Expert Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – January 23rd

How did Liverpool follow up with their huge win over Manchester City a week ago? They promptly went to Wales and laid down for Swansea City, letting their overconfidence sink them in a 1-0 loss. City started another winning streak, though, taking down Newcastle at home, 3-1. Manchester United kept the heat on from second place in the table, taking down Burnley FC, 1-0. In La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid made some big statements, taking down Real Betis and Deportivo, respectively, by scores of 5-0 and 7-1. Valencia, in third place in La Liga, fell to Las Palmas, 2-1. What does this coming week hold for online betting enthusiasts in soccer? Take a look at some of our primo soccer betting picks for the week ahead.

Expert Soccer Betting Picks of the Week – January 23rd

Who was the player of the weekend in #LaLigaSantander? @GarethBale11 @Jocalleri Messi @gomez_maxi9 @Pablosarabia92 pic.twitter.com/mJVDcgDcZk

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) January 23, 2018

Real Madrid at Valencia (January 27, 9:15am ET)

Valencia enters this match five points ahead of Real Madrid (although Real has a match in hand). Valencia is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-1 loss to Las Palmas in their last outing. Santi Mina found the back of the net for Valencia in the fifth minute to take the early lead, but Jonathan Viera scored for Las Palmas in the 20th minute, and then Jonathan Calleri converted a penalty in the 52nd minute after Gabriel Paulista handled the ball and then got a second booking for disputing the call vigorously, earning an early trip to the showers. Valencia fell apart after that, finishing with nine men once defender Ruben Vezo picked up his second yellow card in the 87th minute. If Valencia can get more composure, then they have a chance to take down Real at home. Real Madrid comes in fresh off a 7-1 thumping of Deportivo La Coruna, one of the basement-dwellers in La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo ended a lengthy scoring drought in league play with a double, having entered the game with just four goals on the season. Nacho and Gareth Bale also posted braces on the day, with the seventh goal coming from Luka Modric in the 68th minute. This onslaught came after Deportivo took a shocking early lead, when Adrian scored in the 23rd minute. Real may have been overlooking Deportivo until that moment, but they seem to have the offensive firepower ready for Valencia. Soccer Betting Prediction: Real Madrid 3, Valencia 2

Alaves at Barcelona (January 28, 1:45pm ET)

Barcelona now has a comfortable 11-point lead in the La Liga table thanks to their 5-0 drubbing of Real Betis on Sunday. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi each scored a pair of goals, and Ivan Rakitic added the fifth tally. Matters were tied at halftime, 0-0, when Rakitic put in the first goal in the opening minutes on a breakaway. The brace gave Messi seven goals in his last six games and has him atop the league with 19 goals on the season, four ahead of Suarez, who has at least one goal in his last seven league games. Barcelona had lost to Espanyol the week before in Copa del Rey play but has not lost yet in La Liga. Alaves comes in off a 2-2 draw with Leganes last week. Alaves put more shots on goal than Leganes (14-8) but had to finish the match a man down with a red card in the 87th minute. They were frustrated by the Leganes attack as they roared out to a 2-0 lead shortly after halftime but then saw Leganes put two goals in, one in the waning minutes of the second half, to secure the draw. Can Alaves stave off the Barcelona attack? Soccer Betting Prediction: Barcelona 4, Alaves 1

Las Palmas at Atletico Madrid (January 28, 9:15am ET)

Atletico Madrid welcomes Las Palmas — fresh off that win over Valencia and looking to continue their climb out of the La Liga cellar — after giving up an early lead in their last match against Girona. Antoine Griezmann did his usual, scoring an early goal in the 34th minute to take a 1-0 lead. However, Girona pulled level in the 73rd minute when Cristian Portugues found some open space in the area. Both sides fought to a draw, but this was a match that Atletico expected to win with their stifling defense. They need to find other offensive options besides Griezmann when that margin of error becomes too thin. Las Palmas come in confident after knocking off one of the top four La Liga teams in Valencia (see above), and they visit an Atletico team that likes to take that early lead and then lock things down. If Las Palmas can keep attacking while remaining disciplined on the back line, they have  a chance to pull off another win against one of the better teams on the table. But will Atletico fall asleep for Las Palmas too? Soccer Betting Prediction: Atletico Madrid 2, Las Palmas 1