The days are passing, and we are getting closer to the month-and-a-half break that soccer leagues around the world will have due to the Qatar 2022 World Cup and, counting, we only have two weeks left before this break, so teams must put all their eggs in the basket to have a considerable advantage at the time of the return of the actions at the end of December.
LaLiga Santander will have two very productive and, above all, exciting weeks, taking into account that Real Madrid unexpectedly drew their match corresponding to matchday 12 at home against Girona and, this gave FC Barcelona the possibility of being only 1 point behind them in the table. So, it could be said that none of the teams have any margin for error from now on in their quest to be the leaders of the general classification table.
According to what we observe, this season will have these two teams running away at the top of the table since Atlético Madrid still cannot find their ideal rhythm of play that will lead them on the road to victory. Betis got back to winning ways on matchday 12 and tied the Colchoneros in third place with 23 points.
Real Sociedad missed a golden opportunity to climb to third place in the table and stay in solitary with their second loss in a row last matchday and dropped to fifth place.
–
Athletic recovered from the heavy blow dealt by Barcelona and regained some breathing space at the top of the table. While Osasuna wants to join the party, being the least expected guest, with 20 points, just 3 points behind third place.
At the bottom of the table, we have a terrible surprise, not only for fans, players or managers of the team but for all Spanish soccer lovers who know what a team like this means for LaLiga, Sevilla, who, with their second defeat in a row, has dropped to #18 in the table and are momentarily in the relegation places.
These two weeks will be very competitive and, below, we will have a preview of the best matches of this 13th LaLiga Santander matchday, with their respective betting odds and our free predictions.
LaLiga Santander Matchday 13 – Preview – Girona vs. Athletic – Info
When:
Friday, November 04 at 04:00 pm ET at the Estadio Municipal Montilivi
Moneyline odds:
Girona +285
Athletic -102
Draw Offs:
+255
Where Can I Watch it?
ESPN / SKY HD / NBCSN / DAZN
Where Can Stream?
This match has not been very hotly contested throughout the history of LaLiga, as it has only been played on 4 occasions. In this run, Athletic Club has managed to pick up 3 wins, while Girona has only 1.
Athletic has one goal for Friday’s match: to sleep in Champions League places. The team coached by Ernesto Valverde would be placed third in the standings with 24 points if it defeats Girona this matchday. Ahead of them, they will only have Real Madrid (32) and Barça (31) and will leave behind Atlético and Betis, both with 23 points, and Real Sociedad (22), waiting logically for what these three rivals do in their respective matches of the 13th LaLiga Santander matchday.
As we mentioned before, Athletic has started this season on fire thanks to their effectiveness in front of goal, which they lacked in the previous season. They have already scored 20 goals, being the third best in the league, although they are well distributed in their team, as their top goal-scorer and best player, Iñaki Williams, has only 5.
The only doubt Athletic has for this match is whether Iker Muniain will be recovered from the muscle injury that prevented him from being part of the call-up to receive Villarreal on the previous matchday, where they achieved a very tight victory with a score of 1-0.
–
On the other hand, we have a Girona that, although they are not playing a good season, come to this match with a tremendous push after achieving a very good draw against Real Madrid, with a score of 1-1. This makes the team’s spirits rise, and they face the rest of this season differently.
Likewise, Girona’s situation is very complicated, since they are located in the #17 position in the general classification table, with a record of 2 wins, 4 draws, and 6 defeats, and are closer to the bottom of the table than to the middle of the table.
Girona has scored a fair amount of goals for a recently ascended team, as in Spanish football is normal that the clubs coming from the second division always use an ultra-defensive approach. They have 16 annotations, but their main problem is the defense, precisly, allowing 20 goals already (curiously, the same amount of goals that their next rivals have scored).
For this match, we believe Athletic Club will do their job and take a 2-0 away win.
Girona vs. Athletic Betting Pick: Athletic
LaLiga Santander Matchday 13 – Preview – FC Barcelona vs. Almería – Info
When:
Saturday, November 05 at 04:00 pm ET at the Spotify Camp Nou
Moneyline odds:
Almería +2100
FC Barcelona -952
Draw Offs:
+880
Where Can I Watch it?
