La Liga round 24 preview: Atletico Madrid need to bounce back at Rayo Vallecano

Atletico Madrid players in a past match [Courtesy]

After falling behind in the title race over in Spain’s La Liga, Atletico Madrid desperately need to get back on track when they travel to take on Rayo Vallecano this coming Saturday (16 February). The following day, Real Madrid will be looking to continue their recent winning streak against Girona, while Athletic Bilbao visit Huesca on Monday evening with the possibility or breaking into the top half of the table.

First things first

Before you go any further, head on over to the Oddsshark website, find your favourite betting site and get your own account up and running using your credit card. As a new customer and with the La Liga campaign already over halfway through, there should be a wide range of promotions and special offers available to you.

Where should I be investing my money?

First up, Atletico Madrid’s trip to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday afternoon. Rayo have lost their last two league outings and sit in the relegation zone, a point from safety – they are priced at just 1.57 to fall through the trapdoor into the second tier.

Atletico, meanwhile have also lost their last two league outings and appear to have slipped out of the title reckoning, for this season at least. Now sitting seven points behind defending champions and current table-toppers Barcelona, Atletico are now out at 21.00 to win their first league title in half a decade.

Regarding this match, however, it is Atletico who are the red hot favourites to pick up the points. You can back the visitors to get back to winning ways at just 1.75 while Rayo Vallecano, despite home advantage, are out at 5.00 to do the same – a draw is priced in the middle at 3.40, according to Oddsshark.

And we are expecting Atletico to just about edge this one. A narrow, 2-1 win for the away side is priced at 8.50, meaning that a US$5 bet would lead to a US$42.50 payout, while you can more than double your money by backing over 2.5 goals in the game at 2.20.

Real to keep up winning streak against Girona

The following day, Real Madrid welcome Girona to the Bernabeu looking to continue their recent string of victories. Real have won their last four league matches in a row, moving up to second and are six points behind Barça – Los Blancos are now at 6.50 to win the domestic crown this year.

Girona, in stark contrast, come into this match in desperately poor form. They have lost their last six matches in a row across all competitions and have slipped towards the drop zone – they are now priced at just 4.00 to suffer relegation this season.

It is therefore of little surprise to see that it is Real Madrid who come into this match as the overwhelming favourites to win again. You can back the home side to make it five league victories on the bounce at just 1.16, while Girona are out at 15.00 to record what would be a shock victory – a draw is priced in the middle at 7.00.

This should be a stroll in the park for the European champions. A 4-0 thrashing for Real is priced competitively at 10.00, thereby offering a ten-fold return on any investment, while Brazilian forward Vinicius Júnior is at 2.10 to get his name on the score sheet.

Athletic head to Huesca

And finally, Monday Night Football this week sees Huesca hosting Athletic Bilbao. Huesca sit rock bottom of the table with just four wins to their name all season, are six points from safety and priced at just 1.10 to be relegated come the end of the season.

Athletic, by way of comparison, are having a disappointing season by their own standards and are languishing in the bottom half of the table.  Win here, however, could move them up into the top half, depending on how other results go.

And while the betting is close it is Athletic who come in as the slight favourites to take all three points. You can more than double your money by backing the visitors to win at 2.45 while Huesca, despite home advantage, are out at 3.00 to do the same – a draw would appear to be the least likely outcome and is priced accordingly at 3.10.

Athletic should have enough to see themselves home here. A 2-1 win for the visitors is also priced at 10.00, while you can more than double your money by backing over 2.5 goals in the game at 2.30.

La Liga round 24 fixtures:

Friday, 15 February

(2.05) Eibar x Getafe (3.80); draw (3.20)

Saturday, 16 February

(1.83) Celta Vigo x Levante (3.90); draw (3.80)

(5.00) Rayo Vallecano x Atletico Madrid (1.75); draw (3.40)

(2.00) Real Sociedad x Leganes (3.80); draw (3.30)

(1.12) Barcelona x Valladolid (17.00); draw (8.50)

Sunday, 17 February

(1.16) Real Madrid x Girona (15.00); draw (7.00)

(1.80) Valencia x Espanyol (4.33); draw (3.60)

(2.40) Villarreal x Sevilla (2.87); draw (3.30)

(1.72) Real Betis x Alaves (4.75); draw (3.60)

Monday, 18 February

(3.00) Huesca x Athletic Bilbao (2.45); draw (3.10)