Everyone loves to find a good bounce back spot to exploit.
There are two ideal bounce-back spots in La Liga this weekend, one with Real Madrid and the other with Barcelona.
Only one of them should be profitable to bet on.
Real Madrid suffered an unexpected loss at home to Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. That can be chalked up as more of an outlier to the club’s form than anything.
As for Barcelona, well…..yikes. Barca has been in bad form all season and its loss to Benfica on Wednesday is just a continuation of that.
On top of that, Barca has to visit Atletico Madrid in La Liga play on Saturday afternoon. That appears to be a recipe for disaster again for Barca.
Those two games are part of a big card I have across the five major European leagues. Picks are listed in chronological order of kickoffs.
Soccer Selections (35-36 Overall)
EPL: Manchester United vs. Everton (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET)
Cristiano Ronaldo to score (-120)
Cristiano Ronaldo has five goals in his first five Manchester United games.
Any time he is listed beneath -150 to score, I’m taking him because there’s a good chance he is involved in a handful of attacking chances.
Even when he is not, he can strike in an instant, like he did in the UEFA Champions League against Villarreal.
La Liga: Osasuna vs. Rayo Vallecano (+240) (Saturday, 8 a.m. ET)
Rayo Vallecano has been one of the better stories across Europe’s top five leagues so far.
The club sits in fifth place in La Liga and is benefitting from the goal-scoring exploits of Radamel Falcao, who is tied for the team lead with three tallies.
Rayo Vallecano scored eight goals during its three-game La Liga winning streak and it faces an Osasuna side that allowed 11 goals this season and has not won at home yet.
I’ll take the risk on the big number with the team that is in better form.
Bundesliga: Wolfsburg (+115) vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (Saturday, 9:30 a.m. ET)
Wolfsburg has been one of the better home sides in the Bundesliga.
Borussia Monchengladbach possesses one of the worst road marks in the German top flight.
Wolfsburg has not lost at home across all competitions and Saturday could be the perfect time for it to get back in the winning column against one of its top rivals to finish inside the top four.
EPL: Wolves (-145) vs. Newcastle United (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET)
Wolves have finally turned a corner in their form and they should be in a good position to win their third EPL game in the last four.
Wolves still need to improve on their goal-scoring record. They have three tallies in six games. The good news is they have been sturdy on defense as well with five concessions.
Newcastle United has not played well to start the EPL season. The Magpies have not won a game yet and they are tied for the second most concessions with 14.
La Liga: Atletico Madrid (-120) vs. Barcelona (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET)
No one can trust Barcelona right now.
Barcelona is coming off an embarrassing Champions League loss to Benfica and it has the unenviable task of rebounding from that against Atletico Madrid.
Atleti has surprisingly been better on the road than at home in La Liga early on this season. It can start to turn that around with a win over a struggling Barca side.
A win over Barca will also help narrow down the potential title race, which could come down to Atleti and Real Madrid.
Ligue 1: Nice (-180) vs. Brest (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET)
This is a simple fade of the second-to-last team in Ligue 1.
Brest is 0-4-4 and has conceded 16 goals, which is one of the five worst defensive marks in France.
Nice owns a +12 goal differential and has recorded a clean sheet in each of its last three victories.
There should be plenty of chances for Nice to take an early lead and cruise to three points.
EPL: West Ham United (-130) vs. Brentford (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET)
West Ham United succeeded on two fronts in its UEFA Europa League win over Rapid Vienna.
The Hammers pulled off an easy 2-0 home victory and they were able to give some of their top players some rest. For example. Michail Antonio played 62 minutes.
West Ham has four wins in its last five games across all competitions. It conceded once in those contests.
Ligue 1: Lorient vs. Clermont Foot (Over 2.5) (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET)
I’m back on my favorite soccer betting trend.
Clermont Foot played in five Ligue 1 games with three or more goals. The Over 2.5 goals hit in five of the last six Clermont league contests.
Lorient should be the latest team to take advantage of Ligue 1’s worst defensive unit.
I’m riding this trend until it dies out.
La Liga: Espanyol vs. Real Madrid (-160) (Sunday, 10:15 a.m. ET)
There’s no way Real Madrid won't respond to the shocking UCL loss to Sheriff Tiraspol with a victory.
A second straight disappointing performance is not acceptable at a club of Real Madrid’s stature .
Espanyol’s only league victory is over 19th-place Alaves. It has not scored in four of seven games
Real Madrid leads La Liga with 21 goals and it should use Sunday’s road trip as a vehicle to take its frustration out from Tuesday.