LaLiga Santander: Best special bets for the remaining 11 games of the 2019/20 season

Spanish football expert Chris Winterburn picks out his best ‘specials’ bets for the remaining 11 gameweeks...

• LaLiga - As it stands: Fixtures, stats & latest odds
• Five things about Lionel Messi
• LaLiga title odds: Barcelona 1/2 | Real Madrid 6/4

Messi and Barcelona to be best in class

Betting value on Lionel Messi and Barcelona performing expertly en route to the LaLiga Santander title is there to be had over the course of the remaining 11 matches.

Los Cules have been over-reliant on the Argentine for years, but never before has he been afforded the luxury of an extended break during the season.

He will arrive back into action fresh and ready to carry on his fine form from the first part of the campaign.

Already he has 19 goals in LaLiga Santander this term, and at 7/2 you can back the diminutive forward to score the most goals over the upcoming 11 games while Barcelona take the most points.

If Barcelona are to claim the most points over the next 11 matches, then it's more than likely Messi will be the one scoring the most goals.

Selection: Lionel Messi to score the most goals and Barcelona to earn the most points at 7/2

Simeone to produce his finest end to a season yet?

At 14/1, the odds for Atletico Madrid going unbeaten over the next 11 matches could represent excellent value for a team that saw off Liverpool.

Los Colchoneros have been awful domestically this season, failing to utilise Joao Felix as the direct replacement for Antoine Griezmann, being forced to play without Diego Costa for lengthy periods due to injuries, and Simeone was forced to build an entirely new defensive line in the summer.

However, let’s remember where we were when football stopped. Los Rojiblancos had beaten Liverpool twice, including a fantastic 3-2 victory at Anfield which showed that Simeone’s team could match the best in the world when they are on form.

Any questions over whether the former Inter and Lazio midfielder had lost his Midas touch with regards to defensive coaching were soon dispelled after one of the most impressive European away performances from a Spanish team in years.

Champions League football is now on the back burner, and Atleti have to somehow find a way of getting back into the top four.

They are one point adrift of fourth but will restart the season with incredible confidence. On their day they have the best defensive structure in Europe and they only really have two difficult matches remaining, albeit one being a trip to Barcelona. They did beat Barca in the Spanish Super Cup in January though.

It is not out of the question that the confidence from Anfield will carry them through to the end of the season, and a defence-led unbeaten run is very easy to imagine, even if it may carry more than a few draws along the way.

Atleti's final game of the season could be a cracker as they host Real Sociedad, and for reasons set out just below it could take on added significance.

Selection: Atletico Madrid to go unbeaten over the 11 gameweeks at 14/1

Real Sociedad will beat the rest

Betting without Real Madrid and Barcelona provides significant value when it comes to the LaLiga Santander title race as it really is wide-open behind the top two. Atleti should be there or thereabouts if they're remaining unbeaten for our previous selection, but draws have been an issue for them.

The actual battle for the crown will be between the Clasico rivals and there will not be a third party involved, yet when you look at the next best-placed teams there is a standout in the form of Real Sociedad.

Imanol Alguacil has coached his team into an attacking powerhouse, fully utilising the individual talents of Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Odegaard.

Whilst the two players likely won’t be at the Basque club in 2020/21, they can carry the team to a wonderful third-placed finish this term and secure Champions League football.

With odds of 6/1 in favour of Real Sociedad finishing the highest out of all clubs excluding the two behemoths, it would be a clever bet on a team that has dominated their opponents for much of the campaign.

Their fixture list is made complicated by having to play Real Madrid and Sevilla, although both of those are at home, before that season finale against Atletico Madrid we talked about.

Atleti have more draws in LaLiga than anyone else this season, and in the Bundesliga draws have become more common without crowds involved, so expect even more for Simeone's men. So with Sociedad clear by this final game, a draw would do nicely for us all.

Selection: Real Sociedad to win LaLiga Santander (without Real Madrid and Barcelona) at 6/1

Back Suarez to return with a bang

We've taken the Messi and Barca double as our main bet, but it's always worth a saver where Barcelona are concerned and, just in case anything happens to their main man, Luis Suarez provides the perfect cover bet.

Suarez hasn’t been fully fit since he underwent surgery in 2019 to help him play in the Copa America held in Brazil.

The decision to end his season early to take such an operation was frowned upon by Barcelona fans and the club’s management. His injury struggles carried over into the 2019/20 season and he had been expected to miss the remainder of the campaign through a knee ailment which also required surgery.

What followed was a period of intense rehabilitation and the ability to play again this season due to the COVID-19 enforced break.

The word coming out of Barcelona is Suarez is fit, healthy and more determined than ever to produce on the pitch.

Furthermore, he has actual competition for his place now in the form of Martin Braithwaite and the superbly talented Ansu Fati.

With all this considered, odds of 6/1 for the Uruguayan to score the most goals in the division over the next 11 matches is incredible value.

Nobody can doubt the former Liverpool forward’s talent and he will be rested, fresh and playing alongside a rested and fresh Lionel Messi. He just has to bag one more than his team-mate.

Under Quique Setien’s coaching there is potential for an attacking utopia in the final weeks of the season, and don’t rule out a hungry Suarez outscoring everyone. It's a cover bet for our main selection, but if Messi doesn't score, then Suarez usually does.

Selection: Luis Suarez to be top goalscorer over the 11 gameweeks at 6/1

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Odds correct as of 2100 BST on 08/06/20

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