We are entering the last weeks of play in the English Premier League and La Liga, and in England, the fight for the championship, the fight for the top three and the fight to avoid relegation are all close battles. At the top of the table, Liverpool leads Manchester City by two points; Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are just three points apart and sit three through six on the table right now (with Man United coming off a humiliating 4-0 loss at Everton this past weekend). Cardiff City sits three points behind Brighton in its drive to avoid falling out of the first division. In La Liga, Barcelona looks like the presumptive champion, nine points clear of Atletico Madrid, but Real Madrid sits just four points behind Atletico for second place. The 18th place side, Valladolid, would be relegated if the season ended, but they are just four points behind Villarreal, in 14th place, with Celta Vigo, Girona and Levante all between them and at risk. What soccer picks should make up part of your soccer sports betting for the week? Look at our top picks.
Top Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – April 22nd Edition
The #PL title run-in…@LFC: Huddersfield (H), Newcastle (A), Wolves (H) @ManCity: Man Utd (A), Burnley (A), Leicester (H), Brighton (A) pic.twitter.com/KmJ0UVCUMf
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 22, 2019
La Liga: Girona at Valladolid (12:30pm ET)
- When: Tuesday, April 23
Valladolid would get a huge push away from relegation with a home win over Girona, who is just two points ahead of Valladolid in La Liga — and with Atletico Madrid looming this weekend, Valladolid needs to get points now. On Friday, Valladolid drew at Alaves, 2-2, as John Guidetti scored first for Alaves, and then Jony Rodriguez made it a 2-0 game in the 24th minute. However, Valladolid stormed back to get the point, as Joaquin Fernandez Moreno scored in the 38th minute, and Enes Unal converted a penalty in the 76th minute to draw the visitors level, but that was the end of the scoring. Valladolid led in shots 12-10 (7-4 on target) and possessed for 54 percent of the game. They would need a better start to top Girona, though.
Girona lost, 2-1, at Celta Vigo on Saturday. Iago Aspas opened the scoring for the hosts in the 34th minute, but Portu brought Girona level just after halftime. Sofiane Boufal responded for Celta Vigo in the 69th minute, giving the hosts the goal they would need to seal the win. Celta Vigo led in shots (13-9, 8-1 on target) and possessed for 63 percent of the game. Girona will have to apply more pressure if they want to win at Valladolid on Tuesday.
Final Score Prediction: Valladolid 2, Girona 1
EPL: Manchester City at Manchester United (1:00pm ET)
- When: Wednesday, April 24
Because of fixtures in other competitions, this derby was moved to April 24, and Manchester United has to be smarting after losing in such spectacular fashion to Everton on Sunday. The Toffees got the scoring going early, as Richarlison scored in the 13th minute. Gylfi Sigurosson added a second goal in the 28th minute, and then Lucas Digne and Theo Walcott finished the scoring in the second half. Everton dominated the shooting, 15-7 (8-1 on target) and the pressure, generating 10 corners to just two for Man United. Since Manchester United also got shut out by Barcelona on April 16, 3-0, in the second leg of Champions League play, that makes two clean sheets in a row. Can Man United get up for their crosstown rivals, who are fighting for an EPL title?
City has some frustrations of their own to work out, as they were sent home by Tottenham Hotspur from Champions League play by a 1-0 score in the middle of last week. They saw Tottenham again on Saturday, also at the Etihad, and dealt out a 1-0 win, as Phil Foden scored in the fifth minute and then the Citizens held on, possessing for 61 percent of the game and outshooting the Spurs 15-10 (4-4 on target) and completing 87 percent of their passes, to 74 percent for the visitors. City will be looking to expand that offense against Manchester United, but it will be difficult to see whether City can accomplish that against a United side that has to be frustrated and will feature a raucous crowd.
Final Score Prediction: Manchester City 2, Manchester United 2
