La Liga reaches matchday 28 this weekend with Real Madrid among the teams in action on Sunday as the leaders bid to extend their advantage on Barcelona and Girona. If you’re looking for a La Liga first goalscorer prediction, here are our picks for Sunday’s games which also see Athletic Club and Real Betis bidding to boost their European hopes.
La Liga first goalscorer predictions for Sunday
Alaves vs Rayo Vallecano first goalscorer: Samuel Omorodion (5/1)
Sunday’s action in Spain kicks off in Vitoria where Rayo Vallecano are the visitors to Alaves. The away team have picked up fewer points than any other side in La Liga over the last eight matches and they are still awaiting their first win under new management.
It’s a good opportunity for Alaves to put more distance between themselves and the bottom three and striker Samuel Omorodion looks the man most likely to break the deadlock in this game.
The Atletico Madrid loanee has been one of the most impressive young players in La Liga this term. He has scored eight times in the league which is a good return in a newly promoted side and he’s not started every game with Kike Garcia often rotating in.
Three of those goals have come before the 30th minute including first and 10th minute opening goals and he’s very capable of making a flying start to this game too.
Las Palmas vs Athletic Club first goalscorer: Iñaki Williams (13/2)
This could be an interesting tactical battle between a Las Palmas side that likes to pass the ball out from the back and an Athletic Club outfit that presses high and with real intensity.
Iñaki Williams is one of the players who leads the press but he’s also been one of their biggest goal threats in a really impressive campaign, perhaps his best since breaking into the Athletic first team set-up nearly a decade ago. The 29 year old is on nine goals in La Liga and has a shot at matching his best ever league goal tally of 13, set during the 2018/19 season.
Athletic were missing some key players and rotated heavily in the 0-0 draw against Barcelona last time out. They should be much closer to full strength here though with Nico Williams available again and the brothers combined brilliantly to dismantle Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Copa del Rey the week before last.
Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo first goalscorer: Vinicius Junior (4/1)
With La Liga’s top goalscorer Jude Bellingham suspended, the onus will be on Vinicius Junior to spearhead the Real Madrid attack on Sunday when Rafa Benitez returns to the Santiago Bernabeu with Celta Vigo.
Vinicius has been doing a good job of precisely that over the past week. In a difficult, hostile atmosphere at Mestalla, where he was racially abused last season, the Brazilian produced two big decisive contributions last weekend, scoring both goals as Real Madrid came from two down to draw the game.
The forward was again the difference maker in midweek, latching on to a Bellingham through ball to put Real Madrid 2-0 up on aggregate against RB Leipzig in a Champions League tie they were ultimately a bit fortunate to win. With not many of his teammates on top form right now, Vinicius looks the man most likely to break the deadlock again on Sunday.
Real Betis vs Villarreal first goalscorer: Pablo Fornals (9/1)
Villarreal are one of the form teams in Spain right now but they were in action on Thursday in Europe and the Benito Villamarin is a tough place to go, so Betis will see this as a good opportunity to strengthen their European push.
Manuel Pellegrini has plenty of options in attack at his disposal but looks to have quickly settled on the idea of picking Pablo Fornals in the right sided role. Fornals is up against his old club which will give him an extra bit of incentive to put in a performance and he’s made a decent start to life in Seville since his delayed January move from West Ham finally got approved.
Fornals has already opened his account with a strike in the recent 2-0 win at lowly Cadiz and he appears to be thriving on the continuity of regular football for a coach whose style of play is well suited to his game.
Read our La Liga previews and betting tips for more ahead of the weekend action in Spain.
