La Liga 2021/22 Matchweek 12 preview, top fixtures & best bets

Two of the top six teams in La Liga will clash this Saturday when Sevilla hosts Osasuna in Matchweek 12. We’ve got a play in that one and have also made picks in Barcelona vs Alaves and Real Sociedad vs Athletic Club in this weekend’s La Liga soccer betting tips.

Sevilla vs Osasuna

Sevilla (6-3-1) is one of four clubs currently tied at the top of the table with 21 points. The club’s +10 goal differential so far in 2021-22 with 17 goals for and seven against is second only to Real Madrid’s +13. Osasuna (5-4-2) has a goal differential of only +1 on the season, but has picked up points in each of its last five matches with draws against Real Madrid and Grenada in their last two games and wins in each of their previous three.

Osasuna’s defense has stepped up in recent weeks with only two goals surrendered over the club’s last four games. Most notably, Osasuna has earned clean sheets against two of La Liga’s best attacking teams in Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano. With Osasuna doing good work in the defensive zone and Sevilla entering this match with the second best defense in the league, we like this matchup to go UNDER the posted total of 2.5 goals.

Barcelona vs Alaves

Barcelona (4-3-3) lost its second match in a row and its third game in its last four on Wednesday when Rayo Vallecano came out on top 1-0. The club responded to the loss by sacking Ronald Koeman. The Dutchman isn’t fully to blame for the club’s struggles given the departures of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann, but team president Joan Laporta is clearly ready to go in a different direction.

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Alaves (3-0-7) is on a two-match winning streak with a 2-0 road win over Cadiz and a 1-0 win at home over Elche. Despite Alaves’s two-game upswing and Barcelona’s two-game downswing, we’re going to take Barcelona against the spread in this match. Barcelona is 5-1-0 in its last six matches against Alaves with all five of those wins coming by two goals or more. The club’s manager change should spark a reaction on the pitch and lead to a big win on Saturday.

Real Sociedad vs Athletic Bilbao

Real Sociedad (6-3-1) picked up a point in a 2-2 draw on the road against Atletico Madrid on Sunday and will be back at it again on Thursday in a road matchup against Celta Vigo. Sociedad will follow that match up with a home game against Athletic Bilbao this Sunday. Athletic (4-5-1) is 2-2-0 over its last four matches with draws against Espanyol and Valencia and wins over Alaves and Villarreal.

Fatigue could come into play here for Real Sociedad, who will be playing this match on two days less rest than Athletic Bilbao. Both of these clubs have been so good defensively this season with Athletic having conceded only six goals in 10 matches and Sociedad just nine through its first 10 matches. Expect a tight, low-scoring game in this one. The UNDER is worth consideration, but we’re going to take a stab on the draw odds here in a match that could easily wrap up 0-0 or 1-1.