On Saturday, all eyes will be on a basement clash in La Liga when relegation rivals Levante and Cadiz square off at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia.
It’s officially Gameweek 22 in the Spanish top-flight, although six clubs have only played 20 games, and there’s plenty of interest at both ends of the table.
The action gets underway on Friday when Espanyol host Real Betis at 20:00 before Saturday’s schedule kicks off with a relegation six-pointer between Levante and Cadiz at 13:00.
Second-placed Sevilla and Atletico Madrid, who sit fourth, also feature on Saturday when they host Celta Vigo and Valencia, respectively.
Table-toppers Real Madrid take to the field on Sunday at 15:15 when strugglers Elche head to the Bernabeu, while Barcelona close out the gameweek with a trip to Alaves at 20:00.
Matchday 22 starts tonight!
#EspanyolRealBetis
#LevanteCadiz
#VillarrealRCDMallorca
#SevillaFCCelta
#AtletiValencia
#GranadaOsasuna
#RealMadridElche
#RealSociedadGetafe
#RayoAthletic#AlavesBarça
The best game will be ________?#LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/FL9uZkZtBI
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) January 21, 2022
Granotes Must Grab Opportunity
Levante’s hopes of surviving are extremely slim, but they did pick up their first win of the campaign, albeit at the 20th attempt, last time out when sealing a 2-0 win at home to 17th-placed Mallorca.
They head into Saturday’s clash at home to Cadiz, who are 19th, sitting rock-bottom and nine points shy of safety.
Alessio Lisci’s side are four points adrift of Saturday’s opponents with a game in hand and can breathe life into their survival hopes with another victory.
Levante are 4/5 to earn a second successive win against 17/5 Cadiz, but the draw, which is available at 53/20, looks the most likely outcome.
Each of the last four competitive meetings between the two clubs have ended all square, while the previous three editions of this clash at Levante have finished with honours even.
Sevilla hoping to keep leaders honest
Sevilla look like the only potential challengers to leaders Real Madrid this season, with defending champions Atletico and Barcelona both well off the pace.
Real are four points clear of second-placed Sevilla with Real Betis, who are third, 12 points adrift of Los Blancos and unlikely to bridge the gap.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side haven’t been perfect in the league over recent weeks, dropping points courtesy of a loss at Getafe and a draw at home to Cadiz; however, Sevilla failed to take advantage after drawing with Barcelona and Valencia.
The title race is far from over, but Sevilla need to build some momentum, and they’ll hope to return to winning ways, having been held by Valencia on Wednesday, when they host Celta Vigo.
The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, in fairness, has been a fortress, and they are yet to taste defeat in 10 outings – winning eight and drawing two.
Sevilla are 5/7 to claim all three points, but it could be worth exploring Celta Vigo to win at 4/1 or potentially in the double chance market at 6/5.
Celta boasts the fourth-best record on their travels of any side in the division this term, claiming 15 points from their ten outings, and an upset certainly can’t be ruled out.
Sunday’s clash between Real and Elche is the second meeting between the two clubs in the space of four days after they met in the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
Real required extra time to overcome Elche in the round of 16 after being held to a goalless draw in regulation time at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.
Elche put in a spirited performance to push Los Merengues on their own patch, but they usually struggle to do that at the Bernabeu.
The three previous meetings in the capital have all ended in a Real win, and at least three goals have been scored in each of those. Therefore, backing another home win with over 2.5 goals at 5/9 could be the way to go.
Barca Looking to Bounce Back
Barcelona are without a win in three across all competitions, and you’d imagine they’d welcome a meeting with strugglers Alaves.
However, they’ve struggled in recent meetings, with the side currently down in 18th spot, winning just one of the last three.
Alaves earned a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp in October, and that was also the result when the two sides met at the Estadio Mendizorrotza last season.
The Catalan outfit have played out six draws on the road already this campaign, and it’s 33/10 for another stalemate, while a repeat of the 1-1 scoreline from earlier in the term is 6/1.
*All odds correct at time of writing.