Real Valladolid vs Granada
Estadio Municipal Jose Zorrilla, Valladolid
Tuesday, 24-09-2019 @8pm
Granada, despite coming into this league just this summer, after being promoted from the Segunda, is showing no fear at all. They are placed third in the table, and impressively, is on a three-game winning run. Even more satisfying is the stat that just the last match-day, they defeated two-time defending champions Barcelona. And that too with a clean sheet.
Furthermore, they have scored the most number of goals, at 11, after Barca, and Villarreal, who both have 12 on the board.
Suffice it to say the team has built quite a bit of momentum, and they have been accustomed to keeping certain standards. They are no longer the timid club that stood astounded at the prospect of locking horns against the top sides in the upper-division.
Valladolid, in spite of their home advantage, will surely find it hard to keep a check on these incoming visitors. And especially with their four-tie winless run. Moreover, their offense is failing to make any kind of impact at the moment, with making returns of just a total of four goals from their five fixtures so far.
The Nasrids won four of the last five match-ups. Since 2010, only once has Valladolid managed to keep a clean sheet. Granada, meanwhile, kept their nets clean thrice in the former five clashes. The last time these two met, which was a month back, Real lost 2-1.
Real Betis vs Levante
Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville
Tuesday, 24-09-2019 @9pm
Betis will welcome Levante to Stadio Benito Villamarin on Tuesday for their game of the 6th round in La Liga. The hosts of this tie are currently on the 12th spot in the standings with 5 points, while their next opponents are up at 8th, having earned 7 points so far.
No draw has been registered in the previous seven H2H clashes between the two sides. Levante won the last two meetings, and thus ended an eight game run without a triumph against Betis. Three of the last five meetings featured over 2,5 goals, while none witnessed goals at both ends, as they all saw only the winning side finding the target. Betis were on a run of keeping four consecutive clean sheets, when meeting Levante at home, but leaked in three in the most recent game at Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Betis won only one of their opening five matches in La Liga, and are currently on a run of two consecutive draws. Their trip to Osasuna on Saturday ended in a boring goalless draw. Only that of the team’s last five encounters did not see both involved sides to score, while three of the games produced over 2,5 goals.
None of Levante’s five league games was won by the away sides, with the record of only the hosts triumphing after the final whistle, put to an end in the team’s Saturday meeting with Eibar, which ended in a goalless draw. Two of those five matches featured over 2,5 goals, and only the same also witnessed goals at both ends.
Barcelona vs Villarreal
Estadio Camp Nou, Barcelona
Tuesday, 24-09-2019 @10pm
This Tuesday evening, the Camp Nou will host what should be a thrilling encounter between Barcelona and Villareal. Villareal currently sit in 7th place in La Liga. They are in the very unusual position of travelling to Camp Nou while being a place above 8th placed Barcelona. This gives Tuesday’s clash an interesting dynamic.
Another stat that makes this a particularly exciting encounter is that with 12 goals each, these are the two highest scoring teams in La Liga this season. True to the character and style of both teams, we expect to see plenty of goals scored this Tuesday.
It isn’t just both teams’ attacking ability that fuel the belief that this will be a high scoring game. Barcelona’s recent defensive efforts have been far from convincing. Barca have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 4 La Liga games. The Catalan giants have consequently got the joint worst defensive record in La Liga.
As well as that, both teams scored in 5 of the last 6 meetings between these two sides. We expect this trend to continue this Tuesday. We believe that both teams scoring is a very likely occurrence for this fixture.
The Camp Nou is no stranger to goal fests. Barcelona have scored at least 3 goals in 15 of their last 17 home matches.
This is also a trait associated with Villareal on their travels. There has been over 2.5 goals scored in Villareal’s last 4 away games.
This fixture seems all but certain to deliver a lot of goals. Barca have kept no clean sheets in La Liga, while villareal have managed to score in all of their games. As well as both teams scoring, we feel that over 2.5 goals is a very safe bet for this fixture.
The pressure is mounting on Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde. Barca are experiencing a period of very poor form for their high standards. They performed poorly in Europe last week, very luckily escaping from Dortmund with a point. They followed this up with a shocking 2-0 loss away to newly promoted Granada on Saturday.
Many reports coming out of Spain are suggesting that Valverde has lost a portion of his dressing room. The manager himself came out after Saturday’s loss stating that he is aware of the pressure on him. The coach said that he “knows (he’s) in a position where results matter.”
It is clear that this Tuesday’s clash will be extremely important for Valverde. In a results driven business, his future with Barcelona may hinge on Tuesday’s game.
Valverde will be pulling out all the stops to get his team back on the right track and put a bad run behind them. This may include the return of Lionel Messi to the starting line-up. Messi hasn’t started for Barca yet this season. His return would be a major boost to his team’s chances.
For all their bad form of late, Barca have managed to keep Camp Nou as a fortress. The last time they failed to win at home in the league was in February, when they drew 2-2 with Valencia.
