Football Betting Tips: Best Bets from La Liga for Matchday 11

It was one from three last week for our Spanish Football expert in his Best Bets column but a 99th minute goal robbed him of another winner.

As always, he picks out his Best Football Betting Tips for the weekend over in Spain, so check out his selections for Matchday 11...

Real Valladolid vs Villarreal (Saturday 13:00) 

Saturday's action in La Liga kicks off at the José Zorrilla with newly promoted Real Valladolid hoping to build on a surprise win at Alavés last time out. That result might just have kept Paulo Pezzolano in a job, but they remain in the relegation zone heading into matchday 11. 

This will be a much tougher game against a Villarreal side that has only been defeated this season by Real Madrid and Barcelona. Spain's big two look a class above all the other teams in the division this season, but Marcelino's side are making quite a strong case right now to suggest they are one of the very best of the rest. 

They are the third highest scorers in the division with 18 goals and that's despite injuries to forwards Gerard Moreno and Ayoze Pérez which have hampered them in recent weeks. Ayoze is back in contention for this game though and he has been in the form of his life since moving to the Estadio de la Cerámica with his six strikes coming at a rate of one every 412 minutes. 

Villarreal have more variation in terms of their attacking options this term with Thierno Barry and Nicolas Pépé injecting pace into their forward-line, while they are still blessed with the creativity of Dani Parejo and Álex Baena, with the latter assisting a league high 19 goals since the start of last season. 

Up against La Liga's leakiest defence, Villarreal should certainly be capable of having plenty of joy in the final third here and their superior quality in that area of the pitch suggests they are very capable of winning this. 

Unquestionably though, the visiting team's achilles heel remains the defence and they are still awaiting their first clean sheet of the campaign. Real Valladolid are not blessed with great quality in the final third, but young winger Raúl Moro looks a bright prospect and having scored three last time out, there should be a goal in this for the hosts. 

Given that, I'm going with Villarreal or Draw and Both teams to score at 19/20 via the Bet Builder. 

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Las Palmas vs Girona (Saturday 17:30) 

Las Palmas were starting to look like a hopeless cause when they were beaten 1-0 at home by nine-man Celta Vigo just prior to the international break. That extended their winless run in La Liga to 23 games and led to the dismissal of Luis Carrión who only took the job in the summer. 

However, it's funny what a managerial change and a win can do in terms of lifting the mood of a football club. Having upset Valencia 3-2 at Mestalla on Monday in new boss Diego Martínez's first game in charge, there is suddenly a fresh wave of optimism in Gran Canaria heading into this game. 

That optimism is not entirely unfounded. While they are a flawed team in some departments, Las Palmas had been playing some good football under Carrión and they managed to hold Real Madrid to a draw earlier in the campaign. Martínez was quick to credit his predecessor for laying the groundwork for Monday's win and they are the highest scoring team in the bottom six. 

A relegation battle is still most likely the direction their campaign is heading in, but there's every chance we could see a continuation of a new manager bounce this weekend. 

Martínez was regarded as perhaps the brightest young coach in Spain only a few years ago following a hugely successful stint in charge of Granada who he took from the second tier into Europe. He probably merited a bigger job than the Espanyol role he eventually took after departing Los Cármenes and while it didn't work out for Martínez in Catalonia, his appointment feels like a major coup for Las Palmas given the position they are in. 

They have every chance in this game against a Girona side that is not the force it was last term. While they won their first ever European game in midweek, that was not an altogether surprising result coming at home to Slovan Bratislava, arguably the weakest side in the Champions League. 

Míchel would most likely have wanted to freshen things up with some changes this weekend but his options are extremely limited with Girona set to be without as many as nine players due to injuries. Key defender Daley Blind may also only be fit enough to make the bench. 

Those selection issues have made a tough task in terms of rebuilding this Girona side even tougher for the visiting boss, and it's just one win in six league games for the Catalans. 

This might not be the best time for them to be heading to the Canary Islands given the recent change in the home dugout and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Las Palmas or Draw and Over 1.5 goals at 1/1. 

*You can check out all of the La Liga Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Getafe vs Valencia (Sunday 15:15) 

Getafe and Valencia face off on Sunday in what is La Liga's weirdest grudge match. These clubs are not local rivals and historically there was no reason for the clubs to dislike one another, but a series of ugly encounters over the past decade seem to have created a rivalry where one shouldn't really exist. 

Pepe Bordalás' stint as Getafe boss between 2016 and 2021 was largely the catalyst for that bad blood and he has since taken charge of Valencia, only to return to Getafe in 2023. There was little sign of hostilities ceasing with three players sent off in this fixture last season. Three of the last six meetings overall have also seen both sides reduced to 10 or fewer players. 

Sunday's latest clash seems like it could head in a similar direction, with both sides scrapping near the bottom of the table and looking short on quality in the final third of the pitch. 

Valencia were reduced to 10 men on Monday with key midfielder Pepelu sent off in their surprise home defeat against Las Palmas. That saw them sink to the bottom of the table and sparked angry scenes outside Mestalla after the game as supporters once again protested against the hugely unpopular ownership of Peter Lim. 

There is also pressure building on their boss Rubén Baraja with Valencia having won just one of their last 17 league games and now in danger of suffering what would be only their second ever relegation. 

Having scored just seven times in 10 matches, Getafe are also clear relegation candidates, but with Bordalás at the helm, they are still awkward opponents and a team that is capable of picking up scrappy results. That was the case last time out when they grabbed a late equaliser to take a creditable point at high-flying Villarreal. 

This has all the makings of a physical fixture that may be low on quality and given the history that exists between the two teams, I'm backing Over 62.50 booking points at 8/11. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...