La Liga Matchday 36 Odds & Picks: Villarreal and Real Sociedad Jockey for European Spots

• Real Madrid remain in the driver’s seat with three matchdays remaining in Spain’s La Liga, leading second-place Barcelona by at least one and possibly as many as four points — dependent on Real’s match vs. Alaves on Friday afternoon
• By some miracle, Mallorca remain alive in the relegation race; they trail Alaves and safety by likely three (though as many as six, dependent on the result of the aforementioned Matchday 35 finale in Madrid) points
• Get all the odds and best matchups for Matchday 36 in Spain below

With the title basically decided and only a couple teams still in the relegation mix, much of the intrigue in the remaining three matchdays is focused around the chase for Europe; Sevilla and Atletico are in a dead heat for third place, while Getafe, Villareal and Real Sociedad are separated by just three points in sixth through eighth place.

Matchday 36 kicks off on Saturday when Osasuna (+188) hosts a reasonably in-form Celta Vigo (+150) in Pamplona at 11:00 am EST.

La Liga Matchday 36 Odds

All odds taken July 10

Pick 1: Sevilla vs. Mallorca

If Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla (17-12-6) are going to take a serious stab at 3rd place, they’ll need all three points against likely relegation candidates Mallorca (9-5-21) on Sunday at home.

On paper, it’s a mismatch: Sevilla have won three-straight games and dispatched Mallorca’s fellow relegation candidates (3-0 at Leganes, 1-0 v. Eibar) in the past ten days.

12 – Julen Lopetegui's @SevillaFC_ENG are unbeaten their last #LaLiga 12 games (W6 D6), the best run for the club without losing in the competition ever (level with the run under Manolo JIménez in 2008, W9 D3). Händel#AthleticSevillaFC pic.twitter.com/MlTsDw73F4

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 9, 2020

Mallorca are LaLiga’s worst away team (1-2-14) and have lost all four away matches since the return from COVID — with a -8 goal differential to boot.

PICK: Sevilla -1, 1.5 (-109)

Pick 2: Villareal vs. Real Sociedad

Plenty of eyes will be on Villarreal (17-6-12) come Monday, as Javier Calleja’s squad look to take a major step towards European qualification against a hit-and-miss Real Sociedad (15-6-13).

The book on Villarreal is simple: They score lots of goals — i.e. their 3-1 away win at Getafe yesterday — but are also prone to conceding, as in their 4-1 home defeat on Sunday against Barcelona.

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

Sociedad, meanwhile, have seen a season with very real Champions League ambitions falter out of the break with one point from their first five post-COVID matches; a win over Espanyol (2-1) and draw at Levante (1-1) in their last two outings have kept a glimmer of European hope alive, but Imanol’s side have been poor.

PICK: Villareal (+134)

Pick 3: Alaves vs. Getafe

Another crucial clash for very different reasons, Alaves (9-8-17) will need to take maximum points from Getafe (14-11-10) to help secure their survival — especially with an away trip to Betis and visit from Barcelona remaining after Monday’s match.

On the other side of the coin, Getafe are in the thick of the Europa League race and still alive in this year’s edition of the continental competition; it’s been an incredible season for Bordalas’s squad, who will need to navigate a tricky run-in in the league (vs. Atletico, at Levante) while preparing for Inter Milan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peKS0mAWBzk

Alaves are in truly horrific form, too, losers of five-straight games and six of seven since the return to play; Getafe have also struggled (1-4-3) post-COVID, but not to the same degree.

PICK: Getafe pk, -0.5 (-111)