La Liga Matchday 26 Odds & Picks: El Clasico the Key Clash

• Spain’s La Liga returns to the pitch Friday, as surging Real Sociedad (-196) host Valladolid (+500) at the Reale Arena
• Sunday’s El Clasico pits first-place Barcelona (+205) against a sliding Real Madrid (+125) at the latter’s Santiago Bernabeu
• Get all the odds and best matchups for Matchday 26 in Spain below

While dominated by the looming hulk of El Clasico on Sunday, Matchday 26 in La Liga offers a host of intriguing contests across the schedule.

La Liga Matchday 26 Odds

All odds taken Feb. 27

Pick 1: Valencia vs. Real Betis

If you want to talk about clubs needing a good bounce, Valencia (10-8-7) and Real Betis (7-9-9) fit the bill entering their matchup on Saturday.

Plagued by injuries, Valencia have fallen off the face of the earth — winless in five, Albert Celades’ squad has lost by three-goal margins in three of their last four (0-3 at Getafe, 1-4 at Atalanta, 0-3 at Sociedad).

Returning home to face a Betis side that has not won in its last six, this will be an opportunity for Valencia to dig in and stay relevant in the European race — or, with a loss, complete the mid-season collapse that’s been building throughout February.

Valencia’s home form is actually quite respectable (2-0 vs. Barça, 1-0 vs. Vigo, 2-2 vs. Atleti) but the injuries and poor form are undeniable; with that said, expect a bounce-back performance at La Mestalla against a Betis side that’s struggled for goals away from home recently.

Pick: Valencia (+110)

Pick 2: Mallorca vs. Getafe

Mallorca (6-4-15) returned to their rollicking, can’t-look-away style in a 3-3 draw at Betis last week, and now return home to face a hot-and-cold Getafe (12-6-7) that’s fresh off a European triumph over Dutch giants Ajax.

Sunday’s hosts could lift themselves out of the relegation zone with a win combined with a result (Vigo loss) elsewhere; Getafe have alternated between league losses to Barça and Sevilla and a two-legged triumph over Ajax over the past two weeks.

On paper the visitors have the advantage, but consider this: Mallorca are a respectable 6-2-5 at Son Moix and Getafe is coming off a wild four-game stretch.

Pick: Mallorca +0.5 (-141)

Pick 3: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

Just when it looked like Zidane’s Real Madrid (15-8-2) was ready to put it in cruise and dominate their way to a league title down the stretch, Los Blancos have collapsed. Dropped points against Vigo (2-2) and Levante (0-1) have allowed Barça (17-4-4) to regain the driver’s seat for the time being, and a 2-1 home defeat against Manchester City has complicated European plans.

At the same time, the Blaugrana  have turned on the style in wins over Getafe (2-1) and Eibar (5-0) to leapfrog Real while a 1-1 away draw at Napoli has left them in control in their European matchup.

While bettors have a tendency to hammer the “Over” in this matchup — simply based on the offensive potency of both squads — it’s important to note that the “Under” has hit in three of their last four meetings. In fact, the two teams have combined for a single goal in their last two contests.

Pick: U 2.5, 3 (+110)