Football Bet of the Day: Spanish play-off should provide goals

All the attention may be on the international action as the World Cup draws nearer, but over in Spain, the Segunda Division play-offs are just getting underway. 

We’ve got a couple of first leg semi-finals to look forward to, with Las Palmas vs Malaga (8pm BST) getting my full attention for Sunday’s Football Bet of the Day.

Las Palmas vs Malaga Odds

These first legs can be tight, but I actually think that we will see a fair few goals as Las Palmas host Malaga. The home side scored 57 and conceded 40 in 42 regular league matches, and that defence is decent, but it is Malaga that I’m more interested in. 

Los Boquerones have been entertaining this term to say the least, scoring a huge 75 goals and conceding 52 as they finished fourth on 73 points. Goal difference is all that separated themselves and Las Palmas in fifth, which means we should get a very even contest at Gran Canaria stadium.

The club off the coast of Africa will hope to head to the mainland with a lead, but I see this as an equal contest. Luis Garcia’s men have seen both teams score in their last six games and there’s every reason to believe that that trend will continue in this play-off semi-final first leg. 

Football Odds

Malaga actually won both of these regular season meetings to nil, so we are going against the grain here but I cannot see Las Palmas failing to score given the goalscoring groove they have found themselves in. 

The away side have also seen both teams score in six of their last seven fixtures, which includes two 3-2 defeats, so they aren’t a solid team defensively despite their lofty league position. Also, 21-year-old striker Chupete has had an amazing season, scoring 22 goals in 39 league matches, with eight in his last six appearances. 

He should get on the scoresheet, while Las Palmas tend to share the goals around, with former Real Madrid and Stoke City winger Jese Rodriguez their top scorer with 10. I can see this first leg being an entertaining draw, with both teams unlikely to want to give the other an advantage as they head to Estadio La Rosaleda for the second leg. 

There’s good value to be had at 7/2 for BTTS and a draw in this one.