The Spanish La Liga continues this weekend with Round 14 matches, and in this preview, we’ll take a closer look at two quite interesting games set for Saturday, December 2nd, 2017, when Barcelona welcomes Celta Vigo at Camp Nou, while Atletico Madrid hosts Real Sociedad at Wanda Metropolitano.
Down below you will find some interesting picks for these two matches along with our betting predictions, so don’t waste your time and join the action here on GetMoreSports.
BARCELONA vs. CELTA VIGO
3-Way: 1: Barcelona -455; X: +1000 Draw; 2: Celta Vigo +2200 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -2.5: Barcelona +100; Celta Vigo -104
Total +4: Over -102; Under +102
BARCELONA
Barca survived the dramatic clash with Valencia in the previous round of the Spanish La Liga when they earned a 1:1 draw with Jordi Alba’s equalizing goal in the 82nd minute of the match. Barcelona was a better rival throughout the game, having the ball on their feet for 69% of the time, and they took 12 shots toward Valencia’s goal, four more than their opponents, but in the end, they have to be satisfied with a draw.
After the first 13 rounds of the Spanish La Liga Barca is still undefeated, recording eleven wins and two draws, and with 35 points and a 34:5 goal difference they are sitting at the top of the table, four points ahead of Valencia in the second spot. Barcelona was perfect on the home soil with six victories in six matches and a 20:2 goal difference, while on the road they recorded five wins and two draws with a 14:3 goal difference. They’ve managed to score in every single game from the start of the La Liga campaign, while their defense is the best in the league with just five goals conceded, while they kept the clean sheet on eight occasions thus far.
The 30-year old Argentinian magician Lionel Messi is the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals in 13 La Liga appearances, while the Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez bagged five goals in 10 apps, but he’s struggling with knee problems from the start of the season. The 28-year old left-back Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi are the team’s best assist-makers with five dishes apiece, while the 29-year old midfielder Ivan Rakitic made three assists in 13 matches this season.
The manager Ernesto Valverde is having serious problems with injuries among the squad, as Ousmane Dembele (thigh muscle rupture), Sergi Roberto (hamstring injury), Javier Mascherano (muscle injury), and Rafinha (meniscus injury) are all sidelined for the next match, while Andre Gomes (hamstring injury) is still doubtful.
CELTA VIGO
The Sky Blues have recorded their fifth victory of the season, beating Leganes at home, 1:0, in the previous round of the Spanish La Liga. It was their second win in a row on the home soil, and the second victory in the last five La Liga matches, along with three losses against Sevilla (2:1), Malaga (2:1), and Atletico Madrid (1:0). The Sky Blues were dominating throughout the match with Leganes, having the ball on their feet for 58% of the time, and taking 14 shots toward Leganes’ goal, five more than their rival, while Iago Aspas scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 27th minute of the game.
After the first 13 rounds of the Spanish La Liga Celta Vigo is in the ninth spot of the table with 17 points, a 24:19 goal difference, and a 5-2-6 record. They have recorded three wins, two draws, and two losses in front of the home fans with an 11:9 goal difference, while on the road they have recorded two victories and four defeats with a 13:10 goal difference. They are playing in a kind of on-off form recently, as they didn’t draw for six La Liga matches in a row.
The 30-year old forward Iago Aspas is leading his team with seven goals in 13 appearances this season, and he scored four goals in the previous four La Liga rounds. The 21-year old striker Maximiliano Gomez also bagged seven goals in 12 matches so far. The Danish winger Pione Sisto is another key player in Celta Vigo’s squad, and he is the team’s best assist-maker with nine dishes in 13 appearances, also adding two goals to his name.
The manager Juan Carlos Unzue will probably miss the centre-back Sergi Gomez (calf injury) for the next match with Barcelona, while the left-back Jonny Castro will have to serve the yellow card suspension.
BARCELONA vs. CELTA VIGO – Match Prediction
Usually, it is a joy to watch when Barca goes on Celta Vigo, and last year we saw 12 goals in two La Liga matches. Barca is a huge favorite, while Celta Vigo managed to get a goal in every single away game this season, so I will go with the over in this one.
