Football Betting Tips: Mark’s Best Bets for Matchday 18 in La Liga

It was a profitable week for our Spanish football expert in his Matchday 17 Best Bets column with two winners from three at 3/4 and 11/10.

He looks to go again with his three selections for Matchday 18 and he goes scouting for his Best Football Betting Tips for the weekend from La Liga...

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

Girona vs Real Valladolid (Friday 20:00) 

Girona head into this game, which rounds off a remarkable 2024 overall for the Catalan club, winless in six matches in all competitions. Following on from a much needed midweek rest, they'll fancy their chances of at least signing off for the year with a victory against relegation-threatened Real Valladolid. 

Having steered Girona into not only the Champions League, but Europe for the very first time, it has been a pretty rocky road for Míchel in the second half of the year. He had to oversee a radical squad overhaul in the summer, and his attempts to rebuild a competitive team have been hit hard by injuries. 

Given the quality that left following last season, it's perhaps no surprise that Girona have struggled on the Champions League stage, and in the tougher La Liga fixtures. However, there have still been times when they've played exciting, attacking football and overpowered teams at Montilivi. 

They've scored four on three occasions already at home in the league, including in wins over both Espanyol and Leganes during a three game winning streak last month. They face the other newly promoted side at home here, with Real Valladolid heading into the game with the worst defensive record in the Spanish top flight. 

There was a much-needed win for Real Valladolid, despite them only registering two shots, against Valencia last Friday, but they remain in the relegation zone having lost 11 of their 17 matches. 

They've since appointed former Mexico boss Diego Cocca on a contract until the end of the season. It's his first ever job in Europe, and it's a really tough gig, with this Real Valladolid side ranking amongst the most limited we've seen in La Liga in recent years. 

Two suspensions and injury doubts over regulars Luis Pérez and Raul Moro add to the sense that this is going to be a really difficult start for the new boss, and I'm backing Girona to win and Over 2.5 goals at 23/20. 

*You can read my colleagues full preview of the match with his Girona vs Real Valladolid Predictions.

Valencia vs Alavés (Sunday 13:00) 

Alavés are another team under new management, and it's two score draws from two games so far for Chacho Coudet, who surprisingly replaced Luis García earlier this month. 

Meanwhile, with just two wins from 23 games in La Liga since April, Valencia boss Rubén Baraja can probably count himself a little fortunate to still be in his job. Reports suggest the club are unwilling to pay a €5m severance package, news that will come as little surprise to anyone who has been following Los Che closely during Peter Lim's turbulent 10-year ownership. 

There have been some close brushes with relegation in recent years, but Valencia are in real danger this season. Rock bottom of the league, they head into this game having taken just one point from their last four, despite a fairly kind run of fixtures. 

In truth, they did perhaps merit a slightly bigger return from those games. They've had more shots and more corners than their opponents in each of their last three games, and some of their build-up play is reasonably good, even if the finishing touch is often lacking. 

Los Che actually average 7.71 corners per home game in La Liga this term, which is exceptionally high for a team propping up the table. Alavés by contrast are only averaging 2.89 corners per away game. 

That certainly suggests the home team will most likely come out on top in the corner count here, and they should get on the scoresheet too with the Basque side yet to keep an away clean sheet in the league. 

With former Celta Vigo boss Coudet at the helm, the expectation is that Alavés will take a few more risks and there have been 10 goals in their three matches in all competitions since the change. 

I can see there being at least a couple in this game too, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Over 1.5 goals and Valencia most corners at 7/5. 

Las Palmas vs Espanyol (Sunday 18:30) 

Espanyol make the long trip for some winter sun in the Canary Islands on Sunday, but it's three points they'll be after as they bid to give their survival prospects a major boost on the final weekend of La Liga action in 2024. 

They've had almost nothing to cheer about on their travels so far this season. While they did hang on for a 0-0 draw away to Atlético Madrid back in August, that remains their only away point this season in eight road outings. 

It's a desperate record, the worst in the Spanish top flight, but it's not a huge surprise given Manolo González was not really backed in the summer, following promotion via the Segunda División play-offs. 

Homegrown talent Javi Puado has been one of their few bright lights with six goals, the latest of which came in the 1-1 draw at home to Valencia in midweek. However, their travel sickness is becoming a big problem, and it's hard to make any real case for them getting a result here given the form Las Palmas are in. 

Since appointing Diego Martínez following a winless start to the campaign, the fortunes of Los Amarillos have completely transformed, and they've won seven out of 10 in all competitions since making the change. 

Martínez has been a bit more pragmatic than his predecessors who both favoured a much more patient, passing style, and he has secured some excellent results, including a shock 2-1 win at Barcelona and a goalless draw at Real Sociedad last weekend. 

There have also been some big improvements on an individual basis, including Sandro Ramírez who has scored three goals in his last three games to move onto six for the season, already his best tally in La Liga since a breakthrough campaign at Malaga eight years ago.  

Meanwhile, Wolves loanee Fábio Silva has also excelled, scoring or assisting in six of his seven La Liga outings since the change in the dugout. 

While the Canary Islanders will most likely suffer a dip in form at some point in the new year, with struggling Espanyol visiting, there's a strong chance the Martínez honeymoon period will roll on for at least another week here. I'm backing Las Palmas to win at 5/6. 

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...