La Liga Picks - 21 October 2011

Rob Alexander picks out some value from this weekend's La Liga fixtures

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are yet to pull away from the chasing pack so far this season, with Levante the surprise package so far splitting the big two. Sevilla and Valencia are still in touch at the top, with big spending Malaga CF rounding off the top six.

The pick of this weekend's fixtures is clearly FC Barcelona v Sevilla as the Catalan giants face one of their toughest tests of the season, but will be confident of claiming a good win. Real Madrid's trip to billionaire owned Malaga should also be an interesing encounter on Saturday.

Two teams from the north of Spain are still yet to record a victory. Racing Santander have drawn four and lost three, while Sporting de Gijón have just one point from their seven matches. Racing take on Espanyol at home in a match that they will feel they can win to kick start what is likely to be a long season. Gijón meanwhile, host recently promoted Granada in what could be a key match in the relegation battle.

Weekend Pick

Real Sporting de Gijón v Granada CF

Gijón may have had a terrible start to the season but they have a fantastic opportunity to claim their first win of the season against fellow strugglers Granada who make the 900km journey to the north coast in a bid to get out of the relegation zone.

Gijón's squad is better than their positon suggests and they will still be hopeful of bettering their 10th placed finish last of last season. Victory over Granada will be key to their success this season and I'm backing them to get their first three points in this match.

Granada's squad is full of loanees from across Europe (including five Udinese players) as they bid to avoid relegation this season. Their victory over Villarreal earlier in the season certainly showed they are able to compete in the league but I can't see them taking anything from this match, thanks to Gijón's false position and the huge journey Granada will travel for the match.

Bet 2 points on Real Sporting de Gijón at 2.02 with bet365 and Ladbrokes

Another bet I like is Real Betis -0.75 at 2.0 with Stan James and Victor Chandler. the Seville based side are in good form and will be determined to put a few past an average Raya Vallecano side.