Barca will kick off season with away win
Athletic Bilbao [5.4] v Barcelona [1.72]; The Draw [4.1]
Friday 16 August, 20:00
Live on Betfair Live Video
Barcelona’s defence of last season’s title win begins on Friday night, when they travel to Athletic Bilbao.
They have won La Liga in both of their seasons under Ernesto Valverde, but the manager remains under some pressure, due to failures in the Champions League. With the club having spent big in the summer on two world class additions to the squad, that pressure will intensify.
Frenkie de Jong has been signed from Ajax and the Dutch midfielder looks like a player with the potential to fill the gap left first by Xavi and then Andres Iniesta. The pursuit of Antoine Griezmann finally ended in July, giving Barca unbelievable strength in depth in attack.
With Lionel Messi likely to be injured for the opener, that strength could be necessary to break down at Athletic Bilbao side who tend to keep things tight. Despite finishing eighth, only four teams scored less than Bilbao in La Liga last season. The fact that they had the sixth best defensive record, kept them competitive.
The price of [1.72] for a Barcelona win is a decent one, but the lack of goals at both ends when Bilbao play, gives you a couple of good options to boost that price. Barcelona are [3.0] to win to nil and [4.5] to claim victory in a match that produces under 2.5 goals.
Goals at both ends likely as Zidane struggles to plug defence
Celta Vigo [5.5] v Real Madrid [1.65]; The Draw [4.3]
Saturday 17 August, 16:00
Real Madrid have had a torrid pre-season to the extent that their early season results will come under some scrutiny.
This is always the case with Real Madrid of course, but after the disaster of last season and a summer of heavy spending, results need to improve. The return of Zinedine Zidane in March did not have the impact that was expected and over the summer there have been some humiliating performances.
A 7-3 drubbing by Atletico Madrid was the most alarming result and an example of a scoreline that would surely not be tolerated once the season starts for real. In just seven pre-season fixtures, Madrid have conceded 18 goals.
They are expected to beat a Celta Vigo side that only just avoided relegation last season, but the hosts could make things difficult. They have responded to their poor display in 2018-19 with a busy summer in the transfer market, with Santi Mina and Denis Suarez both looking like astute additions.
Real Madrid should of course win given the talent within their ranks, but they are too short a price. So too is the [1.53] for Both Teams To Score, so instead go for over 3.5 goals at [2.3].
Atletico a very different team this season
Atletico Madrid [1.46] v Getafe [8.8]; The Draw [4.2]
Sunday 18 August, 21:00
It’s been all change at Atletico and they go into the season, with a real feeling of this being a new era for the club.
The talismanic Antoine Griezmann has gone and so too have several long-serving members of Diego Simeone’s formidable defence, most noticeably Diego Godin. The back four have also lost the protection from the defensive midfielder Rodri, who departed for Manchester City this summer.
It may well prove then that it takes some time for Atletico to become as defensively organised as in past seasons, with Simeone trying to integrate a large number of new players into the starting lineup. That puts extra pressure on the attackers, especially new signing Joao Felix, despite his tender age. Felix is just 19, but he hasn’t been signed for €126m to have a season where he merely shows promise.
At a time of such transition, Atletico are perhaps a little overrated against a Getafe side that only missed out on Champions League qualification by two points last season. The value can be found by going against Atletico’s longstanding reputation as a defensive side and backing over 2.5 goals at [2.3].
Source: Betfair Spanish La Liga
