Football Betting Tips: Best Bets from La Liga for Matchday 12
It was a profitable Best Bets column for our Spanish Football expert last week as two of his three selections came in, including an over 62.5 booking points selection in Getafe vs Valencia that would've been good for over 99.5pts!
As always, he picks out his three best Football Betting Tips for the weekend across La Liga with one from a game on Saturday and two from Sunday's schedule...
Football Betting Tips - La Liga Matchday 12
Osasuna vs Real Valladolid (Saturday 13:00)
Osasuna have been one of the surprise packages in La Liga so far this term. The general consensus was that they may struggle following the departure of long-serving boss Jagoba Arrasate who had done a stellar job in establishing them as a solid mid-table side over a number of years.
Vicente Moreno's appointment was not greeted with universal excitement, not least given he took just two points from seven games before being sacked by Almería at the start of last season. However, the 50-year-old has made a really impressive start to life in Pamplona.
He has quickly settled on eight or nine regulars who form the spine of this side and Osasuna have looked much better in the final third than was the case last term. The signing of exciting winger Bryan Zaragoza on loan from Bayern Munich has been a big factor in that, while young attacking midfielder Aimar Oroz has also kicked on.
Those two, along with striker Ante Budimir who has scored 22 league goals since the start of last season, ensures they are creating problems for opposing defences, particularly at El Sadar where they've won four out of six so far. That includes an impressive 4-2 victory over Barcelona, still the only points the Catalans have dropped.
Fresh from an excellent 2-0 win at Real Sociedad last time out, Osasuna should be full of confidence heading into this game and they ought to have plenty of joy in the final third against what is statistically La Liga's worst defence.
Newly promoted Real Valladolid have let in 23 goals across their 11 matches so far and they've conceded twice in each of their last five. While they picked up a surprise 3-2 win at Alavés in their most recent away game, this is still a side that overall looks short on the kind of quality needed to survive at this level.
They gave up a lot of chances in their home game against Villarreal last weekend and could easily have conceded more than two goals. With Osasuna playing well, I'm backing Over 1.5 home goals at 5/6 here.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Atlético Madrid vs Las Palmas (Sunday 13:00)
The season started with a great deal of optimism in the red and white half of Madrid. Atleti spent more money in the summer than any other Champions League club, with Robin Le Normand, Alexander Sørloth, Julián Alvarez and Conor Gallagher arriving.
They were all players with enough top level experience to suggest they could make an immediate impression, but so far Diego Simeone has struggled to find the right formula to get the best out of a much improved squad.
Recent games have made for particularly bleak viewing for Atleti fans. They'd won just twice in eight matches heading into a midweek Copa del Rey tie against sixth tier minnows UE Vic and it took them 81 minutes to find a breakthrough in that game which they finally won 2-0 thanks to a brace from substitute Alvarez.
Simeone has been tinkering with his system and personnel from week to week without getting any closer to solving some of their fundamental flaws. Unquestionably, the injury absence of Le Normand has had a big impact in recent weeks and helps explain why they'd kept just one clean sheet in nine before a cup tie they were expected to win at a canter.
Le Normand, who suffered a serious head injury in the Madrid derby, will not be back in time for Sunday's visit of Las Palmas, so there's a good chance the defensive uncertainty will continue without the Spain international at the heart of the backline.
Their opponents are experiencing a real new manager bounce under the guidance of the recently appointed Diego Martínez. The Canary Islanders had gone eight months without a league victory when he was appointed in October, but it has been a brilliant start for the former Granada boss, with three wins out of three in all competitions so far.
His reign commenced with a crucial 3-2 win at fellow strugglers Valencia and they backed that up with a 1-0 triumph over Girona last weekend. Unlike Atleti, they made light work of lowly opponents in the cup, firing in seven unanswered goals against Ontiñena on Thursday.
Even before the change, Las Palmas had been doing some good things in the final third with youngster Alberto Moleiro particularly impressive. They've only failed to score twice this season and all six of their matches against current top half teams have seen both sides score.
Given that and Atleti's current issues at the back, I'm backing Both teams to score at 6/5 here.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
Athletic Club vs Real Betis (Sunday 20:00)
This is one of the most eye-catching fixtures this weekend in La Liga as two top six sides go head to head at San Mamés.
Both sides are in pretty good form with four wins from their last seven in the league. Betis upset Atlético Madrid at the Estadio Benito Villamarín last weekend and Manuel Pellegrini deserves a great deal of credit for adapting to some major injury blows, by settling on a 4-4-2 system in recent weeks which has been working pretty well.
I can see them being a bit more vulnerable in this game though, particularly given their problems at right-back. That is the one position you don't want to be weak when coming up against Athletic, given they have Spain star Nico Williams operating on the left wing.
Héctor Bellerín and Youssouf Sabaly are their two main options in the position, but the former is an injury doubt for this one, while the latter is only just returning from a lengthy absence. Aitor Ruibal filled in there last time out in La Liga, but he has also picked up an injury that will rule him out in Bilbao, so it's certainly an area for the home team to target.
The two sides currently have identical records of 18 points from 11 matches, but assuming European distractions don't get in the way, Athletic should have the better season overall. They have perhaps a little bit more quality across the pitch and they can also count on a formidable home record. The Basque giants have won five of their last seven in all competitions in front of their own fans and have only been defeated in one of their last 29 home games overall.
It's very much a case of fortress San Mamés for Ernesto Valverde's side. The former Barça boss should have a fully fit squad to pick from here, with the exception of long-term absentee Unai Simón.
They've not played since Monday, so they should be fresh and ready to go here and I'm backing Athletic to win at 9/10.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
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...
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