Savage gives us his thoughts on the pick of the matches in Spain’s Primera División as the Basque Derby adds some extra excitement this weekend
Athletic Club v Real Sociedad
Sat 15 Apr 15:15
Another Basque Derby rolls around to ignite this ferocious rivalry once more. The visitors sit 11 points clear and more importantly are currently occupying one of the prized Champions League spots. Athletic on the other hand are currently 5 points adrift of a European place and would love another 3 points here. In a startling similarity of form, both sides have registered 2 wins in their last 3 having not seen a win in their previous 4. The hosts picked just one less point (W2 D2 L3) along the way than their nearest neighbours (W2 D3 L2). Sociedad comfortably outplayed Athletic at the Reale Arena in January and will be looking for more of the same this time around.
Cádiz v Real Madrid
Sat 15 Apr 20:00
Cádiz managed to buy themselves some breathing space in the relegation battle with a surprising win over Betis last time out. Their two man advantage certainly helped towards maintaining their two goal advantage. Just one loss in their last 6 (W2 D3 L1) is the kind of form that will surely keep them in the league for another year. However, past results count for little when facing the reigning champions. Real have had an interesting week even by their standards. Comfortable wins in the Copa and Champions League bookended a shock 2-3 loss to Villarreal last weekend. Given Barcelona also dropped points it would have been a fine time to pick up the W. As it stands cup glory is the only thing on the line for Los Blancos. The hosts have lost just once in their last 11 at home so there is a slim possibility of sneaking a result especially if Madrid rest players for their return leg in London.
Getafe v Barcelona
Sun 16 Apr 15:15
Barcelona incurred just the fifth blot (D3 L2) on their league copybook when they played out a 0-0 draw against Girona last time out. However, the title is still secure with their extremely comfortable 13 point gap to the rest of the field. Their hosts will not relish the prospect of welcoming the Catalan giants who have won 21 of the previous 22 meetings between the sides. Enes Unal is the standout player in this Getafe side and is the principal reason they will survive this season should his team do so.The Turkish forward has 13 goals and has only been outscored by Lewandowski (17) and Benzema (14). Unfortunately for the hosts he may not have enough to overpower this Barca defense that have still conceded just 9 goals in 28 matches.
Smart Bets:
Athletic Club v Real Sociedad – Real Sociedad @ 5/2
Cádiz v Real Madrid – Cádiz and Draw @ 7/5
Getafe v Barcelona – Barcelona and Over 1.5 @ 11/10
The above in a treble at 16/1 is available with Bet365
