Will the bottom team escape a thrashing?
In this match on matchday 21, the roles could not be clearer. League leaders FC Barcelona welcome bottom-of-the-table Oviedo and go into this game as clear favorites. However, Hansi Flick’s boys learned the hard way last weekend that they cannot underestimate any opponent. The avoidable 1-2 defeat in San Sebastian not only ended the Blaugrana’s outstanding winning streak, but also melted their lead at the top of the table. Suddenly, Raphinha and Co. are feeling the pressure again, with Real Madrid lurking just one point behind the leaders.
In addition, although the newly promoted team from Oviedo has collected the fewest points so far this season, the bottom team is still competitive. Only two of their 20 games in La Liga have been lost by three or more goals, which clearly shows that Guillermo Almada’s team, now under their third coach this season, has often been close.
It would be presumptuous to assume that the visitors will take anything away from this game, but in Barcelona vs. Oviedo, it might be worth betting that the newly promoted team will at least avoid a heavy defeat. At Bet-at-home, you can place a corresponding handicap bet at good odds.
In addition to the handicap bet, you can also bet on the goals in this match. Although the Catalans have by far the best offense in the league, the league leaders’ attack has slowed down somewhat recently. In their last four league games, Barca have never scored more than two goals. Coupled with the fact that the visitors have only conceded more than three goals once in this La Liga season, this suggests that there could be relatively few goals. In the Barcelona vs. Oviedo match, the prediction is therefore less than four goals.
However, it is unlikely that Hansi Flick’s team will fail to score at all. A hot candidate for a goal would be Raphinha, who was voted the fifth-best player in the world last year. He has already scored six goals in five games in the new year, including two against Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Madrid – albeit in the Supercopa.
Barcelona – Oviedo Head-to-head record
As Oviedo has spent the last few years in the Spanish second division, the only relevant meeting between these two teams to look at is the first match of the season. Thanks to goals from Ronald Araujo, Robert Lewandowski, and Eric Garcia, the Catalans prevailed 3-1 on September 25.
Barcelona – Oviedo Prediction
The league leaders are, of course, the clear favorites against the bottom team in the table. However, Hansi Flick’s team suffered a bitter setback in the fight for the championship when they lost to “La Real” last weekend.
With the attacking machine also stalling somewhat and never scoring more than two goals in the last four league games, there is every reason to believe that the bottom team will at least sell themselves dearly and avoid embarrassment.
As an alternative to handicap betting, you can also bet on the number of goals. Since the promoted team has conceded more than three goals only once this season, betting on less than four goals could be worthwhile at attractive odds for Barcelona vs. Oviedo.
However, since it can be assumed that the home team will score at least one goal, you could also bet on “Raphinha to score.”
