As the new La Liga season kicks off on Thursday, excitement and anticipation builds across the footballing world, marking the return of one of Europe’s most thrilling leagues. Alongside the La Liga, the Europa League qualifiers continue on Thursday evening as clubs battle fiercely for a spot in the coveted and newly revamped league phase.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at a selection of games split across these two competitions, picking out our top tips and booking codes:
Athletic Bilbao vs Getafe
Athletic Bilbao enjoyed their best campaign in La Liga since 2015/16 last season, finishing in fifth place with 68 points, marking their return to European competition for the first time since competing in the Europa League in 2017/18.
As for Getafe, following a period between 2017 and 2020 where they were battling for their spot in the European places, they disappointingly finished 15th in three consecutive seasons between 2020 and 2023.
They were able to improve upon that with a 12th placed finish last year, but they still finished a significant 25 points behind Thursday’s hosts, and we believe Athletic Bilbao will showcase their quality here with a win.
Athletic Bilbao to win, 1.50 – CLICK HERE
Real Betis vs Girona
Real Betis qualified for Europe for the fourth successive season last year, placing in seventh place with 57 points, three points above and below those around them. Manuel Pellegrini’s side were at their best when playing at home, taking 34 points in their own ground, and that should give them plenty of confidence heading into this one.
Following their return to the league for the first time since 2018/19 in 2022/23, where they finished 10th, Girona enjoyed an immense campaign last season, finishing third in the league with 81 points.
While the visitors would have been strong favourites for a victory last season, they have lost a number of key players ahead of this campaign, including top scorer Artem Dovbyk, and endured a tough pre-season, leading us to believe this one will end all square.
Real Betis & Girona to draw, 3.40 – CLICK HERE
Cercle Brugge vs Molde
These two sides appeared rather evenly matched heading into the first leg in Norway, but Molde made easy work of the game as they scored three goals within 30 minutes to give them a comfortable 3-0 lead to take into the second leg in Belgium.
Thursday’s hosts will be extremely disappointed with that result and will now know they will have to put a large emphasis on their attacking play to have any chance of getting back into the match, something that could play into Molde’s hands with plenty of opportunity to counterattack.
Due to this, we believe that Molde will secure a narrow victory in this second leg and progress into the next round.
Molde to win, 2.98 – CLICK HERE
Ajax vs Panathinaikos
New boss Francesco Farioli arrived at Ajax ahead of this campaign after guiding Nice to a fantastic season in Ligue 1, and his start to life in the Netherlands has certainly gone to plan.
Ajax have won all four of Farioli’s first four matches in charge, including a 1-0 win in the first leg of this matchup, scoring six and conceding just once in that time. While they have often been unable to put games out of reach, winning 1-0 in three of those victories, Ajax have been the dominant side in all of those performances.
We believe that Farioli’s men will continue their history-making start together, with their winning start being just the second time they have won all four of their first competitive fixtures in a season, and secure their place in the next round.
Ajax to win, 1.70 – CLICK HERE
Athletic Bilbao to win, 1.50 – CLICK HERE
Molde to win, 2.98 – CLICK HERE
Real Betis & Girona to draw, 3.40 – CLICK HERE
Bet9ja’s Best Bet
6WZP2NV – BOOK HERE
1 Comment
by Ojo Rapheal
Nice predicatetion