Real Madrid cannot afford any further slips in La Liga’s title race, with their away trip to Granada being one of three matches taking place in the Spanish top flight on Thursday.
Los Blancos can move back to within two points of league leaders Atletico Madrid with a victory, but anything less will seemingly leave their city neighbours with one hand on the trophy.
Real to Rise to Granada Challenge
A trip to Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes certainly will not be easy for Real, with only the top four in La Liga having won more home matches this season than Granada, who also claimed the recent scalp of Barcelona on the road.
Real will take heart from their recent impressive record against Thursday’s opponents, as they have won each of the last 11 meetings between the two sides, while Zinedine Zidane’s team have also lost the fewest away matches in La Liga this season.
Los Blancos will also be facing a Granada side that have very little to play for and have lost three of their last four games in La Liga, while Real are on a 12-match unbeaten run on the road in the competition, with their last away defeat coming at Valencia in November.
All the signs are certainly pointing towards a Real win and given Granada have failed to score in two of their last three home fixtures, backing the visitors to triumph to nil at 6/5
could be the way to go.
Valladolid Looking to Edge Closer to Safety
Real Valladolid head into Thursday’s home clash with Europa League finalists Villarreal having slipped into La Liga’s relegation zone and only a win will see them move out of the bottom three.
Sergio Gonzalez’s side have been the draw specialists in La Liga this season, as no team can match their total of 16 stalemates, with four of those having come across their last five games.
Villarreal are also no strangers to sharing the spoils, with only Valladolid and Celta Vigo having picked up more draws on the road than the Yellow Submarine this season.
Draws have also been a familiar feature in recent meetings between these two sides, with the last two clashes at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla having ended all square, while another share of the spoils on Thursday can be backed at 51/20
.
Eibar’s Great Escape to Gather Further Momentum
Eibar looked as good as relegated from La Liga just a couple of weeks ago, but back-to-back wins over fellow strugglers Alaves and Getafe has given them a fighting chance of survival.
Another victory against European hopefuls Real Betis on Thursday could move Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side to within a point of safety and they do have a good record against the Andalusians, as they are unbeaten in the last five meetings between the two sides.
That sequence includes a 2-0 victory at the Benito Villamarin when the sides met earlier in the season, while Eibar are also unbeaten in six previous home games against Betis, a record that includes a 5-0 victory at the Ipurua back in November 2017.
While a similarly emphatic scoreline may be unlikely on Thursday, Eibar do have momentum on their side, which makes them an interesting proposition at 19/10
to claim all three points.
*All odds correct at time of writing.