La Liga Matchday 19 Odds & Picks: Eibar vs Atletico Madrid, Villarreal vs Granada & More

• Matchday 19 in Spain’s La Liga kicks off on Tuesday at 1:00 pm ET, as Valladolid entertains Elche in a relegation zone clash
• With no Barcelona or Real Madrid match on the schedule, attention will turn to league leader Atletico Madrid’s Thursday visit to Eibar (3:30 pm) and Villarreal’s clash with Granada on Wednesday (3:30 pm)
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 19 in Spain’s La Liga below

Atletico Madrid will look to extend its lead over inactive Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga Matchday 19, facing inconsistent Eibar at its tiny Ipurua pitch; though Thursday’s hosts are typically decent at home, their 1-4-4 home record this season is co-worst in the league.

Villarreal and Granada collide on Wednesday in a battle of two sides enjoying very solid seasons, and the fourth- versus the seventh-place status of the match makes it our Game of the Week; Unai Emery’s Villarreal has lost just twice in 18 La Liga outings this season and sits poised to make a serious run at European qualification in the second half of the season.

The matchday opener at Valladolid’s iconic purple Zorrilla Stadium could have serious relegation ramifications come the end of the season, with just two points separating Elche, 18th, in the red zone and Tuesday’s hosts in 17th and safe — for now.

La Liga Matchday 19 Odds

All odds taken Jan 17 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Valladolid vs Elche

Though not the sexiest game on the La Liga Matchday 19 schedule, Tuesday’s opener between Valladolid (4-6-8) and Elche (3-7-6) is hugely important to both sides as they fight for survival.

Manager Sergio and his Valladolid staff have had to navigate a series of COVID-positive tests in the squad over the past two weeks, and a dip in league results — one win from five matches — has seen the blanquivioletas fall dangerously close to the relegation zone.

Elche’s modus operandi has been no offense (T-last 14 GF) and tight defense (9th, 21 GA), and that — combined with the fact four of Valladolid’s last five league matches have hit the Under 2.5 — makes us think there might be value in predicting a narrow, single-goal or less contest.

Tuesday will be the first meeting between the two sides since April 2017; Valladolid earned a 2-1 home win in that Segunda Division match.

Pick: Under 1.5 (+170)

Pick 2: Villarreal vs Granada

Villarreal (8-8-2) is rightly favored entering its clash with Granada (8-3-7), despite the fact the latter is certainly enjoying a banner year by its standard.

The Submarino Amarillo are a very difficult nut to crack, having earned points in 89-percent of league matches this season, and are in good form with four wins on the trot across all competitions.

Even in a season with no fans in stadiums, Granada’s home-away split is mind-blowing: Its 6-2-2 record at home is second-best in La Liga, but a 2-1-5 mark away from the Nuevo Los Carmenes has somewhat muddied European ambitions.

Expect Emery’s side to come out firing — with multi-goal outings in two straight and three of five league matches — grab the lead in the first half and hold it throughout the day.

Pick: Villarreal/Villarreal (Halftime-Fulltime) (+130)

Pick 3: Eibar vs Atletico Madrid

At first glance, Eibar (4-7-7) appears like the latest in a line of bottom-half sides to be cast aside by Atletico Madrid (13-2-1) on the latter’s march to a likely La Liga title.

Dig deeper, though, and you’ll see that Eibar — with respectable efforts against Real Madrid (1-3) and Barcelona — is trending up and that Atleti has actually split their last five meetings (2W-1L-2T) fairly evenly.

This year’s rojiblancos, however, are ‘built different’: Six goals conceded in 16 matches, and just four in 10 away from home. Eibar’s four goals in nine home matches are the lowest mark in Spain.

Regardless of how many Diego Simeone’s men score on Thursday, it’s difficult to see Eibar finding the mark against the league’s best defense in Atletico Madrid in La Liga Matchday 19.

Pick: Eibar Under  0.5 Team Goals (-118)