La Liga weekend preview: Real Madrid meet Alaves; Barcelona host Granada
Friday 28 October 2016 16:53, UK
If last weekend provided the title challengers' ability to deliver in the big matches then it's all about avoiding upsets in the latest round of La Liga action.
Sevilla moved second with a hugely-significant 1-0 victory over then leaders Atletico Madrid, while Real Madrid and Barcelona both snatched late winners against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia respectively.
Villarreal kept pace with their own comeback win, extending their unbeaten start as we head into the 10th round of fixtures.
The odds suggest it should be far more straightforward for the top sides this weekend but it has rarely been plain sailing for the favourites this season...
Alaves v Real Madrid (Saturday, 3.15pm)
Zinedine Zidane's men may head into the weekend top of the league but they are certainly not firing on all cylinders and there are questions marks over both their defence and the effectiveness of their front three.
The Bernabeu is yet to witness a clean sheet this season, while Wednesday's Copa del Rey 7-1 win represented an eighth successive game in which they have conceded.
Meanwhile, their star men continue to struggle to deliver, with Cristiano Ronaldo boasting just two goals from his six La Liga starts after failing to net in last Sunday's 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Alaves have struggled for goals this season, with just nine in as many games, but have produced against the best, holding Atletico to a 1-1 draw before beating Barcelona 2-1.
Sky Bet prediction: Real Madrid to win and both teams to score - 6/4
Atletico Madrid v Malaga (Saturday, 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports)
Atletico's title prospects suffered a blow last weekend with Sky Bet pushing them out from 4/1 to 13/2 to win the title.
They are only three points off top spot and it would be a major surprise not to see them produce a response against Malaga on Saturday.
If they fail to do then the questions will undoubtedly start to creep in over whether Diego Simeone's impending exit, with his contract end renegotiated from 2020 to 2018, is having a negative impact on the team.
Malaga may have recorded a 4-0 victory over Leganes last time out to make it seven points from the last nine available, but they are yet to win on the road this season.
Sky Bet prediction: Atletico to win and Griezmann to score - 11/10 with Sky Bet
Barcelona v Granada (Saturday, 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports)
La Liga's primary whipping boys face a daunting trip to the Nou Camp on Saturday evening, with Barca expected to hand out a hammering.
Granada have odds of 28/1 stacked against them, more than twice the price of Burnley at Manchester United, with a 4-0 home win deemed the most likely scoreline at 6/1.
The league's bottom side have conceded 17 goals in their last four away games while Barca have scored three or more in nine of their 14 games to date.
There's not too many ways you can get Barcelona at odds-against here but you can get close in backing their two most prolific marksmen both to find the net, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both to score 10/11.
Messi has scored two or more in four of his last six appearances and he looks a great bet to bag another double at 6/4.
Sky Bet prediction: Messi to score two or more goals - 6/4
Best of the rest
Sevilla kick-off Saturday's action and it would be a real surprise to see them fail to build on their impressive form at struggling Sporting Gijon, who only ended a run of six successive defeats with a draw at Granada.
Friday night sees impressive travellers Leganes attempt to record a first home win of the season against a Sociedad side on a run of LWLWLW. Read into that form what you may.
Then on Sunday we see one of the league's two unbeaten sides Villarreal attempt to maintain their steadily impressive form at Eibar in the early kick-off.
After that, at 3.15pm, Athletic Bilbao look to get back on track against second-from-bottom Osasuna. The Basque outfit have lost three of their last four in all competitions but would have left the Bernabeu with a point last Sunday were it not for Alvaro Morata's late winner.
In the 5.30pm fixture, both sets of fans will be hoping for similar excitement to their rollercoaster rides of last weekend.
Hosts Betis responded to throwing away their early lead to beat Osasuna 2-1 with a 91st-minute winner from Felipe Gutierrez, while Espanyol came from three goals down at half-time to register a fifth draw of the season, despite ending the game with 10 men.
Sunday concludes in Gran Canaria, as a winless-in-five Las Palmas look to halt a Celta Vigo side which have won four of their last five.
Then on Monday night we see Valencia attempt to bounce back from their heartbreaking last-gasp 3-2 defeat to Barcelona in a trip to a Deportivo side arriving on the back of two thumping defeats.
Best of the rest acca: Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Villarreal and Valencia all to win - 33/1
