Real Oviedo vs Barcelona Prediction: Back Barca to Win to Nil

Our La Liga Betting Expert Mark Sochon is back in profit for the season after 20/21 and 13/5 winners in his Levante vs Real Madrid preview earlier in the week.

He previews Real Oviedo vs Barcelona for us this Thursday night. Kick-off is set for 20:30 UK time with Premier Sports 1 showing the match live. You can check out his Real Oviedo vs Barcelona Predictions below...

*You can check out all the Football Odds and markets on offer with us over at betfred.com

Match Preview:

Barcelona are in Asturias this week to take on newly promoted Real Oviedo in La Liga. The Catalans have not visited the Estadio Carlos Tartiere since 2001, and there's sure to be a cracking atmosphere on Thursday night. 

That shouldn't really faze the away team who successfully negotiated something similar at St James' Park this time last week. It took them until the 58th minute to find a breakthrough in their Champions League opener, with Marcus Rashford's brilliant brace ultimately the difference between the sides in a 2-1 win. 

Rashford found himself only on the bench on Sunday against Getafe. Reports suggest the Englishman was two minutes late to a pre-game meeting, and he was duly removed from the starting lineup by Hansi Flick, who inflicted a similar punishment on Raphinha for the same reason the weekend before. 

The German sets high standards on and off the pitch, and it's hard to question his methods given the drastic improvement we've seen from Barça under his leadership. 

His side made it five wins from six competitive games this term by easing past Getafe 3-0. They bossed the game throughout, with Ferran Torres scoring twice and going very close to completing his hat-trick before the break. The Spain international has netted four times in La Liga already, and is currently ahead of Robert Lewandowski in the pecking order up front. 

Despite their strong start, Barcelona are five points behind Real Madrid heading into this match, having played a game fewer. That adds a degree of pressure, but they'll fancy their chances of taking care of business against a limited Oviedo side. 

The Asturians were dealt a really tough set of opening fixtures on their long-awaited return to the top flight. They've already hosted Real Madrid and travelled to Villarreal, losing both of those games to nil. 

More worryingly, trips to Getafe and Elche have produced the same outcome since the international break. However, they have got three points already on the board, after an excellent strike from Leander Dendoncker was enough to seal a 1-0 win against Real Sociedad in their last outing at home. 

That remains the only goal that La Liga's lowest scorers have netted. In Europe's big five leagues, only Udinese and Lecce have created fewer than Oviedo's total of 3.3 xG, while they are also the joint-lowest scorers across the continent's major leagues. 

It's fair to say that Veljko Paunović has a big job on his hands. Survival was always going to be the only realistic target this term, but the Serbian coach could have done with a bit more help in terms of fresh recruits.  

The 2024/25 Segunda División play-off winners only spent €3.5m in the summer, and were mostly reliant on loan deals and free transfers. They look particularly short in the striker department, with 35-year-old Salomón Rondón unlikely to be the player who scores the goals to keep them up. 

Team News: 

The home team's attacking options are further depleted by a suspension for forward Federico Viñas, who was sent off in a 2-0 defeat at the Estadio Coliseum following the international break. 

They also have some significant injury problems. Álvaro Lemos, Luka Ilić and Nacho Vidal will definitely miss this game. David Costas and Ovie Ejaria are also major doubts, with the former an important part of the defence that spearheaded their promotion push last term. 

As for Barcelona, Ballon d'Or runner-up Lamine Yamal is set to miss out again due to injury. They've also been dealt a fresh setback this week with Gavi now expected to miss a large part of the season due to a knee issue. Marc-André ter Stegen and Fermín López are also dealing with issues and will miss this fixture, while Alejandro Balde is rated doubtful. 

We should see some light rotation from Flick. Rashford is likely to earn a recall, while Pau Cubarsí, Marc Casadó and Ronald Araújo are also pushing for starting roles. 

Match Odds: 

Real Oviedo are priced at 10/1 to record a famous victory on Thursday evening. You can back the Draw at 5/1, but Barcelona are the clear favourites at 1/4. 

If you're expecting the visitors to cruise to an easy win, you can back Barcelona with a -2.00 Handicap at 13/8. Flick's side are also on offer at 5/6 to score over 2.5 goals in the game, while you can back them to win both halves at 7/5. 

The hosts are priced at 4/6 to score over 0.5 goals, while you can back them to win either half at 16/5. Both teams to score is on offer at 4/5. 

Inevitably, Barça players dominate the goalscorer markets. You can back Ferran to score first for the second time in five days at odds of 10/3. Raphinha is on offer at 4/1 in the same market, with the Brazilian also priced at 1/1 to score anytime. 

If you fancy Rashford to respond to his benching with a big performance, you can back the Man United loanee to score first at 4/1, while he's priced at 11/10 to score anytime.

You can bet on this match via our Real Oviedo vs Barcelona Odds page on the main betfred.com website, with all the latest prices and full betting markets.

Bet 1 - Ferran Torres to score anytime @ 5/6 

Lewandowski has been available for more than a month now, but Ferran has still started all five matches in La Liga, netting four goals. He looks the most likely candidate to lead the line in this game, having been withdrawn on 60 minutes at the weekend, presumably because Flick wanted to keep him fresh for this fixture. 

The 25-year-old has been criticised at various points in his Barcelona career, following his move from Manchester City in 2022. However, like so many of his teammates, he has produced his best football under Flick. Ferran has been exceptional throughout 2025, and is averaging a goal every 86 minutes for club and country this term. 

In a fixture that the visitors should dominate, I'm backing Ferran to score anytime at 5/6. 

Bet 2 - Barcelona to win to nil @ 6/5 

Barça are capable of being so dominant in midfield that opposing teams barely get a sniff. We saw that for spells at Newcastle last week, while they restricted Getafe to only three attempts on Sunday. 

Up against a Real Oviedo side that is only averaging a 39.5% share of the ball this season, the clear expectation is that the visitors enjoy almost total control in the centre of the pitch. The hosts will need to use the ball whenever they manage to win it back, but they've only shown brief flashes where they've looked in any way threatening in the final third. 

I can see them struggling to add to their one-goal tally in this match, and I'm backing Barcelona to win to nil at 6/5. 

Mystery Free Spins Offer:

What’s the only thing better than slots Free Spins? No deposit Free Spins, with no wagering requirements, that is what!

Opt in for the chance to win daily Free Spins prizes to play on our superb Casino Slots.

All you need to do is opt-in via the banner below, then open a Casino game every day for your chance to win up to 50 Free Spins. How many will you get? That’s the mystery!

Mark Sochon P/L 25/26 Season:

• Points Staked: 36
• Points Returned: 38.46
• P/L: +2.46