Osasuna v Alavés

This tie is one of the hardest to predict across the weekend action in La Liga. The hosts, Osasuna, are one of LaLiga’s more inconsistent and unpredictable teams, while Alavés have had a change of management this week.

That is, in particular, down to the appointment of Julio Velázquez as Alavés’ new coach. He will be making his Primera División debut in the dugout and having only worked with his new squad for three days, it’s hard to tell quite how he will line-up his Alavés team and what approach they will take

Osasuna have only won four games at El Sadar all season, but Alavés have lost 11 of 15 away fixtures this season, with their only away win coming in October and only one point on the road in 2022. What’s more, of Osasuna’s four home wins, two have come in their last two fixtures.

That means that the best bet for this tie would be for an Osasuna victory over Alavés. The visitors have conceded seven in their last two games and it’ll be a tough task for Velázquez to shore up a leaky defence quite so immediately as he begins his reign.

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Espanyol v Celta Vigo

12th in La Liga host 11th on Sunday afternoon in one of the weekend’s least consequential fixtures as Celta Vigo travel to face Espanyol. Both teams find themselves some distance away from danger while also having bid farewell to any dreams of a European pursuit.

The RCDE Stadium has become something of a fortress for Espanyol this season, with Sevilla and Barcelona two of the latest teams to only take a point away from Cornella, while the Pericos have won their last two home fixtures. Two key players could be missing, with top scorer Raúl de Tomás and goalkeeper Diego López both injury doubts, but Vicente Moreno is keeping his cards close to his chest on their fitness.

Celta Vigo, meanwhile, come into this tie in a sticky patch of form. They have won only once in their last seven, needing a 97th minute penalty winner to beat relegation candidates Mallorca at home. At the RCDE Stadium, they have recorded only one victory from 10 visits, which came in 2016.

It would be a good idea to hedge your bet a little by including draw no bet given that five of the last six meetings between these two teams ended with the scores level, and the injury doubts which surround some of Espanyol’s stars. 

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Elche v Real Sociedad

In-form Real Sociedad travel to face an Elche side who are comfortable but not quite yet safe with a six-point advantage over the bottom three in LaLiga. Imanol Alguacil’s team have plenty to play for, though, as they seek to make up a two-point deficit to secure a Europa League place in the fifth spot currently occupied by Real Betis.

Home team Elche will be without their topscorer Lucas Boyé as he misses out with injury, meaning that goalscoring expectations will be put on Pere Milla. Real Sociedad remain without their leading goalscorer too, following Mikel Oyarzabal’s torn anterior cruciate ligament, and midfield conductor Mikel Merino is a doubt having only trained on Friday due to a toe injury.

The visitors are in excellent form, with 13 points from the last 18 available in LaLiga, and have continued to grind out results even without Oyarzabal. That said, they have scored just five goals from 10.44 xG over that same period, and only one of the four wins have come by more than a single-goal margin.

Between the two teams, they average 2.18 goals per game this season, but Real Sociedad have only had over 2.5 goals in 23% of matches this season and have kept clean sheets in five of their last six, with leaders Real Madrid the only team to score against them in that run. Last time these two sides met in September, Oyarzabal was the only man on the scoresheet in a 1-0 win.

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Levante v Barcelona

Levante’s form has picked up of late, with two wins and two draw from their last six, including a three-match unbeaten run at the Estadi Ciutat de València. The more concerning news is that starting central defender Martin Cáceres and Shkodran Mustafi will both be out with injuries. That puts at risk the defensive solidity which has seen them keep clean sheets in two of those last three home matches.

Barcelona come into the game confident, too. Their last two fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League and Sevilla in LaLiga have provided tough tests, and they’ll relish the kind of space and freedom that they should be able to exploit against Levante. With an average of 3.2 goals scored per game over the last six games, they’ll be optimistic of winning comfortably.

The only doubt would be if Xavi were to rotate his squad. Gerard Piqué will be unavailable after picking up an injury in Europa League action, but key players like Ousmane Dembélé and Frenkie de Jong were both rested and introduced as substitutes so are likely to start in Valencia. In attack, Gavi or Adama Traoré could also come in to give a rest to Ferran Torres, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looks good value at 4.2 first goalscorer.

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Rayo Vallecano v Valencia

Rayo Vallecano appeared to take one step forward and two steps back last time out against Granada. Leading 2-0 until the 67th minute, they were on course for a first win in 2022 and a first away win since September, but ended up drawing 2-2. Perhaps even more importantly, red cards for influential midfielder Santi Comesaña and coach Andoni Iraola mean that Rayo will be without both men for the tie against Valencia.

The good news for the home team is that playmaker Óscar Trejo and fellow midfielder Óscar Valentín will both be available after suspension and injury, but Radamel Falcao and first-choice central defender Esteban Saveljich could join Comesaña and Iraola in the stands and would be unlikely to feature even if they are fit enough to make the bench.

Valencia, on the other hand, are unbeaten in six and have taken seven points from a possible nine in their last three away games. José Bordalás has established some defensive stability in his team, with only one goal conceded during that unbeaten run, that goal being an own goal in a 3-1 win over Granada.

The influence of Estadio de Vallecas has waned in this calendar year, and Valencia will be optimistic that they can join Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Osasuna, Real Betis and Athletic Club in getting a win at Rayo’s home stadium.

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