Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is understood to be on the verge of losing his job and he won’t be relishing a trip to defending champions Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Atleti to Hold Misfiring Barca at Bay
Barcelona sit sixth in the standings after a mixed start to 2021-22, winning three and drawing three of their La Liga fixtures, while they head to Atleti fresh off the back of a 3-0 loss to Benfica in the Champions League.
They are yet to pick up a victory on their travels, losing one and drawing two and a trip to the Wanda Metropolitano looks set to be extremely tricky.
Atletico, who won La Liga last term, ran out 1-0 winners at home to Barcelona last season and they offer plenty of value to earn another victory at 20/23.
Diego Simeone won’t be happy with his side already conceding six goals in their opening seven games, but Barcelona’s inability to convert offers hope of them picking up a clean sheet.
Barca have drawn a blank in each of their last two away outings and Atleti can be backed at 9/4 to win to nil, while the hosts are 6/1 to repeat last season’s result and win 1-0.
Rayo Can Continue to Shine
After two seasons in Segunda Division, Rayo earned promotion last term courtesy of the playoffs and they have made a fine start to life back in the top-flight.
Rayo head to Osasuna on Saturday sitting fifth and unbeaten in five outings, winning four times during that sequence.
Osasuna are ninth and their home form offers concern about trusting them in this clash, as they have failed to win in four fixtures at El Sadar, losing each of the last two.
Vallecano are worth trusting at 9/4 and backing Radamel Falcao, who has bagged three in as many games, to score anytime looks an intriguing option at 21/10.
Leaders Expected to Ease Past Espanyol
Real Madrid head into this weekend’s round of fixtures at the top of the standings and yet to taste defeat after seven La Liga outings.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Sherrif Tiraspol in the Champions League on Tuesday and they will be eager to bounce back immediately.
Los Blancos boast the best away record in the division, earning 10 points from a possible 12 and a further three look to be on the cards when they head to Espanyol.
The newly promoted Catalonians have won just one of their three engagements at the RCDE Stadium, while they’ve only managed to score twice in the process.
Real, meanwhile, are the league’s highest scorers after notching 21 times and another comfortable victory is highly likely on Sunday.
Karim Benzema is the top scorer in La Liga with eight to his name and he can be backed at 5/6 to score anytime, while Vinicius Junior is the second highest scorer and is available at 2/1 to hit the back of the net.
*All odds correct at time of writing