La Liga Santander | Bet on Football in Spanish Primera Division

If the Premier League is the greatest competition in the world, the Primera Division (or La Liga) is the competition with the biggest rivalry. The endless feud between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has driven them to become the best of the world. A rivalry with a political history, two of the biggest players to ever walk this planet and numerous titles.

Slowly but surely, other teams are improving themselves in the slipstream of these titans. Teams Like Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia are Europa League trophy candidates, if not Champions League contenders.

The Primera Division is no doubt one of the most interesting competitions to follow, and to place bets on! We are proud to be a La Liga Betting Sportsbook for everyone in the UK!

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League set-up

La Liga, or Primera Division, is surprisingly similar in format to the Premier League. Twenty teams collectively play 38 rounds of matches. At the end of the season, the bottom three are relegated to the Segunda División A.

Each club meets another club twice, once away and once at home. The top four play Champions League football next season and numbers five and six are qualified for the Europa League. In these European tournaments, Spain is doing better than any other country. Especially in the Europa League, Sevilla seems to have a subscription to the title.

Participants

If the Premier League is the biggest league in the world, the Primera Division (or La Liga) is the league with the biggest rivalry. The endless rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona has driven them to become the best clubs in the world. A rivalry with a sensitive political history and many of the greatest footballers ever to walk the planet.

Slowly but surely, other teams are improving in the slipstream of these titans. Teams like Sevilla, Atlético Madrid and Valencia are candidates for the Europa League trophy, if not Champions League contenders. The Primera Division is undoubtedly one of the most interesting leagues to follow, and to place bets on!

Contenders

There are traditionally two contenders for the title, Barcelona and Real Madrid. A third has been added in the last few years, Atletico Madrid. Within this top three, Atlético Madrid is like the equal of Feyenoord in the Eredivisie – or Sporting Lissabon in Primeira League.

We don’t mean that in a derogatory way, but it does reflect the balance of power to the other teams. You cannot bet on Primera Division without these teams.

Outsiders

As in any league, there are some serious outsiders for the title in Spain. Atlético Madrid leads this list, where they dangle at the bottom in contenders. This is followed by Sevillia, Valencia, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Villarreal.

The last club to be mentioned here is a bit of an odd one: Deportivo La Coruna. A club that now plays in the third division, but was the first Spanish champion of this century in the 1999/2000 season.

Deportivo played semi-final Champions League in 2004/2005 and Roy Makaay won the golden boot at this club as Europe’s top scorer in 2003. Now third division -it can get weird- so please, forget aboutDeportivo as an outright winner.

History of La Liga and its clubs

The Primera Division is directly translated as Premier League, but it is not the only name known to this incredible competition. Due to sponsorship it is also called La Liga or La Liga Santander.

The competition started in the fifties of the last century after a violent and unstable political period. Ever since, Barcelona and Real Madrid have been dominating the competition with 25 and 33 titles. Additionally, clubs like Real Sociedad, Deportivo la Coruna, Real Betis and the teams named already above.

We are sorry for all the UK readers, but according to the IFFHS the Primera Division is the strongest (national) competition on the continent (including the islands). No less than 3 teams are directly qualified for the Champions League!

Betting on La Liga

Outright winner

The past is no guarantee of the future, but in this case you would seem crazy not to put your money on Real Madrid or Barcelona every year. Unfortunately, this coincides with a trend we see across Europe. In Germany, you bet on Bayern and in France on PSG. Yet dominions also end. Juventus has fallen, as have Arsenal and Manchester United.

Barcelona is nowhere near as strong as a decade ago and Real Madrid is feasting on oldies Benzema, Modric and Kroos. Put these clubs’ financial situations next to that and you are quick to pick an outsider for the title. Perhaps a ‘first time winner’ bet is a good alternative?

Top scorer

Things are finally interesting again in the Primera Division top scorer bet market. Since 2009/2010, this title went 8x to Messi and 3x to Ronaldo. The odds for these giants didn’t exactly stop there. In 2022, an unleashed Benzema went away with the title, but for the 2022/2023 season, this title is wide open. Interesting bet!

Betting on La Liga | El Clasico

There are not many rivalries that get so much attention that they are even mentioned in sports sections of the daylies. One ‘derby’ (not geographically, but in terms of rankings) for which an exception is made is El Clasico: Real Madrid versus Barcelona.

The history between this (politically charged) topper goes back to 1903, when Barcelona won 3-1 against Real Madrid. A friendly encounter at the time, it has become a symbol of Madrid centralism versus Catalan nationalism. It is this fraughtness that is said to propel clubs to great heights.

The history of El Clasico is one full of intrigue, violence and political stakes, but it also has great moments. Maradona, Ronaldinho and Iniesta, for instance, received standing ovations at the Bernabeu. 

The two clubs keep each other fairly balanced in number of wins and draws. Two clubs that are almost bankrupt, with so much quality on the pitch, so much animosity and so much tradition; football doesn’t get more beautiful than this. Real Madrid may have the most titles, but the most wins in El Clasico are for Barcelona for now.

Enjoy a different style of football

We all love the premier league: the raw power, the speed of the games, the high goal count per match. What is not to love?! The Spanish football league brings something not seen that much in the PL however. Let’s call it a southern Europe ‘swing’.

Something that players like Messi, Suarez and Vinicius bring to the table. Tiki-taka. It is great to see some different style and there are many styles in La Liga. Think about the dancing football of Barcelona versus the more german styled Real Madrid and even an Italian stylish Atletico. It makes for absolutely great betting to see those different styles face off against each other.

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