ESPN / SKY HD / NBCSN / DAZN
Where Can Stream?
FC Barcelona is one of Almeria’s tormentors throughout the club’s history, as they have faced each other a total of 14 times in all possible competitions, where the Culés have taken 12 victories and 2 matches have ended with a draw on the scoreboard. This means that Almeria has never been able to beat FC Barcelona in their history.
The truth is that for this match it is totally unlikely that the Rojiblancos will change this statistic, since, with the recent elimination of FC Barcelona from the UEFA Champions League, their main goal is to win LaLiga Santander, so, every match for them will be a final in their quest to dethrone their arch-rivals, Real Madrid.
FC Barcelona continues to show a spectacular level of play when they play in LaLiga. Right now, they are in second place in the table, with a record of 10 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, just 1 point behind Real Madrid.
Barça comes into this match after a great win against Valencia with a goal by Robert Lewandowski in the 90+3 minute, which allowed them to stay in the fight with Real Madrid for first place in the table. We should also note that Barcelona have managed to keep a clean sheet in 10 of the 12 games they have played, so, in addition to great offensive power, they have proven to have the best defense in LaLiga.
–
On the other hand, Almeria comes to this matchday after having a very irregular season, in which they have not managed to string together 2 consecutive victories. In their last 5 matches they have a good record of 3 wins and 2 defeats, but, their bad start of the season makes them be located in the #13 position of the table with 13 points.
The Almirancistas rely heavily on the counter attack, as even if they put a low block on the field, they aren’t that solid defensively. This shows in their numbers for this season showing just 1 draw, meaning that they either have to kill or be killed, something dangerous against a team that has Lewandowski and Dembélé in their ranks.
Almeria is coming off a real thrashing of Celta Vigo in their last home game, with a score of 3-1. Although Celta is not even the shadow of the mighty Barcelona, Almeria comes with confidence after this great victory.
Either way, our pick for this match is a 4-0 win for FC Barcelona.
FC Barcelona vs. Almería Betting Pick: FC Barcelona
LaLiga Santander Matchday 13 – Preview – Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano – Info
When:
Monday, November 07 at 04:00 pm ET at the Vallecas Stadium
Moneyline odds:
Rayo Vallecano +460
Real Madrid -173
Draw Offs:
+320
Where Can I Watch it?
ESPN / SKY HD / NBCSN / DAZN
Where Can Stream?
Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano has been played 34 times throughout the history of both teams, with Real Madrid leading the particular series with 27 wins, Rayo Vallecano has only been able to win 4 matches, while 3 of them have ended in a draw. A cruel statistic for Rayo Vallecano in this series is goals, as, Real Madrid has scored as many as 101 goals, while Rayo Vallecano has only scored 6.
Real Madrid is not going through the best moment, to say the least, this season. While it is true that they qualified for the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, being the only Spanish team to do so, their performance has not been up to par in the last two matches played.
In the first, they suffered a defeat against Leipzig in the fifth round of the Champions League group stage with a score of 3-2, in a match where the Germans dominated the Spaniards at ease. Last Sunday, they drew at home against Girona, who are practically in the relegation places, with a score of 1-1.
Real Madrid’s possessions numbers, expected goals, and good chances created have been between the usual in these last couple of games, so the lack of effectiveness in defense is the clear mark in their couple of unexpected results, as, even if Girona only scored trough a penalty, the team didn’t have enough contention in midfield in the game against Leipzig.
Real Madrid draws with Girona with controversy!
On the other hand, Rayo Vallecano comes to this 13th matchday with great confidence after two consecutive victories in their last matches played. The first one was against Cadiz with a phenomenal 5-1 and, in their last match against Sevilla with a score of 1-0.+
Similarly, Rayo Vallecano already knows what it is like to draw against a big team this season, as they drew 0-0 against FC Barcelona in the first game of the season, so they are confident of at least taking a point from this game.
That said, our pick is a comfortable Real Madrid win with a score of 3-1.
EN 
ES 
PT 
PT_BR