La Liga Matchday 9 Odds & Picks: Barcelona vs Real Betis, Valencia vs Real Madrid and More

• La Liga’s Matchday 9 promises plenty of betting intrigue, kicking off Friday (3:00 PM EST) with Elche hosting Celta Vigo and winding down with title challengers Real Madrid visiting out-of-sorts Valencia on Sunday (3:00 PM EST)
• Barcelona sits a shocking 12th in the table but remains a steady -265 favorite entering its contest with Real Betis on Saturday (10:15 am)
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 9 in Spain’s La Liga below

In a year as wild as 2020, it’s little surprise to see Spain’s La Liga has been turned upside down.

Beyond empty stadiums, Real Sociedad stand alone in first place — albeit with Zidane’s Real Madrid a single point back with a match in-hand — Barcelona are in the bottom half and Sevilla are just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Sociedad’s clash with 6th-place Granada on Sunday (10:15 am) should draw plenty of attention, with the latter punching above its weight while competing in Europe for the first time.

La Liga Matchday 9 Odds

All odds taken Nov .4 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Barcelona vs Real Betis

It’s rarely a dull affair when the Blaugrana face Real Betis; the combination of the former’s world-class talent and the latter’s offense-first mentality often leads to wild goal fests — and usually a win for the favorite from Catalunya.

Barça (2-2-2) are in the doldrums right now. With just two wins in six league matches, this looks like a very clear sense of a ‘transitional season’. Three wins in Champions League play have been tempered somewhat by a three-game winless drought in La Liga (0-2-1).

While Mauricio Pellegrini may be new to Real Betis (4-0-4), the club has stayed true to its boom-and-bust nature this season. Real Betis has signature wins over Elche (3-1) and Valencia (2-0) and ugly losses to Real Sociedad (0-3) and Getafe (0-3) so far.

Ronald Koeman’s side is heavily favored for a reason: Barça has won three straight and five of six against Betis; the goals total has also been historically dependable in this matchup, with each of the past five meetings featuring five or more goals.

Considering Betis have conceded multiple goals in every match against top-half opposition this season — and Barca’s attack is starting to find a rhythm — getting greedy on the goals total might be the play.

PICK: Over 3.5 (+130)

Pick 2: Real Sociedad vs Granada

You would be hard-pressed to find a club in Spain getting a better per-dollar result from its squad, year over year, than Real Sociedad (5-2-1).

Through different managers, key players departing and being replaced by young prospects like Roberto Lopez or aging vets a la David Silva, La Real remain consistent in the European places — and are alone in first place through eight matchdays to start the 2020-21 campaign.

3834 – David Silva has scored his 26th in @LaLigaEN (the third with the head), the first one since May 2010 when netted for Valencia vs Xerez 3834 days after. Rediscovery#CeltaRealSociedad @RealSociedadEN pic.twitter.com/iXBvADnBVA

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 1, 2020

Granada (4-2-1) are off a flyer this season, stacking impressive results against the likes of Sevilla (1-0) and Getafe (1-0) in Spain while also navigating well through the Europa League group stage in their debut on the continental stage.

Pragmatism has been the key for Diego Martinez’s side, which soaks up pressure and is efficient in front of the opposition goal; Jorge Molina (38) and Roberto Soldado (36) offer some gray-haired cover for frontman Darwin Machis, but it remains to be seen if they will have enough offensive punch to last the season.

Both meetings between the two last season went Over 2.5, but with Sociedad defensively sound at home and six of Granada’s last seven contests coming in Under 2.5, consider fading last year’s results.

PICK: Under 2.5 (-118)

Pick 3: Valencia vs Real Madrid

To say Valencia (2-2-4) is teetering on the brink is an understatement.

Javi Gracia’s team has won just once in seven matches since an opening day derby win over Levante on Sep. 13, and midfield general Geoffrey Kondogbia has been sold to Atletico Madrid with no replacement inbound.

Worth stating that Valencia can't sign anyone to replace Kondogbia because they reached an agreement with Atletico over his price. Had Atleti paid his buyout clause Valencia would have had a month to sign someone 🎠🎠🎠

— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) November 3, 2020

Enter Real Madrid (5-1-1), coming off a quality 3-2 win over Inter Milan in Champions League play on Tuesday and with 12 goals in their last four matches.

While recent history shows an even matchup — 1-1-1 share of the last three head-to-heads, and Valencia with a 3-2-1 record in the last six meetings at the Mestalla — it’s important to note that Valencia of years past under Marcelino/Nuno Espirito Santo is far from the patchwork side suiting up this Sunday.

PICK: Real Madrid -1.5 (+138)