in the LaLiga standings at Camp Nou.

Xavi’s team come into this one fresh off the back of a 4-0 win over Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and with confidence sky-high. They sit top of the form table over the last six games, with five wins and one draw.

Julen Lopetegui’s team have not enjoyed quite such impressive form. While they remain unbeaten since November in LaLiga, they have dropped points repeatedly of late, with four draws from their last six. Travelling to Camp Nou, and with a lengthy injury list to boot, will be their toughest domestic challenge since that defeat against Real Madrid late last year.

One key area to focus on will be Barcelona’s right flank. Ousmane Dembélé has been involved in eight goals in his last five LaLiga fixtures, while he’ll be up against Ludwig Augustinsson, Sevilla’s second-choice left-back. The three goals Sevilla have conceded in their past three games have all come down his side, and Dembélé could wreak havoc.

Those factors mean that Barcelona will be confident of yet another big win, which could move them second in the table. Sevilla are a hard team to beat, as two league defeats all season proves, none of them by more than a one goal margin, but Barcelona have scored four in four of their past six games, including against defensively solid teams like Atlético Madrid, Valencia, Osasuna and Athletic Club.

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Real Sociedad v Espanyol

Anyone who follows Real Sociedad knows that goals are hard to come by in San Sebastián. A whopping 93% of home games for La Real this season have ended with under 2.5 goals, and Espanyol have had under 2.5 goals in their last three games straight. 

The Basque side have won their last three home games in a row, all with under 2.5 goals and keeping a clean sheet in the process. Alex Remiro in goal is yet to concede a goal at the Reale Arena in the 2022 calendar year and has conceded only three league goals on home turf all season.

However, Mikel Merino is an injury doubt, which is a big concern for Imanol Alguacil given the importance of the midfielder to the team. He won’t be the biggest injury concern though, as Vicente Moreno knows that Espanyol could be without Raúl de Tomás after the Pericos’ top scorer pulled out of the Spain squad in the international break due to a muscle strain.

Espanyol have won only once away from home all season, against Valencia on New Year’s Eve, but they are also unbeaten in the last three. The Catalans are no pushovers, even despite their low number of away wins, and will look to grind out a result.

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