Dan Fitch thinks that Real Madrid will go temporarily top of the table, but expects Real Sociedad to move back ahead of them, as he previews the weekend La Liga action.
Xavi not had time to sort Barca defence
Barcelona 1.392/5 v Espanyol 9.28/1; The Draw 5.69/2
Saturday 20 November, 20:00
Live on LaLiga TV and Betfair Live Video
Xavi takes charge of his first game since becoming Barcelona manager and it’s a huge one.
No only is it the derby match against Espanyol, but Barcelona’s current position gives Xavi very little time before he starts to produce results. After twelve games they are ninth in La Liga (W4 D5 L3) and already eleven points behind the leaders Real Sociedad.
In their last match under temporary coach Sergi Barjuan, Barca looked to be cruising to victory, only to drop two points. Barcelona were 3-0 up at the break, away at Celta Vigo, only for the hosts to pull off a dramatic second-half comeback and draw 3-3.
Espanyol won their last outing before the international break, beating Granada 2-0. That result leaves them eleventh in the table, with only goal difference keeping them behind their local rivals. With Espanyol having scored in nine of their last ten games and Xavi not having had much time to sort out the Barcelona defence, both teams to score should land at 1.9310/11.
Goals are flowing for Real Madrid
Granada 7.413/2 v Real Madrid 1.491/2; The Draw 5.04/1
Sunday 21 November, 15:15
Live on LaLiga TV and Betfair Live Video
Real Madrid will have the chance to go top of La Liga when they travel to Granada in the Sunday afternoon match.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team are second in La Liga and trail Real Sociedad by just a point, while holding a game in hand. Unbeaten in six (W5 D1), Madrid had won each of their previous games prior to the international break, by a 2-1 scoreline, defeating Elche, Shakhtar and Rayo Vallecano.
The scoring ability of Real Madrid is keeping them in contention, despite the fact that the club’s defence is unreliable. They’ve scored 28 goals in twelve games in La Liga, with Karim Benzema grabbing ten of them and Vinicius Junior adding seven.
Though they lost their last game before the break, Granada have been in better form of late, rising out of the relegation zone and into 17th place. We have to expect Real Madrid to inflict another defeat and you can back a Real Madrid win and over 2.5 goals at 2.111/10.
Sociedad will end weekend on top
Real Sociedad 1.794/5 v Valencia 5.04/1; The Draw 3.9
Sunday 21 November, 20:00
Live on LaLiga TV and Betfair Live Video
The La Liga leaders Real Sociedad are likely to need a win against Valencia to retain their place at the pinnacle of the Spanish top flight.
Both Sevilla and Real Madrid only need a draw to rise above Sociedad and they are both likelier to take all three points than just one. It puts a certain amount of pressure on Sociedad, but with the team unbeaten in 16 games across all competitions (W9 D7), they should have confidence.
Before the international break, Sociedad won 2-0 at Osasuna. Only Barcelona have beaten them in the league this season and that was on the opening weekend. Since then they’ve run up a twelve match unbeaten spell in La Liga (W8 D4), conceding only six goals in that sequence.
Valencia made a fine start under their new manager Jose Bordalas, but have now only won one of their last nine games (D4 L4). Away from home they have not won in four games (D1 L3) and were well beaten by Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Betis. Sociedad look good value to inflict another defeat at 1.794/5.
Source: Betfair Spanish La Liga
