This weekend sees Real Madrid faced with another extremely winnable home league match. Subsequently punters are charged with the unenviable task of trying to find some value in backing the Spanish champions at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Certainly there will be few people investing in a Madrid win against Real Zaragoza as an outright bet, given
the price of 7/100 (1.07) with Marathonbet and perhaps even fewer backing an away win at 33/1 (34.00).
The team from Aragon do though have recent fond memories of a trip to the capital having beaten Madrid there 3-2, two seasons ago. Manolo Jimenez’s side have also won twice away from home so far this season, a feat that took them 15 games to achieve in the previous campaign.
But with Madrid in impressive scoring form, and Zaragoza failing to keep a clean sheet on the road this season, it is difficult to see past a convincing home win.
Madrid half-time/full-time is offered at 7/20 (1.35) but perhaps a more attractive option is to back Madrid to win both halves which is available at the much more tempting price of 3/4 (1.75).
This bet has paid out in four of Madrid’s last five league games. Add in the fact that Zaragoza are finding clean sheets hard to come by, and it is unlikely they will be able to hold out for an entire half against the Spanish champions without conceding.
Value is hard to find in backing Madrid at home but this seems to offer the best opportunity for profit at the most attractive price.
For even higher odds, try backing Madrid to win by three goals offered at 57/20 (3.85) with this bet paying out three times in matches involving Los blancos so far this season.
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Phil Kitromilides is a sports broadcaster working on radio and TV in London and Madrid. You can also follow Phil on Twitter.