La Liga Soccer Best Bets: Favorite Plays For August 20 & 21, 2022

The return of La Liga last weekend was a welcome relief after a summer without top-level Spanish soccer. Both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid got off to winning starts, but Barcelona could only manage a draw as they struggled.

There’s still time remaining in the transfer window and there’s plenty of speculation around some of La Liga’s biggest clubs. Read below as we break down our La Liga best bets for the second week of action.

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Visit our La Liga Bet Hub for information on all of the matches you'll see this week. 

Week 2 La Liga Best Bets

Osasuna vs. Cadiz Best Bet

Kickoff: Saturday, August 20 at 11:30AM ET
Play: Osasuna to win (-106 at Bet365 if you're in New Jersey) ✅

Our first selection this weekend isn’t one of the most famous or fashionable teams in La Liga but Osasuna pulled off one of the surprises in the opening week when they beat Sevilla. Sevilla dominated possession in that game but Osasuna were compact and strong defensively, limited the opposition’s chances and managed to have more shots and more on target too.

Cadiz only narrowly avoided relegation last year, finishing 17th in La Liga and they started their season with a 1-0 loss this time around. They now face a tough trip to El Sadar and Los Rojillos should be able to get another three points to continue their strong start to the season.

Celta Vigo vs. Real Madrid Best Bet

Kickoff: Saturday, August 20 at 4:00PM ET
Play: Hugo Mallo to get booked (+160 at Bet365 if you're in New Jersey) ✅

Celta Vigo managed a draw on the opening weekend but Real Madrid will offer a very different proposition to Espanyol. This is a very good Real Madrid team as their Champions League win showed and they have a lot of ways to cut you apart in attack. We know all about Karim Benzema and the talismanic Frenchman is the key man but Vinicius Junior is the perfect accompaniment for him.

Vinicius Junior has electric pace that always causes problems for the fullbacks. Last week we tried to bet on his incredible speed but this didn’t quite work out. However, we’ll try again. His opposite number will be Hugo Mallo and the 31-year old will struggle against him. Not only that but he comes into this game having got booked in the previous game. Given the quality of the player who’ll be running at him, I’m expecting him to end up with his name in the book once more. The +160 on Hugo Mallo to get booked looks like a good opportunity.

Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona Best Bet

Kickoff: Sunday, August 21 at 4:00PM ET
Play: Barcelona to win (+110 at Bet365 if you're in New Jersey)

Last weekend we won a great +600 bet by backing Barcelona to only manage a draw. The reasoning behind that was that the speculation and uncertainty around whether players would be registered for Barcelona, would cause issues.

As a reaction to that the bookies are now offering a juicy +110 on Barcelona to win, but I feel this time it offers good value. There are still problems at Barcelona and players will have concerns around their futures but we know who is registered and who is eligible to play. That might not seem like a big thing but it means that manager Xavi will have been able to train all week with the same players and not have to have any contingency plans. Now they’ll be focused and hopefully hungry to avenge the bad result last weekend.