Football Betting Tips: Mark’s Best Bets for Matchday 21 in La Liga

It was a mixed Matchday 20 in La Liga for our Spanish Football Betting Expert as a 21/20 win was sweet but the other two bets came up just short.

He looks to go again with his three selections for Matchday 21 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

Mallorca vs Real Betis (Saturday 13:00) 

Saturday's action in Spain kicks off in the Balearic Islands. It's a good opportunity for Mallorca to further their European ambitions, by defeating a team that has qualified for continental competition in each of the last four seasons. 

There's still a chance that Real Betis could make Europe again this term. They are only three points off 7th and five behind Mallorca who currently occupy 6th. However, this now feels like the least convincing Betis side we've seen at any point during the Manuel Pellegrini era which is nearly five years old. 

There was speculation that the Chilean might leave last summer, and privately he may feel as though he has stayed for one season too many. Betis have sold important players in virtually every transfer window over the past couple of years, and while they have brought plenty in, it does feel as though standards have slipped overall. 

Pellegrini is constantly having to adapt and rethink his plans, with first choice keeper Rui Silva the latest to be sold. That looks to have had an unsettling effect on the whole defence, with Betis shipping nine goals in their last three matches, all of which have ended in defeat. 

Selection issues have also played a part in two poor league losses against struggling Real Valladolid and Alavés since the turn of the year. They have even bigger problems on that front here, with eight players ruled out through injury, while Romain Perraud and Nobel Mendy are both suspended. 

Pellegrini may be forced to deploy midfielder Marc Roca in defence as a result. That's far from the ideal scenario against a Mallorca side that is fronted by one of the most physically imposing target men in the business, in the shape of Vedat Muriqi. He'll certainly fancy his chances of winning the aerial battle for the home team who have blown hot and cold in recent weeks. 

They were a mess on Monday, conceding four goals in the space of eight disastrous minutes to lose heavily at Villarreal. They also lost 5-1 at home to Barcelona in December, but it's still four wins from their last seven in La Liga overall and Jagoba Arrasate's side have tended to respond well to setbacks, so we perhaps shouldn't read too much into their 4-0 loss at the Estadi de la Ceràmica. 

Betis conceded two late goals to lose against Alavés last weekend and their selection issues are so extensive that they'll have very little on the bench here. That could be a significant problem the longer this game goes on, and I'm backing Mallorca to score over 0.5 second half goals at 4/5. 

Sevilla vs Espanyol (Saturday 17:30) 

Sevilla caused a bit of an upset last weekend, with a deserved 2-1 win at Girona. It was surely their best performance since the summer appointment of García Pimienta and it feels like there may be a glimmer of hope for Sevilla fans at last, after a pretty gloomy few years. 

While this current crop is still in no way comparable to the strong Sevilla sides of yesteryear, they do have a few good players and a strong spine is starting to emerge that suggests they are heading in the right direction. 

Loïc Badé is the key man at the back, and while his future is uncertain amidst serious interest from Aston Villa, the latest reports suggest the Frenchman is happy to stay at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán beyond this window. 

22-year-old José Ángel Carmona is also an emerging talent at right-back, while we are starting to see the best of Saúl Ñíguez in midfield, with the Atlético Madrid loanee scoring and assisting at Girona last weekend. That's a major boost for Sevilla who have been heavily reliant on Dodi Lukebakio this season in attack, with the Belgian winger scoring 39% of their league goals. 

The Andalusians have been quite strong at home this season, winning half of their league games in front of their own fans, while a brace from Lukebakio sealed victory in the reverse fixture against Espanyol back in October. 

There's plenty of reason to think this could head in the same direction. If Sevilla play as well as they did last time out, they should defeat Catalan opposition for the second weekend running. 

Espanyol were also winners on matchday 20, seeing off Real Valladolid in a key relegation six-pointer, but it wasn't a particularly convincing performance. They remain in the bottom three, and that's largely the result of La Liga's worst away record. 

Manolo González's side have picked up just one point from their nine road games this term. Even that draw came in very fortuitous fashion against Atlético Madrid and it's hard to make a case for them getting a result here. 

With Pimienta's side averaging 5.80 corners per home game, compared to Espanyol's 3.44 away in La Liga, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Sevilla to win and Sevlla most corners at 13/10. 

Alavés vs Celta Vigo (Monday 20:00) 

The Monday night game in Spain this week comes from the Basque Country, and it sees recently appointed Alavés boss Chacho Coudet come up against the only other club he has previously coached in Europe. 

Coudet was something of an unknown quantity when he took charge of Celta Vigo in 2020. His impact was immediate, with five straight victories and an attacking 4-1-3-2 system initially taking La Liga by storm. While his reign did ultimately peter out to some extent, with the Argentine losing his job after two years in the role, he's still quite highly thought of in Galicia. 

At Alavés, he doesn't have quite as much attacking talent to work with, but he has got a response out of a group of players that have delivered one win, three draws and one defeat so far under Coudet's guidance. 

That solitary victory came last time out, with Kike García firing in a hat-trick at the Benito Villamarín, as Alavés stunned Betis with a surprise 3-1 win.

The 35-year-old striker has been the main beneficiary of the change in the dugout, with seven goals in six matches in all competitions since Luis García was sacked. The entire Alavés squad should be feeling positive after their performance last weekend though, and right now they've no reason to fear a home game against Celta Vigo. 

Claudio Giráldez's side are going through a bit of a slump, with defeats in four of their last six league games. They could only manage three shots at home against Athletic Club last weekend, and their away form has been very poor all season, with seven of their nine road fixtures in La Liga ending in defeat. 

This is a young squad, with Giráldez putting huge faith in a number of his former B team players since his promotion to the top job early last year. However, they do appear a bit soft and naive in their approach at times when they play away. 

They are also missing two of their best and most experienced players here, with Iago Aspas injured, while Óscar Mingueza is suspended. 

There's not much to separate the sides in terms of the odds heading into this game, but I see the home team as much the more likely victors, and I'm backing Alavés at 4/5 in the Draw no bet market. 

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...