La Liga Predictions, Picks and Betting Preview December 19-21

Betting Preview for La Liga Matches December 19-21

WagerTalk La Liga handicapper Kevin Dolan presents his December 19-21 La Liga predictions and betting preview around key La Liga matches including Sevilla at Granada and Celta Vigo at Villarreal. Which teams is he looking to pick up points and which will have goal scoring? Read his La Liga betting tips now!

Sevilla at Granada | Tuesday December 19 | 3:30pm ET

Sevilla +150 | Granada +180 | Draw +245

Two teams currently mired in the thick of the relegation battle meet on Tuesday night over at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes as 19th-placed Granada hosts 17th-placed Sevilla in a crucial game at the bottom of the table.

Sevilla have vastly underperformed their pre-season expectations after being crowned Europa League champions for the 7th time last season, with the poor domestic form that dogged them throughout most of last year returning again this year, due in no small part to a host of first-team injuries.

No team in LaLiga is currently dealing with the amount of absences that Sevilla are, and that has led to the Rojiblancos being stuck in a protracted ten-game winless streak in the league as a result.

For Granada, they’ve been even less successful this season than Sevilla have, generating just one win all year, but have at least avoided defeat in four of their last five games at home, which included solid draws against the likes of Barcelona, Real Betis, and Athletic Bilbao.

From a side perspective, it’s very difficult to separate either of these two teams currently as their data on the season as a whole is almost identical on a home/road form split.

However, Granada’s propensity for poor defense at home this year, allowing the most goals from open play and having the worst defensive xGA rating out of any team in the league at home this year also, has us firmly leaning towards the Over on Tuesday night in this relegation matchup down in Andalusia.

La Liga Prediction: Over 2.5 (-115)

Celta Vigo at Villarreal | Wednesday December 20 | 3:30pm ET

Celta Vigo +180 | Villarreal +145 | Draw +250

After ranking as the #1 team in offensive xG to close out the back half of last season, many people expected the Yellow Submarine to kick on and be amongst the mix at the top of the table in LaLiga this season.

That hasn’t happened however as Villarreal find themselves closer to the drop zone this season than actually contending for anything, being a full 16 points adrift of even a Europa League spot right now.

That said, they face a Celta Vigo side on Wednesday who they’ve managed to get the better of across recent seasons, especially at the Estadio de la Ceramica, where they haven’t lost to Celta across any competition since 2021, winning both of their recent meetings here as well.

For Celta Vigo, they’ve endured an even rougher start to the 2023/24 campaign than their hosts, currently sitting inside the relegation zone and on a winless run of six straight games away from home also.

Despite their poor results this season, Villarreal’s overall data continues to be impressive at home, especially offensively, where they rank #1 in counter-attacking goals scored this year as well as 5th in offensive xG also.

That was highlighted in their last game against Real Sociedad where Villarreal, despite having 20 attempts on goal and creating the better chances in the game, owning a 2.05 to 1.25 xG advantage over Real Sociedad, somehow ended the game on the wrong side of a 0-3 result, a lack of cutting edge that has cost them all season.

We’ll trust the numbers here however and back Villarreal on the +0 handicap line, (PK/DNB), to get a result at home against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

La Liga Prediction: Villarreal +0 (-125)

*Signifies Pick ‘Em or Draw No Bet, whereby your stake is returned if the game ends in a draw.

Girona at Real Betis | Wednesday December 21 | 1:00pm ET

Girona +145 | Real Betis +175 | Draw +260

Great matchup penciled in for Thursday evening over at the Estadio Benito Villamarin as high flyers Girona travel to Real Betis looking to reclaim their top spot in the league after Real Madrid leapfrogged them at the weekend with a win against Villarreal.

That result currently has Real Madrid one point ahead of Girona at the top of the standings, but Girona has a game in hand over Los Blancos, so a win here on Thursday will put Girona back at the top of the table in what’s been an incredible season for the Catalonian club.

Whether they can manage that or not however is another matter as Real Betis have been a solid team at home this year, winning four of their last five games outright at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

That said, none of those recent wins came against the likes of Girona, with no team in the league currently being in better recent form than the Gironistes either, amassing a healthy 2.67 PPG across their last six starts, by far the #1 mark in the league of late (Real Madrid 2.33 PPG, Barcelona 1.83 PPG and so on..).

At home however, Betis haven’t lost to Girona in over a decade now, winning four of their last five meetings outright as well, and that strong home form leads us to believe that Los Verdiblancos could well get something from this game on Thursday.

La Liga Prediction: Draw (+260)