5 bold La Liga predictions: Espanyol and Sevilla draw in battle of the contenders
Sevilla host Espanyol in a tasty clash, as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid look to take advantage. Here are five bold predictions for La Liga matchday 12.
Barcelona currently occupy top spot in La Liga. Their comeback win over Rayo Vallecano last week proved to be crucial as their closest rivals all dropped points. Espanyol were the only other side in the top six to win, which they did 1-0 over Athletic Bilbao on Monday night. Sevilla were held to a scoreless draw at the Anoeta, Atletico dropped points in a shock draw away to Leganes and Alaves were unable to hold on to a 1-0 lead after going down to 10 men even though Eibar scored both their goals after one of their own players had been sent off.
Real Madrid managed to beat Real Valladolid with two late goals in Santiago Solari’s first game in charge, so they’re currently in a Europa League spot. The highlight of the weekend came at the Benito Villamarin as Betis blew a two-goal lead before scoring a late equalizer in a topsy-turvy match against Celta Vigo. Here are five bold predictions for the weekend’s action.
5. Messi inspires Barca thrashing of Betis
Lionel Messi was named in the squad for the Internazionale clash at San Siro, but he ended up being dropped for the 18-man matchday squad as he continues to recover from injury. This suggests he’s close to finishing his recovery and should be involved against Real Betis. In his absence, Barcelona have won four and drawn one, although there’s no doubt they’re better with him in the side.
Betis’ last meeting with Barcelona will have been one they aimed to quickly forget as the Catalans dismantled them in a 5-0 victory at the Benito Villamarin. It was a match in which Barcelona showcased the effectiveness of their high pressing as they repeatedly forced and took advantage of mistakes from Los Verdiblancos in the buildup stage.
That match was when Betis were in a chaotic phase with multiple teething problems as Quique Setien implemented his ambitious ideas, so high-scoring games were common. The issue this season, in the league at least, has been a lack of goals. Prior to the last match they had only scored five in 10 games, conceding nine. Their possession play is much smoother in the buildup phase, but they struggle to break teams down and are susceptible to quick transitions.
Barcelona’s main issue has been keeping clean sheets because they only have two in the last 11 matches in all competitions. Neither of those were in the league. Their attacking firepower has seen them through in most games, though, as they’re top of the league and were the first team to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. Messi’s return should give them a major boost and Betis are likely to be the victims on the end of another humiliating scoreline.