La Liga Matchday 10 Odds & Picks: Atletico-Athletic One to Watch

• Atletico Madrid (-133) hosts Athletic Bilbao (+400) in the biggest clash of Matchday 10
• The Real Madrid-Barcelona El Clasico game has been moved to mid-December, forcing bettors to consider other options in La Liga beyond the most-watched club match in the world
• Resilient Granada (+144) hosts struggling Real Betis (+185) in an all-Andalusian battle

With El Clasico — initially scheduled for Saturday — postponed until December, the focus of Matchday 10 in La Liga shifts to Madrid for an Atletico vs. Athletic showdown.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico has drawn four of its last five league matches, setting los colchoneros a full three points behind league leaders Barcelona. Bilbao have struggled similarly, with no wins in their last four contests.

Other intriguing Matchday 10 clashes include Celta-Sociedad, with Celta flirting with the relegation zone and Sociedad trying to mount a push for Europe, and Sevilla-Getafe featuring a pair of Europa League participants.

Atletico Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao Odds

All odds taken October 25, 2019.

With such similar monikers, it’s amusing Atletico (4-4-1) and Athletic (3-4-2) have shared such similar fortunes in the first quarter of the 2019-20 season.

They’ve both netted (8) and conceded (5) the same number of goals, and dropped points against lesser teams due to their inability to score.

[??] Cheeky smiles, good vibes… Check out the behind the scenes footage of our official 2019/20 photo at the Wanda @Metropolitano ?
⏬⏬⏬
?⚪ #AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/uOu72aDRCX

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) October 25, 2019

Complicating matters for Atletico will be the absence of the steadfast Gimenez (muscle strain), while Simeone is expected to start Correa up top in place of mercurial striker Diego Costa (per MARCA).

With Joao Felix already out, it’s a toothless Atletico that will be hard-pressed to break down Gaizka Garitano’s steady Bilbao.

Pick: Under 2 (-124)

Granada vs. Real Betis Odds

In many ways, the fortunes of Granada (5-2-2) and Real Betis (2-3-4) are reversed from what most people believed would happen at the beginning of the season.

Diego Martinez’s Granada have won three of their last five — including an impressive 2-0 win over a full-strength Barcelona back on September 21 — and occupy a Champions League spot in fourth place. Betis, on the other hand, have slid into the relegation zone due in large part to their Liga-worst defence (19 GA).

?▶? pic.twitter.com/MuZ9zwvqJO

— Real Betis Balompié (at ?) (@RealBetis_en) October 21, 2019

What makes the decline of los verdiblancos even more incredible is the fact striker Loren Moron leads Spain in goals (7), more than even the likes of Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (6) and Barcelona’s Luis Suarez (5).

Both Granada (1.77-1.11) and Real Betis (1.33-2.11) are trending towards the over 2.5, with the latter having gone over by more than a goal in three of its last four.

Pick: Over 2.5 (+104)

Beyond these two, consider some of the following for parlay plays:

Sevilla (-128) | Julen Lopetegui’s squad is back in-form after a rough patch in late September and early October, with back-to-back home clean sheets against Levante (1-0) and Dudelange (3-0). With Getafe (3-4-2) in town on Sunday, Sevilla should be good to claim all three points.

Celta-Sociedad Under 2.5 (-116) | Sociedad have allowed a single goal against bottom-half opposition this season, while Celta have the second-worst attack (5 GF) in La Liga. Take the “Under”.