2022-23 Spanish La Liga Soccer Betting

2022-23 Spanish La Liga Betting

Throughout its history, La Liga has been top heavy. Five clubs have combined to win 86 of the 91 league titles awarded since its inception with Real Madrid and Barcelona leading the way with a combined 61 championships. Atletico Madrid (11 titles), Athletic Bilbao (8 titles), and Valencia (6 titles) have all had moderate success over the years too, while four clubs combined to win the other five titles. The oddsmakers expect this league to be top heavy once again in 2022-23, as Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid are once again the favorites.

Current Champions – Real Madrid

While Real Madrid were odds-on favorites to repeat as La Liga champions at the start of the offseason, they have since been surpassed by Barcelona. It appears that the financial troubles that have plagued the Blaugrana the past few years are behind them, as Barca shelled out over €150 million for Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Jules Kounde. Rivals Real Madrid weren’t nearly as busy this offseason, instead looking to run it back with the same roster from last year.

Champions League Teams – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla

For the third straight season, the top four teams in La Liga were Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid have won the last 18 league titles, and they are the clear top three clubs in Spanish football once again entering this season. Don’t feel too bad for Sevilla though. Sevilla have claimed six Europa League titles in the last two decades, making them the most successful club in that competition by a wide margin.

Europa League Teams – Real Sociedad, Real Betis

For the second straight season, Real Sociedad and Real Betis are the two Spanish teams that will be playing in the Europa League. Both clubs have been consistently competitive, but they have been unable to crack the top four. Real Sociedad and Real Betis have long been overshadowed by other clubs in their region, but Real Sociedad is taking some of the shine away from Athletic Bilbao and Real Betis is starting to go toe-to-toe with Sevilla.

Promoted – Almeria, Real Valladolid, Girona

The three best teams in the Segunda Division last year were Almeria, Real Valladolid, and Eibar. They jockeyed for position the entire season, and only one point separated the three teams at the end of the season. Almeria ended up winning the league over Real Valladolid based off of goal differential, and both teams finished one point ahead of Eibar.

As so often happens, the third-place team did not win the promotion playoff to La Liga. Eibar was stunned by Girona, and it is Girona who will be playing in the Spanish top flight this season. This will be Girona’s third season in La Liga, but they have some resources after being purchased by City Football Group (owners of Manchester City FC and several other clubs).

Relegated – Granada, Levante, Alaves

Surprisingly, none of the three teams that were promoted last season ended up being relegated. Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol, and Mallorca all finished in the bottom half of the table, but they did enough to avoid the drop back down to the Segunda Division.

Instead, it was Granada, Levante, and Alaves that ended up falling to the second division. Granada was one point away from escaping the drop, but they could only muster a single point in their last two matches and failed to score at home against Espanyol in their season finale. They are the most recent small club to be really hurt by a foray into European soccer, as they were relegated the year after taking part in the Europa League for the first time.

Spanish La Liga Winners (2000)

Aside from Barcelona and Real Madrid, the next most successful club in Spanish football is Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone led this club to the 2020-21 La Liga title, and that was the 11th league championship in the club’s long history.

Athletic Bilbao were the team of the 1930s, winning four of their eight La Liga championships during that decade. This club has been incredibly successful given its Basque policy that severely limits its potential player pool. Their youth system sparks envy in a lot of clubs since they must develop their talent as much as possible.

Log into BookMaker Sportsbook and get the best Soccer Betting Odds, Soccer Betting Articles and information about this and all other sports betting events!