Football Betting Tips: Mark’s Best Bets for Matchday 23 in La Liga

Matchday 22 in La Liga went off for our Spanish Football Expert in his Spanish Football Best Bets column a week ago as he had three winners from three, at 4/5, 11/8 and 6/4.

He looks to go back that up this week with his three selections for Matchday 23 and he goes scouting for his Best Football Betting Tips from La Liga...

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

Athletic Club vs Girona (Saturday 15:15) 

These two clubs both finished in the top five last season, but while Athletic Club have been really strong again this term, Girona have fallen away and look a shadow of the side that looked like genuine title challengers this time last year. 

That was always likely to happen given the number of key departures in the summer, but Míchel will still be disappointed with how the campaign has panned out, particularly in the Champions League where they lost seven of their eight matches. 

While they remain in contention to qualify for Europe again, Girona have amassed the vast majority of their points against weaker opposition, and time and time again, they've fallen short against the stronger teams this term. 

They've only won two games against top half opponents in La Liga, and their biggest scalp was unquestionably Athletic who they beat 2-1 in the reverse fixture at Montilivi in October. That was an extraordinary game, with Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga saving three penalties from three different players, before the Catalans won it with a penalty of their own in the 99th minute. 

It's likely to be a different outcome at San Mamés on Saturday. Athletic are incredibly strong at home, losing just one of their last 29 in La Liga in Bilbao. They are missing their star player Nico Williams to injury this weekend, although the 22-year-old has not been as impressive this season as he was at Euro 2024 or last term for his club.  

That should create an opportunity for Álex Berenguer to start on the left flank, and the 29-year-old is in good form, with assists in his last two matches, while he's registered at least one shot on target in four of his last five games in all competitions. 

Athletic have also recently been boosted by the return to fitness of attacking midfielder Oihan Sancet. He started and scored in their 2-2 draw at Real Betis last weekend, to take his season goal tally to eight goals in La Liga, more than any other player who could feature in this fixture. 

I expect both Sancet and Berenguer to be at the forefront of Athletic's attacking play and it's a game they should be the dominant force in. I'm using the Bet Builder to back Oihan Sancet 1+ shots on target and Álex Berenguer 1+ shots on target at 2/1. 

Las Palmas vs Villarreal (Saturday 17:30) 

It's the Yellows against the Yellow Submarine in Gran Canaria on Saturday, and it's a meeting between two teams who have experienced a real reversal in their respective fortunes since the turn of the year. 

Las Palmas were experiencing a classic case of the 'new manager bounce' at the back-end of 2024. They'd gone 23 league matches without a win when Diego Martínez took charge in October, but the ex-Granada boss had an instant impact, with Los Amarillos winning six out nine in La Liga to close out the year. 

They were a side that really didn't need the break over the festive period, and so it has proved, with a run of just one point from four league games so far in 2025, suggesting the Martínez honeymoon is well and truly over. 

With some significant selection issues on Saturday, there's little reason to believe things are going to get any better here, against a free-scoring Villarreal side that put five past Real Valladolid last weekend. 

Marcelino's men are La Liga's third-highest scorers behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, and they've netted four or more goals in three of their last five matches in the Spanish top flight. 

It's no surprise to see them scoring plenty. They have three really strong forward options in the shape of Ayoze Pérez, Thierno Barry and Gerard Moreno. While the latter is unavailable this weekend, there's every reason to expect Barry and Pérez, who averages a goal every 93 minutes in La Liga this term, to cause problems for the home defence. 

Villarreal also have Álex Baena, the player with the most assists in the Spanish top flight since the start of last season, providing quality service to the forward players. They've been really strong on the left flank of late, with Baena well supported by full-back Sergi Cardona who has four assists in his last three games, heading into this reunion with his old club. 

Overall, this is shaping up to be one of the most watchable games in Spain this weekend, but I can see the visitors being too strong for Las Palmas, and I'm backing Villarreal and Over 2.5 goals at 7/5. 

Alavés vs Getafe (Sunday 13:00) 

It's likely to be much tighter in Vitoria, where there's a relegation six-pointer between Alavés and Getafe. The visitors have been in decent form, but they still only hold a three-point advantage on their opponents who are in the drop-zone heading into matchday 23. 

Judging by his team selection in midweek's 5-0 Copa del Rey quarter-final defeat against Atlético Madrid, Getafe boss Pepe Bordalás believes his team still has plenty of work to do if they are to beat the drop, with a host of regulars rested ahead of this key league fixture. 

In many respects this has been a typical Getafe season. They've been cautious in their approach and excellent defensively, with only 17 goals conceded in 22 matches. Only Atleti have conceded less. However, they've also only scored 17 times, with just bottom club Real Valladolid netting fewer. 

They have gone four without defeat in the league to boost their survival prospects, but they were involved in a dreadful match last weekend at home to Sevilla. A 0-0 scoreline was a fair reflection on a game that produced 10 yellow cards, but only two shots on target. 

This is unlikely to be any easier on the eye. Alavés initially looked keen to show a bit more ambition under their new boss Chacho Coudet, but they've managed a grand total of just six shots across their last two league games, scoring with their only attempt on target in the 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo in their last outing at Mendizorrotza. 

Coudet has perhaps come to the conclusion that he doesn't really have the personnel to adopt a more attacking style of play, but he looks to have instilled some solid defensive foundations at least. We saw evidence of that last weekend, as Alavés did a good job of frustrating Barcelona for an hour, before Robert Lewandowski's solitary strike sealed a 1-0 win for Hansi Flick's side. 

Most things point towards this turning into a really scrappy and potentially feisty game, with few goals. A huge 86% of Getafe matches in La Liga this term have ended with two or fewer goals scored, while all of their matches in the league so far in 2025 have produced at least five yellow cards in total. 

I can see those trends continuing here, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Under 2.5 goals and Over 49.5 booking points at 4/5. 

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...