Spanish La Liga
2012-05-02 - Barcelona vs Malaga
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : Spain : La Liga
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012, 7:00PM GMT
PREVIEW
Barcelona are the obvious choice to win this home match against Malaga, and the prices reflect that quite accurately. I still think Pep Guardiolas men are a good accumulator selection at Ladbrokes, who have them at 1.22
Malaga will have to come here and have a go, as they are tied on 55 points with Valencia, and sit in 4th behind them. Champions League football is very important and they have a great chance at qualifying, so we should not see them sit back.
Of course, you know how that normally turns out for teams that try and attack Barcelona. The Catalans will be in a furious mood, because once their match ends, Real Madrid will begin their 36th match, and a win there would seal the title. Barcelona will want to sweeten things up before that happens.
It's been a disastrous few weeks for Barcelona, who were beaten in London by Chelsea, who then pegged them back to a draw despite being a man and 2 goals down in Spain. Out went Barcelona from a competition they had hopes of winning for the 2nd year running and 3rd in 4 years, and as if that wasn't enough, Real Madrid came here and beat them, virtually guaranteeing their hold on the trophy. And through it all, Messi was kept quiet.
Messi has broken records this season with his play, netting 43 league goals and he will want more, as the only thing he can try is to beat Ronaldo to the Golden Boot. Both men have 43 for the season, already surpassing Ronaldos 40 from last season. Barcelona will want their man to win this honour too, as it would provide some comfort to them if they can have that victory over Madrid.
The signs are already there, for since losing to Madrid and crashing out of Europe to Chelsea, Barcelona have thumped Rayo Vallecano 7-0 away, the biggest away win by any side this season! Barcelona have now scored 177 goals in all competitions, and that walloping of Rayo may not be the end of it, as Barcelona look to end Pep Guardiolas reign in style.
Malaga have already been thrashed here time and time again. They have lost their last 9 games here at the Nou Camp, and the last 7 games have seen them concede 25 goals, almost 4 a game, and score just 5. Looking back at the most recent results, I see they have lost at home to Barcelona 4-1 and 3-1, while their last trip here ended in a 4-1 win for Barcelona.
BETTING VERDICT
You should be safe on the AH but I prefer to concentrate only on this Barcelona offence, which will try and put on a show at home before Real take the spotlight to win the title at Bilbao.
I've found a price as high as 2.70 for Barcelona to score at least 4 goals here, and that looks a generous price.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Barcelona to score plenty
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Barcelona Team Total - Over 3.5 goals @ 2.70
