La Liga 2021/22 Matchweek 22 preview & best bets

The top two teams in La Liga are both favorites at home this weekend as Real Madrid hosts Elche and Sevilla welcomes Celta Vigo. Can either of these underdogs put up a fight? We’ll take a closer look at those two games as well as Saturday’s Atletico Madrid vs Valencia match in our La Liga Matchweek 22 soccer betting picks.

Sevilla vs Celta Vigo

Sevilla (13-6-2) settled for a 1-1 draw on the road at Valencia on Wednesday night, bringing its unbeaten streak to seven games with a 5-2-0 record but leaving two valuable points on the table in its quest to catch Real Madrid atop the La Liga standings. The club will be focused on getting all three points this Saturday at home against Celta Vigo. Celta Vigo (7-5-9) has turned its season around with a 4-4-2 record over its last 10 matches since opening the season with a 3-1-7 record.

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With Celta Vigo playing well of late and Sevilla leaving very little margin for error with only one goal scored in eight of its last nine matches, we feel more comfortable betting the UNDER in this matchup than we do picking a winner. Sevilla beat Celta Vigo 1-0 in October, and that feels like the likeliest score here; but a 0-0 or 1-1 draw and even a 1-0 Celta Vigo upset wouldn’t be too shocking. Six of Sevilla’s last seven games have produced two goal or less, and this one will likely continue that trend.

Atletico Madrid vs Valencia

Atletico Madrid (9-6-5) has bounced back from an 0-0-4 December with a 1-1-0 record so far in January, beating Rayo Vallecano 2-0 at home and playing to a 2-2 draw at Villarreal. Valencia (7-8-6) is winless in its last three matches with a 0-1-2 record over that stretch since going 4-3-0 over its previous seven games. These two clubs played to a 3-3 draw in November.

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With Atletico Madrid seemingly back on track, this looks like a match that Atletico should win at home. Even during its four-match slump, three of those losses came on the road. Atletico Madrid has been a strong home team this season with a 5-3-1 record and a +8 goal differential compared to Valencia’s 3-3-4 record with a -5 goal differential on the road. Look for Atletico to take care of business with a victory this Saturday.

Real Madrid vs Elche

Real Madrid (15-4-2) didn’t play a league match last weekend but did defeat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to win the Supercopa de Espana. Madrid bounced back from its 1-0 road loss to Getafe with a 4-1 win at home over Valencia in its last La Liga action on January 8. Prior to the loss, Real Madrid was 9-2-0 in its previous 11 league matches.

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Elche (5-7-9) entered 2022 with a 3-6-9 record on the season, but so far in January the club has compiled a 2-1-0 record with back-to-back wins over Espanyol and Villarreal. It’s never fun to try to fade a team as good as Real Madrid, but Elche looks like a solid play as 2-goal underdogs against the spread. Elche lost to Real Madrid 2-1 when these two clubs played in October and only one of Real Madrid’s last eight matches has been a win by over two goals. There will be a lot of pushes on this wager, along with some wins when Real Madrid wins 1-0 or 2-1.