Football Betting Tips: Mark’s Best Bets for Matchday 15 in La Liga

Our resident Spanish Football expert Mark Sochon is back with his weekly look at La Liga as he picks out his three Best Bets from across the league this weekend.

You can check out all of his Football Betting Tips here as he previews Matchday 15 in Spain...

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

Espanyol vs Celta Vigo (Saturday 17:30)  

It hasn't been a vintage year for newly promoted teams in La Liga, with all three struggling. Play-off winners Espanyol are just one place off the bottom and in danger of becoming something of a yo-yo club, having suffered relegation from the top flight in 2020 and 2023.  

They've lost seven of their last eight league games and defensively have collapsed very quickly in recent weeks. They've been at least two down at the break in each of their last four La Liga matches and were 4-0 behind after just 27 minutes in the Catalan derby at Girona last time out.  

They've had some tricky fixtures in fairness, but the pressure is now really building on Manolo González. He doesn't have a great deal of options in terms of mixing up his eleven, but can at least take some encouragement from a record of three wins from six at home so far.  

Against Celta, they will get some space to play in and they do have one genuine danger man in the shape of Javi Puado who has scored five goals in his last seven appearances.  

The visitors are an attack-minded team and they've already shown this season they can cause problems for the very best teams. They've run the two big Madrid clubs close at Balaídos, while they staged a stirring late fightback to grab a deserved point in a 2-2 draw with Barcelona only last weekend.  

Along with Villarreal, they've been one of the most entertaining teams to watch in La Liga this term, with the fourth best goalscoring record, but joint fourth worst defence.  

They are posing a real threat with veteran forward Iago Aspas still creating plenty of opportunities, while wing-backs Hugo Álvarez and Óscar Mingueza have been integral to their attacking play.  

With Espanyol invariably getting on the scoresheet, but leaking goals, I'm expecting plenty of action in this game and am backing Over 2.5 goals at 10/11.  

Real Valladolid vs Atlético Madrid (Saturday 20:00)  

After a slow start to the campaign, Atlético Madrid are starting to find their feet and they make the relatively short trip to the José Zorrilla on the back of six straight victories in all competitions.  

Up against La Liga's bottom club, they're likely to make that seven this weekend. While it's true that not every performance in that winning run has been convincing, Diego Simeone would certainly have been happy with what he saw from his side in the Champions League in midweek.  

A 6-0 victory away to Sparta Prague leaves Atleti firmly back on course to reach the knockout stage. The win came in a match that saw experienced duo Koke and Antoine Griezmann left on the bench, and with a midfield that was stacked full of runners with Conor Gallagher, Giuliano Simeone and Pablo Barrios all starting.  

We're likely to see some rotation here, but it was perhaps a glimpse into the future for Atleti, with summer signings Alexander Sørloth and Julián Alvarez at the front of a 4-4-2 system that served Simeone so well during the club's golden years in the mid 2010's.  

One top performance alone against relatively limited opposition doesn't necessarily mean that the side from the Spanish capital are back as a major European power, but it was a step in the right direction and they should back it up against struggling Real Valladolid on Saturday.  

Paulo Pezzolano is fighting for his job at the newly promoted side who have lost six of their last eight in La Liga, and won only once since the opening day. The fact he remains at the helm is perhaps a reflection that the board, which is fronted by former Real Madrid and Brazil striker Ronaldo, is well aware that this is a limited squad and that a new coach would not necessarily get more out of it.  

21-year-old winger Raúl Moro has shown flashes of quality and chipped in with a few goals, but overall there hasn't been much to suggest this team is set for anything other than a brief stay in the top flight.  

That being said, Real Valladolid have tightened up a bit defensively and haven't conceded more than twice in any of their last 10 matches in all competitions. That suggests they should at least be able to keep the score down here and I'm backing Atlético Madrid and Under 3.5 goals at 1/1.  

Real Sociedad vs Real Betis (Sunday 20:00)  

Sunday's clash at the Reale Arena sees two teams who normally compete in the same area of La Liga meet. It's a similar story this season, with just two points and only one position separating Real Sociedad and Real Betis heading into matchday 15.  

Both sides are in a slight state of transition, but will be targeting European qualification again this term. It's certainly Real Sociedad who will head into the game in better spirits after a 2-0 win over in-form Ajax on Thursday in the Europa League, with Japanese international Take Kubo impressing with a goal and an assist.  

While Imanol's side have blown hot and cold and they were beaten in the Basque derby only last weekend, the overall trend is positive with five wins from their last eight in all competitions. 

The Real Sociedad boss has found a bit more continuity and seems to have developed a clearer picture of what his best eleven looks like. West Ham loanee Nayef Aguerd has had a significant role to play in terms of filling the void left by the influential Robin Le Normand in central defence, while fellow summer arrivals Sergio Gómez and Luka Sucic are also starting to settle. 

By contrast, midfield injuries have made it almost impossible for Manuel Pellegrini to really get Real Betis moving in the right direction in recent weeks. With Johnny Cardoso, Isco, William Carvalho, Pablo Fornals and Marc Roca all set to again miss this game, the veteran boss is very short on central options here and may need to turn to the B team and either Carlos Guirao or Mateo Flores just to complete the eleven. 

Those issues were certainly a factor in a surprise 2-1 UEFA Conference League defeat against Czech side Mladá Boleslav on Thursday. They were also beaten 4-2 at struggling Valencia in La Liga only last weekend, and it's likely they'll lose the midfield battle again here up against the likes of Martín Zubimendi who is having another strong campaign for La Real. 

It's a game that the home team should have much the better of as a result. The Basques have been playing well in recent home games, notably beating Barcelona in their last league outing at the Reale Arena. 

They've won more corners than their opponents in each of their last six competitive home fixtures and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Real Sociedad to win and Real Sociedad most corners at 8/5 here. 

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...