La Liga Matchday 3 Odds & Picks: Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal, Barcelona vs Getafe & Real Betis vs Real Madrid

• It is the La Liga Matchday 3 this weekend, starting with Mallorca vs Espanyol on Friday, April 27, KO 2:00 pm EST,
• Atletico Madrid and Sevilla lead the table as the only two teams with maximum points
• We list the odds for all ten games and preview three, offering our best picks

La Liga Matchday 3 kicks off on Friday, April 27, KO 2:00 PM EST, with Mallorca vs Espanyol followed by Valencia vs Alaves at 4:15 PM EST, with four more games taking place on Saturday, and another four on Sunday.

Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are the joint early pacesetters, both with two wins from two, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Mallorca, and Valencia all just two points behind. Read on to see the odds and our best bets for the weekend’s action below.

La Liga Matchday 3 Odds

All odds as of Aug 26 at DraftKings

Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal Prediction

Atleti will be hoping to continue their flying start to the campaign when they entertain Villarreal at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday. Two wins from two for Atletico – 2-1 away at Celta Vigo and 1-0 at home vs Elche – have given them the ideal platform from which to defend their La Liga title, but this will be their biggest test of the season so far. Los Rojiblancos hope to have last season’s top scorer Luis Suarez available after the Uruguayan missed the 1-0 win over Elche last weekend, but Joao Felix is doubtful for the game.

🎯 pic.twitter.com/b5RkaKzoNU

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) August 25, 2021

Villarreal, who finished seventh last season and only just missed out of European soccer, are hoping to gatecrash the top six this season but will need to get their first win on the board to kick-start their campaign after playing out two goalless draws, against Granada and Espanyol. The Yellow Submarine will be without the services of key midfielder Dani Parejo who has yet to appear after picking up a calf injury in pre-season.

#EspanyolVillarreal | 0-0 | ⏱️ 20'|

¡Sigue el empate ante el @RCDEspanyol en estos primeros compases!

¡Vamos, Submarino 🙌! pic.twitter.com/axbDMjf7gR

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) August 21, 2021

Atleti’s home form is such it is hard to make a case for the away win. The Yellows, however, have a sound defense, as shown by consecutive clean sheets, and after winning last season’s Europa League are full of confidence. On that basis, and with Atleti having scored just three times to win their opening two games, the value here is with the low-scoring draw.

Pick: Atletico Madrid & Villarreal to draw (+245) / Atletico Madrid & Villarreal to draw 1-1 (+750)

Barcelona vs Getafe Prediction

Barca’s season got off to the ideal start with a comfortable 4-2 home win over Real Sociedad – goals coming from Gerard Pique, Martin Braithwaite (2), and Sergio Roberto – but they failed to build on this at the weekend when they disappointingly drew 1-1 in Bilbao against Athletic Club. It needed a Memphis Depay equalizer 15 minutes from time to salvage a point after falling behind early in the second half.

🦾 Training session recap 🦾 pic.twitter.com/5qTbgvc3Op

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 25, 2021

A Messi-less Barca is a far less intimidating prospect for visitors to the Camp Nou and while Sergio Aguero has arrived to add an experienced head to their attacking options, they will not carry the same threat in the attacking third. Eric Garcia will miss the game after being shown red in injury-time against Bilbao, while Pique will miss out after picking up a knock and joins a crowded injury roster that also includes Aguero, Dembele, and ter Stegen.

¡Buenos días, azulones! ☀

Seguimos trabajando con la vista puesta en nuestra visita al Camp Nou del domingo 💪#VamosGeta pic.twitter.com/zOje87OnLQ

— Getafe C.F. (@GetafeCF) August 26, 2021

Getafe ended last season too close to the relegation zone for comfort and two 1-0 defeats in their opening two games of this campaign – against Valencia and Sevilla – suggests 2021-22 could be an equally tough season for the Azulones. With a poor away record last season – just three wins on the road – a Getafe win in the Camp Nou looks like a remote prospect, and so the best value bet here is in trying to predict the size of the Barca win. A comfortable 2-0, on offer at +675, looks decent value, as does the two-goal winning margin.

Pick: Barca to win 2-0 (+675) / Barca to win by two goals (+280)

Real Betis vs Real Madrid Prediction

The Estadio Benito Villamarin was a fortress for Betis last season, where they enjoyed the second-best home record in La Liga, but one of their four defeats was against Real Madrid – a five-goal thriller that the visitors won 3-2. So far, Betis have drawn both of their games 1-1 – against Mallorca and Cadiz – but this will be an altogether different test.

💚💚💚💚💚 pic.twitter.com/vyVnjqw0vp

— Real Betis Balompié (@RealBetis_en) August 21, 2021

Real Madrid started the season with a thumping 4-1 win away at Alaves but had to be content with just a point in game 2 when they shared six goals on their trip to Levante. While they are still regarded as one of the powerhouses of Europe, this is a Real Madrid team in transition, and some of their established names – Luka Modric, Ferland Mendy, Marcelo, Dani Ceballos, and Toni Kroos – are struggling for early-season fitness.

🔋 Good morning, #RMFans! pic.twitter.com/TMPJBtE7zT

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) August 26, 2021

As a result, this is one of those rare occasions where it is worth considering betting against one of Spain’s elite. In the circumstances, there looks to be value in the home win at +330, with Betis generally excellent on their own turf.

Picks: Real Betis to win (+330)