MY PICK: Over 4 Goals (-102)
ATLETICO MADRID vs. REAL SOCIEDAD
3-Way: 1: Atletico Madrid -159; X: +336 Draw; 2: Real Sociedad +750 at BetDSI Sportsbook
Spread -1: Atletico Madrid -105; Real Sociedad +106
Total +2.5: Over +100; Under -104
ATLETICO MADRID
After a convincing 2:0 victory against AS Roma at home in the UEFA Champions League Round 5, Atleti humiliated Levante on the road, 5:0, in the previous round of the Spanish La Liga last Saturday, and before they’ve beaten AS Roma, Atletico Madrid haven’t scored more than one goal in a match for 10 games in a row in all competitions. Diego Simeone’s boys had some poor offensive displays this season, so five goals against The Frogs could be an encouraging factor when they meet fragile Real Sociedad’s defense this weekend.
The Frenchmans Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro sparkled versus Levante, scoring two goals each. In the 59th minute, Griezmann assisted Gameiro for his second goal of the game, while six minutes later Gameiro responds Griezmann for his first. Antoine Griezmann has joined Angel Correa at the top of the team’s scoring chart with four La Liga goals, while Kevin Gameiro and Yannick Carrasco are right behind them with three goals apiece. Griezmann and Carrasco are the best assist-makers with three dishes each.
After the first 13 rounds of the Spanish La Liga, Atletico Madrid is still undefeated, recording seven wins and six draws with a 21:6 goal difference. They are in the third spot of the table with 27 points, four behind Valencia in the second spot, and eight behind the leader Barcelona. At home, Atleti drew three times in a row, along with two wins in September, scoring five goals in those five matches and conceding two in a return. On the other side, Atletico Madrid is the best team in La Liga on the road, earning 18 points with a 5-3-0 record and a 16:4 goal difference. Atleti’s trademark is a strong defense which is the second-best in the league this season, and they kept the clean sheet in the last four games in all competitions.
The manager Diego Simeone is still missing the right-backs Juanfran (hamstring injury) and Sime Vrsaljko (back trouble), so the midfielder Thomas is currently playing as a right-back. All other players are healthy and ready to go.
REAL SOCIEDAD
Real Sociedad earned a 2:2 draw against Las Palmas at home in the previous round of the Spanish La Liga, missing so many clear chances that on some occasions it was embarrassing. On the other end, they allowed Las Palmas to create some good opportunities and to score a couple of goals, so Real Sociedad didn’t really deserve to get three points. It was their second draw in a row, third in the last five La Liga games. On last Wednesday, Real Sociedad was beaten by the third tier Lleida side at home, 3:2, in the Spanish Copa del Rey Round of 32, even they had a 2:0 lead after the first 45 minutes.
After the first 13 rounds of the Spanish La Liga, Real Sociedad is in the seventh spot of the table with 19 points, a 27:24 goal difference and a 5-4-4 record, two points behind Villarreal in the sixth spot. At Anoeta, Real Sociedad has recorded two wins, three draws, and two defeats with a 16:14 goal difference, while on the road they’ve earned 10 points with a 3-1-2 record and an 11:10 goal difference.
The 20-year old winger Mikel Oyarzabal and a 26-year old striker Willian Jose are the team’s leading scorers with six La Liga goals apiece, while the winger Juanmi and the midfielder Asier Illarramendi bagged three goals each thus far. The right-back Alvaro Odriozola is the team’s best assist-maker with four dishes in 13 appearances, while midfielders Xabi Prieto and Adnan Januzaj made three assists each this season.
The manager Eusebio Sacristan will miss the striker Imanol Agirretxe (hamstring injury) for the next match, while all other players are ready to go.
ATLETICO MADRID vs. REAL SOCIEDAD – Match Prediction
Atletico Madrid is a favorite in this one, and I believe they will win, while we can finally see some goals at Wanda Metropolitano.
MY PICK: Over 2.5 Goals (+100)
