La Liga Matchday 2 Odds & Picks: Real Madrid Faces Real Sociedad, Granada Red-Hot

• Spain’s La Liga moves into its second matchday, though the likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla will have to wait until Matchday 3 to kick off their domestic campaign
• With transfer rumors swirling, Zidane’s Real Madrid will begin their title defense away from home against Real Sociedad
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 2 in Spain’s top league below

It’s been something of a ‘soft launch’ for La Liga to start the 2020-21 season, with none of its top four teams in action on Matchday 1 and only one of the four (Real Madrid) active on Matchday 2.

The result is a larger emphasis on non-traditional storylines, like highly-touted Villarreal dropping points at home against Huesca and Valencia showcasing its still-potent attack in a 4-2 rivalry win over Levante.

Beyond Real Madrid’s return to play, the focus should remain on Valencia — a club in turmoil off the pitch but still capable of beating anyone on its day — this week as Javi Gracia’s side visits Celta Vigo on Friday (3:00 p.m. ET).

Additionally, it will be fascinating to see how Granada fares on Sunday vs. Alaves (12:30 pm ET) after a mid-week trip to Albania in Europa League play.

La Liga Matchday 2 Odds

All odds taken  Sept 17 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Celta Vigo vs Valencia

It was a rather drab 0-0 draw to begin the season for Celta Vigo (0-1-0), though given the serious relegation battle the club faced last season a point is still a point.

Valencia at least temporarily distracted its fans from off-field issues with an entertaining 4-2 win over local rivals Levante; the emergence of 23-year-old striker Manu Vallejo could prove to be key with the club expected to hemorrhage more offensive talent before the end of the transfer window.

Neither Celta’s home record (5-8-6, 18th) or Valencia’s away record (3-4-12) inspired any sort of confidence in 2019-20, in keeping with the generally disappointing nature of their respective seasons.

The two clubs split last year’s meetings, with the home side claiming a 1-0 win in each outing.

Celta were nothing if not defensively stout on Matchday 1; expect the trend to continue for Oscar Junyent’s squad.

PICK: U 2.5 (-127)

Pick 2: Granada vs Alaves

While it was against mediocre-at-best opposition, Granada’s flying 4-0 win in Europa League on Thursday has Diego Martinez’s team in an arrow-up position — especially when you consider its steady 2-0 win over Bilbao last weekend to begin the La Liga season.

Alaves (0-0-1), meanwhile, struggled for offense in a 1-0 loss against Betis on MD-1 and appear poised to fall into the relegation battle for the second straight season.

In terms of head-to-head, Granada outscored Alaves 5-0 over the course of their two meetings (3-0 home, 2-0 away) in 2019-20.

It’s also worth noting that Manchester City loanee Yangel Herrera has scored three goals in the past week for Granada, who are simply flying out of the gate.

PICK: Granada O 1.5 (+160)

Pick 3: Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid

There is no doubt that most attention on Matchday 2 will be turned to San Sebastian, where Real Sociedad (0-1-0) hosts Real Madrid in the latter’s season opener.

With all sorts of rumors flying regarding Madrid winger Gareth Bale’s return to England in the coming days, it would be understandable if Los Blancos‘ attention wasn’t all the way there in their first match of 2020-21.

However, this is a championship squad — virtually unchanged in the transfer market thus far — under Zidane whose 2.00 points/game away from home was the best in the league by a wide margin last season.

On the flip side, recent history tells us Sociedad has a very real chance, having knocked Madrid out of the Copa del Rey last season over two legs and won both meetings in 2018-19 (3-1 at home, 2-0 away).

Playing the halftime angle, Sociedad were 5-9-5 at halftime in home matches last season; Real were an impregnable 6-12-1 away from home at the break. If you’re willing to stomach an underdog while still protecting yourself on a DNB, consider Sociedad this week.

PICK: Real Sociedad 1H DNB (+185)