La Liga Matchday 9 Odds: Preview, Breakdown, Best Bets
El Clasico Back to Former Glory
Barcelona and Real Madrid Emerge as Strong Title Favorites
After a down year for Barcelona last season, they’ve been excellent in 2022-23. That means that El Clasico is back to being a must see fixture. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are level on 22 points and it looks like it’ll be a two-team title race this season. This weekend, defending La Liga champions Real and Barcelona will face off for the first time this season. El Clasico will, rightfully so, be the talk of the weekend. However, we’ll run through the La Liga Matchday 9 odds from Real vs. Barça and some other big games from the weekend.
Games of the Week:
Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid:
With El Clasico on Sunday, Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid will take center stage on Saturday. They are third and fourth in the La Liga standings, respectively, and have both been in good form lately. Bilbao are unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches, while Atletico have won two in a row. San Mames is not at all an easy place to play and Atleti have their work cut out for them on Saturday.
In this pick’em, Bilbao are +150 favorites, while Atletico Madrid come in at +190 odds. These teams tied in one of their three meetings, in all competitions, last season and a draw shows +225 odds for Saturday’s match. Athletic Bilbao are unbeaten in the last four meetings and were 2-0-1 last season. Plus, the road team hasn’t won in this fixture since 2017.
Midfielder Ander Herrera is suspended for Bilbao, which is a significant blow. Meanwhile, midfielder Marcos Llorente picked up a significant injury for Atletico in last week’s 2-0 loss to Club Brugge. Atleti bounced back last weekend as Angel Correa scored a brace in a 2-1 win over Girona. Bilbao drew with a struggling Sevilla last Saturday but won their previous three.
Celta Vigo vs. Real Sociedad:
The longest winning streak in the league belongs to Barcelona, at seven matches. However, number two on that list is Real Sociedad, with three consecutive wins. Sociedad also entered the week perfect in the Europa League but are underdogs at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Celta have had a tough run of fixtures, with Barcelona, Real Betis, Valencia and Atletico Madrid in their last four matches. It doesn’t get any easier here but at least they are at home. The La Liga Matchday 9 odds price them as +160 favorites in another pick’em. To their credit, Celta created more than a few chances in their 1-0 loss to Barcelona on Sunday.
Striker Iago Aspas has gone a while without a goal but Celta’s all-time leading scorer is their focal point. Meanwhile, Brais Mendez has been excellent for Sociedad this season. The attacking midfielder has four goals in his last three matches and will look to score vs. his former team on Sunday. Under 2½ goals for the game is priced at -145 odds. That’s despite 3.0 and 2.88 goals per game in Sociedad and Celta Vigo matches this season, respectively.
Real Madrid vs. Barcelona:
Barcelona are currently -125 favorites to win the league, while defending champions Real are priced at +120. No other team shows better than +2000 odds in what should be a two-team title race. This is a match that could end up being pivotal in the grand scheme of things.
The days of Messi vs. Ronaldo are long gone but the excitement hasn’t faded away from El Clasico. The La Liga odds list Barcelona and Real Madrid as the only true two contenders in the league. Barcelona are currently -125 favorites to win the league, while defending champions Real are priced at +120. No other team shows better than +2000 odds in what should be a two-team title race. This is a match that could end up being pivotal in the grand scheme of things.
Real Madrid shockingly trailed Shakhtar Donetsk for the vast majority of the second half of their Champions League match on Tuesday, but got a 95th minute equalizer. Real, like Barcelona, are unbeaten in La Liga this season. Both teams have seven wins and a draw and Barcelona have been excellent on defense. Incredibly, they’ve conceded just one goal this season but will face their toughest test on Sunday. Xavi had to resort to playing left back Marcos Alonso, at center back last weekend due to an injury crisis.
Containing Vinicius Jr. and Karim Benzema could potentially be too much for a makeshift Barça defense. Real are +135 favorites heading into Sunday’s match but did lose 4-0 to Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu last season. Real have won five of the last six meetings in all competitions. Meanwhile, a draw shows +250 odds but none of the last six meetings have ended in one. Barcelona, on a seven-game La Liga win streak, are +200 underdogs. It’d be a huge achievement if they can win this one shorthanded. Whoever wins gets the top spot in the table along with bragging rights.
Other Games of Interest
Sevilla are still in the relegation zone heading into Matchday 9. They have managed draws in Jorge Sampaoli’s first two matches as coach, which is great but now they’ll head on the road to face a tricky Mallorca side. Mallorca have only conceded more than one goal in one of their last five matches. On the other hand, Sevilla have only scored more than one goal on one occasion this season. The La Liga Matchday 9 odds imply this is a toss up, with both Sevilla and Mallorca priced at +180 odds.
Early red cards have hampered Real Betis’ progress in the last few weeks. A Betis player has been sent off in the first half in two of their last three matches. Center back German Pezzella will be suspended vs. Almeria but the hosts are still -200 favorites. With a win, Betis have the potential to move as high as third in the table. Only 1.88 goals per game have been scored in Betis matches this season but over 2½ is priced at -125 odds.
Both Villarreal and Osasuna are in the top half of the La Liga table but are slumping. Villarreal are winless in their last four La Liga matches. Meanwhile, Osasuna are winless in their last three and have two players suspended for Monday’s match. Both defender Unai Garcia and midfielder Ruben Pena will be on the sidelines after picking up red cards. Unai Emery’s Villarreal show a -160 price to break their winless streak.
