La Liga Matchday 12 Odds & Picks: Sevilla vs Real Madrid, Osasuna vs Betis & More

• La Liga’s Matchday 12 kicks off with Athletic Bilbao hosting Celta Vigo on Friday (3:00 pm ET) and features a marquee matchup in Andalusia, where Sevilla entertains Real Madrid on Saturday (10:15 am)
• At the bottom end of the league table, Osasuna faces Real Betis on Sunday (10:15 am) with both sides winless in three and sliding towards the relegation battle
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 12 in Spain’s La Liga below

The unprecedented times are alive and well in Spain’s La Liga ahead of Matchday 12, with Real Sociedad clinging to a one-point lead over Atletico Madrid though the latter has a pair of games in-hand.

Coming off an embarrassing 4-nil loss in UEFA Champions League play midweek, Sevilla and manager Julen Lopetegui will aim to lock things down against an equally-embarrassed Real Madrid — which lost 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in its UCL match.

Relegation zone occupier Celta Vigo, winless in its last five trips to Bilbao, will be in tough to secure a result at Athletic in the opening match of the round.

Elsewhere, Real Betis and Osasuna collide on Sunday in a battle of two slumping squads looking to turn the tide as the season ticks into its middle chapter.

La Liga Matchday 12 Odds

All odds taken Dec 2 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Athletic Bilbao vs Celta Vigo

If the first ten matches of the campaign are a true indication, Athletic Bilbao (4-1-5) looks destined for a steady if unspectacular mid-table season.

Garitano’s team is averaging roughly a goal and conceded goal per match, and Friday’s visit from Celta (2-4-5) could give us a better indicator as to whether the Leones‘ 4-0 win over Betis was a fluke or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgOS5uBQPd0

While short on results, Celta has not lacked entertainment value in its matches this season: Conceding the second-most goals in the league (20) has left the team on the wrong side of some large results, and new boss Eduardo Coudet — appointed November 12, 1-0-1 record — will be tasked with shoring things up defensively.

Even without its usual passionate home crowd, Bilbao’s 3-0-1 mark at San Mames is one of the best in the league — and Celta is winless away from Vigo (0-4-2) this season.

Taking Bilbao in a draw no bet (DNB) scenario (-177) is a little too short of a play, but backing Friday’s hosts at plus-money isn’t the worst risk play on the board in Matchday 12.

Pick: Athletic Bilbao (+125)

Pick 2: Sevilla vs Real Madrid

It wasn’t that long ago that Sevilla (5-1-3) and Real Madrid (5-2-3) were earning plaudits for their form.

Entering Saturday’s meeting at the Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, however, it’s a different story following resounding European defeats for both on Wednesday (Sevilla: 0-4 vs Chelsea, Real Madrid: 0-2 at Shakhtar).

While the hosts never truly had domestic title ambitions, Zidane’s Real is now six points behind local rival Atletico — which also holds a game in-hand — and can ill-afford further dropped points.

Los Blancos are on a three-game winless skid which has included shock defeats to Valencia (1-4) and more recently Alaves (1-2) but have never lost four on the trot in league play during the Zidane era.

Sevilla is a solid side, one which has won four of its last five games at home against Real — though the last meeting ended 1-0 to the visitors in September. 2019.

Throughout Zidane’s tenure at the helm of Los Blancos, his squad has consistently found a way to stem the bleeding and generally turn the tide; if the capital’s largest team is to turn its domestic campaign around, it will have to start in Seville.

Pick: Real Madrid Draw No Bet (-114)

Pick 3: Osasuna vs Real Betis

This season was supposed to be the start of something different for Real Betis (4-0-7).

The hiring of Manuel Pellegrini was expected to generate buzz and results, but a familiar culprit — defensive inconsistency (league-worst 23 GA) — has sunk the Beticos down towards the relegation zone ahead of Sunday’s clash with Osasuna (3-2-5).

Los Rojillos have struggled for wins, too, though its offense that has been the problem for Jagoba Arrasate’s squad: Osasuna’s eight GF are joint-lowest in La Liga, and the team has scored just once in its last three games (0-1-2).

It’s a tough game to predict at face value with both tipped at an identical +170, but as Osasuna averages just north of a goal/game (1.2) at home and Real Betis concedes 2.2/game on the road it could very well be worth a risk on the ‘Over’.

Two of the last three meetings at El Sadar between these two have hit the Over 2.5.

Pick: Over 2.5 (+106)