La Liga Predictions, Picks and Props January 19-21

Predictions and Picks for La Liga Matches January 19-21

WagerTalk La Liga handicapper Kevin Dolan presents his January 19-21 La Liga predictions and betting preview around key La Liga matches including Cadiz at Alaves and Barcelona at Real Betis. Which teams is he looking to pick up points and which will have goal scoring? Read his La Liga betting tips now!

Cadiz at Alaves | Friday January 19 | 3:00pm ET

Cadiz +400 | Alaves -120 | Draw +240

Alaves host Cadiz on Friday night over in Spain in what’s set to be a pretty pivotal game overall with just 5 total points separating the teams from 13th to 18th in the league table.

Two of the teams in those spots are Cadiz and Alaves, so neither can afford to slip up here over at the Estadio Mendizorrotza on Friday night.

For Cadiz, they’ve endured one of the longest winless runs in all of Europe currently, now on a 16-game straight run without a win in LaLiga, with the Andalusian side not tasting a league victory since their win over Villarreal all the way back at the start of September.

Alaves meanwhile haven’t had to wait nearly as long for a win, beating Sevilla in a 3-2 thriller last week which saw Ruben Duarte’s goal right at the end being the only thing separating the two sides.

However, despite being in the better form of the two sides heading into this one, Alaves does have an incredibly poor record at home against Cadiz historically, not having beaten them in this venue since 2003.

Cadiz meanwhile, despite not winning many games, aren’t losing many either, finding ways to consistently grind out results in matchups, with five of their last seven games overall finishing in outright draws, along with four of their last five against Alaves specifically in this venue also.

Take the outright draw on Friday night in the LaLiga matchup between Cadiz and Alaves.

La Liga Prediction: Draw (+240)

Mallorca at Villarreal | Saturday January 20 | 10:15am ET

Mallorca +260 | Villarreal +110 | Draw +245

Two teams who also find themselves in those incredibly tight-knit 13th to 18th spots in the league are in action this weekend as well, with both Mallorca and Villarreal tied on 19 points currently heading into Matchday 21.

Villarreal had been an absolute disaster at home to start the season, ranking bottom three in the league overall in points generated per game up until the mid-way point of November.

However, the Yellow Submarine have started to turn a corner of late with two wins from their last three at home, and they’ll go for only their fourth victory of the season inside the Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday.

Facing them are a Mallorca side in this one who, while losing just one of their last seven league games overall, have been poor on the road this season, accumulating just one win all season and losing four of their last five games away from home as well.

Villarreal have enjoyed a tremendously strong record at home across the previous two decades against Mallorca, not losing at this venue since 2003. However, that changed with a 2-0 loss to Mallorca back in November of 2022, something the Pirates will look to repeat once again this weekend.

Villarreal does seem to have turned a corner of late however, especially at home, but we can’t quite trust them yet, instead happier to pivot towards the Both Teams to Score – No prop, a play that has cashed in all of the last four head-to-head meetings in this venue between the two teams.

La Liga Prediction: Both Teams to Score – No (-105)

Barcelona at Real Betis | Sunday January 21 | 12:30pm ET

Barcelona -125 | Real Betis +325 | Draw +285

The defending champions Barcelona have been well off the pace in LaLiga this season, sitting a full eight points off Girona at the top and seven points behind Real Madrid with the same number of games played also.

Whether they can claw that deficit back over the second half of the season is anyone’s guess, but if they’re to start, it’s something that likely needs to begin on Sunday against Real Betis.

The good news for the Catalan giants however is that they’re coming into this game off the back of two straight league wins against Almeria and Las Palmas respectively.

However, Barcelona looked less than impressive in either of those games, needing a late 93rd-minute penalty to snatch all three points against Las Palmas, with bottom-of-the-table Almeria also slotting two goals past them in what was a far cry from the defensive presence Barcelona displayed last season in the league.

Barcelona will need to be much sharper in this one, especially coming off that lopsided 4-1 loss in the Super Cup to rivals Real Madrid last weekend as well, as Betis have been strong at home this season, sitting top six in the league overall in home form and ranking as one of only three teams yet to lose a game on home soil all season.

Barcelona have won in six of their last seven visits to the Estadio Benito Villamarin against Betis, but have looked incredibly shaky of late also, a fact Betis may be able to take advantage of this weekend.

Take Real Betis to get a result at home on Sunday as at the very least we expect them to keep this one close.

La Liga Prediction: Real Betis +0.75 (-130)