La Liga Matchday 5 Odds & Picks: Barcelona Host Sevilla, Betis Visit Valencia

• Spain’s La Liga continues its rapid-fire start to the season, with all 20 teams in action this weekend on Matchday 5
• Both title contenders hit the pitch on Sunday when Real Madrid visit Levante (10:00 am ET) and Barcelona host Sevilla (3:00 pm)
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 5 in Spain’s top league below

Intriguing matchups are plentiful this weekend as Spain’s La Liga finishes up a fixture-heavy few weeks with some serious showdowns in Madrid (Atletico vs Villarreal), Valencia (vs Betis) and Barcelona (vs Sevilla).

The final match of the round — Barça-Sevilla — features the only two perfect teams remaining, as both Ronald Koeman and Julen Lopetegui’s squads are 2-0-0 to start the season.

At the bottom of the table, Valladolid and Eibar open up the matchday at 7:00 am on Saturday morning in a battle of winless teams desperately seeking a win.

La Liga Matchday 5 Odds

All odds taken  Oct 2 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Valencia vs Real Betis

Despite the turmoil of a transfer-laden, drama-filled offseason, it’s been a reasonably good start to the season for Valencia (2-1-1) under Javi Gracia.

With that said, the murcielagos face a very difficult run of games beginning with Betis on Saturday that includes Villarreal (away), Elche (away), Getafe (home) and Real Madrid (home) — keep an eye on their form as they face more top-half opposition.

After a strong start against lower-half opponents, Real Betis (2-0-2) have suffered back-to-back defeats against Getafe (0-3) and Real Madrid (2-3) — and seen players sent off in both.

Both Betis and Valencia are at near-full strength, with few key injuries and plenty of quality attacking options available across the board.

The last three head-to-head meetings have seen identical 2-1 scorelines (two in favor of Valencia, one for Betis); expect both sides to find the net once again on Saturday.

PICK: BTTS (-136)

Pick 2: Levante vs Real Madrid

Levante (1-0-2) appear to once again be a must-watch mid-table team, capable of both scoring bunches of goals and conceding them.

Real Madrid (2-1-0) are a team in transition personnel-wise, and have hit the ‘Under’ in two of their first three league matches — the other being a wild 3-2 shootout win over Real Betis.

Surprisingly, Los Blancos have had an even split against Levante over the past three years (2W-2D-2L) and Levante should be game to keep it tight.

If you’re looking for a player prop, consider Real’s Vinicius to score (+188); the youngster scored the lone goal in Madrid’s 1-0 win over Valladolid midweek.

10 – Vinícius Júnior 🇧🇷 is the second LaLiga player born in 2000 or later to score 10+ goals in all competitions (53 shots on target, 71 appearances), after Ansu Fati 🇪🇸 for Barcelona (10 goals, 16 shots on target, 34 apps). Future. pic.twitter.com/8LB0QCX9A0

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 30, 2020

There’s simply too much value on Levante, at home against a team they have had reasonable success against in recent seasons, to not take a flyer as our risk play this week.

PICK: Levante or Draw (+160)

Pick 3: FC Barcelona vs Sevilla

The marquee matchup of La Liga’s fifth round is set for the Camp Nou, where Barcelona (2-0-0) host Sevilla (2-0-0) in an enthralling matchup.

Barça have been nothing short of dominant to begin the domestic campaign, defeating Villarreal (4-0) and Celta (3-0) — the latter while spending the entire second half down a man — in convincing fashion.

Sevilla have likewise been steady, beating Cadiz (3-1) and Levante (1-0) en route to six points from six and pushing Bayern Munich to the limit in September 24th’s UEFA Super Cup.

Goals have been plentiful in recent meetings between the two clubs; 0-0 draw during COVID quarantine in June aside, the last 15 league meetings (dating back to 2012) have featured three or more goals. In fact, the four meetings prior to that draw all featured four or more.

Two teams with great offensive players and in good form; what more can you ask for as a neutral viewer or over bettor.

PICK: O 3.5 (+143)