La Liga Matchday 1 Preview, Odds: Matches of the Week
Spanish Season Starts on Friday
Barcelona and Real Madrid Title Favorites Once Again
The Spanish Liga starts up on Friday as Almeria take on Rayo Vallecano. Bettors may be interested in the match between Europa League winners Sevilla and Valencia a couple hours later. Title favorites Real Madrid are in action one day later, as they head to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club. Barcelona will kick off their title defense at Getafe on Sunday after Villarreal host Real Betis. In an action-packed weekend in the Spanish top flight, we’ll run through the odds in our La Liga Matchday 1 Preview.
Matches of the Week
Sevilla vs Valencia
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Sevilla’s La Liga campaign in 2022-23 was disappointing, but they still managed European glory. In the Spanish La Liga standings, Sevilla finished in 12th place despite their Europa League win.
Valencia, typically one of Spain’s best clubs, also had an underwhelming year in 2022-23. They finished just two points outside the relegation zone, in 16th place. The two teams will face off to kick off the 2023-24 season and will both be relieved to start with a clean slate.
Heading into Friday’s season opener, Sevilla are +105 ATS and moneyline favorite. Valencia had quite a decent preseason, with four wins in five matches. They haven’t been very active in the transfer market this Summer, but Valencia +0.5 shows -135 odds here. Sevilla won just seven of their 19 home La Liga matches last season but were much improved under Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Sevilla are also unbeaten in their last nine games vs. Valencia, with a 6-3-0 record. A draw is priced at +235 odds as Valencia are +275 moneyline underdogs. Two of Valencia’s top-three scorers from last season are now gone, and they won just three road matches last season. Four of the last five meetings have finished with two or fewer goals, and under 2.5 goals sit at -140 odds here.
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid
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Our La Liga Matchday 1 Preview highlights this match as one of the best of the weekend. Expect Jude Bellingham to make his competitive debut for Real Madrid after making a €103 million move from Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid also brought in talented youngster Arda Guler from Fenerbahce but he may be eased into the lineup. There is a big hole in Los Blancos’ team now that Karim Benzema left for Saudi Arabia.
Athletic Club, from Bilbao, are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish history. However, they’ve been more of a mid-table side in recent seasons. Bilbao finished in ninth place last season, and center back Inigo Martinez has moved on to Barcelona. For Saturday’s match, Real Madrid are +125 favorites. Athletic Club’s La Liga scores vs. Real Madrid in recent seasons haven’t been great. They’ve been winless in the league vs. Real since 2015.
Bilbao are +255 underdogs at the San Mames, where they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid last season. However, they defeated Real in the Copa del Rey there in February. In all competitions, just one of the last 10 meetings has finished in a draw. Here, a draw displays +265 odds.
The handicap is set at pk, -0.5 for Real Madrid and bettors can take it at -118 odds. Meanwhile, Athletic pk, +0.5, comes in at -112 odds. Real will need players like Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo to take on more goalscoring responsibility now that Benzema is gone. Real also brought in Spain international Joselu from Espanyol to fill in up top.
Villarreal vs Real Betis
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Villarreal finished in fifth place in La Liga last season under Quique Setien. First up on their La Liga schedule in 2023-24 is Real Betis, who finished one place behind them. Both of these clubs will compete in the Europa League this season and have been active in bringing players in. Villarreal signed striker Alexander Sorloth from RB Leipzig to replace Nicolas Jackson, who left for Chelsea.
Center back Pau Torres and winger Samuel Chukwueze also departed Villarreal, and they’ve brought in Ben Brereton Diaz and Matteo Gabbia to try to replace them. The Yellow Submarine also signed Denis Suarez, Santi Comesana and Ramon Terrats in midfield.
Meanwhile, Real Betis signed Hector Bellerin, Ayoze Perez, Marc Bartra, Alex Collado, Marc Roca and Isco. It was frugal business, as Real Betis didn’t fork out a transfer fee for any of these players.
Villarreal lost just four home matches last season and come in at -135 moneyline odds here. Villarreal -0.5, -1 also shows -115 odds here. Meanwhile, Betis +0.5, +1 also displays -115 odds, and they went unbeaten vs. Villarreal last season. Betis are +345 moneyline underdogs and last won at Estadio de la Ceramica in 2021.
The last meeting, back in March, finished in a 1-1 draw and a draw stands at +300 odds here. None of the last four meetings have scored three or more goals, and under three goals display -150 odds here.
Getafe vs Barcelona
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Barcelona won their first La Liga title since 2019 in 2022-23. Xavi’s side were excellent defensively, in particular, and conceded just 20 goals all season. Our La Liga Matchday 1 preview notes that Barcelona have kept three straight shutouts vs. Sunday’s opponents, Getafe. Getafe were one of the lowest-scoring teams in La Liga last season, with just 34 goals in 38 games.
Here, Getafe are +500 home underdogs, but they did have a respectable 7-6-6 home record last season. Enes Unal scored nearly half of Getafe’s goals last season, but he’s likely out until 2024. So, a lot of goalscoring responsibility will fall on Borja Mayoral. Meanwhile, Barcelona have Robert Lewandowski to lead the line, and he finished last season as La Liga’s top scorer.
For Sunday’s match, Barcelona are -170 road favorites, and they went 13-1-5 away from home last season. Barcelona -0.5, -1 also comes in at -140 odds. Meanwhile, Getafe +0.5, +1 sits at +110.
The last three meetings between these two teams have finished with just one goal in total. Two of those matches ended in draws and a deadlock displays +300 odds here. Meanwhile, under 2.5 goals are priced at -125 odds for this La Liga season opener.
La Liga Matchday 1 Preview
