Deportivo La Coruña v Alavés Betting Tips: Goals expected at Estadio Riazor

Deportivo play host to Alavés on Saturday evening as La Liga rolls on into it’s 23rd match-day of the season.

Having stayed up last season by four points, La Coruña are once again flirting with death in La Liga and are currently just three points above the dreaded drop-zone. Back-to-back losses coming into this match hasn’t helped the cause of Gaizka Garitano’s men and they’ll be hoping for better here. On the other hand, despite losing heavily to Barcelona last weekend, Alavés are enjoying a solid campaign and are currently breathing far easier than Saturday’s opponents as they sit in 12th position – a massive 11 points above the relegation places.

From a betting point of view, this match appeals as one where the goals ought to arrive. At odds of 6/5 & 6/4 respectively, ‘Both Teams to Score’ and ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ are two bets worth placing.

It’s no secret that Depor like to adopt an attacking style on their own patch and they’re certainly a side that is capable of scoring goals. In La Liga this season, the hosts have notched 15 times in nine games at Estadio Riazor and have failed to score on just two occasions. However, while such a forward-thinking style often yields goals at the right end, it also means that the hosts allow teams to profit at the other. It’s not surprising that Garitano’s men have kept just two clean sheets at home this season. On top of this, both teams have scored in six out of their nine home games played, while 56% of those nine saw at least three match goals go in.

As for the opposition, Alavés, although a little more low-key than the hosts, are also a side who’re capable of scoring goals on their day. They scored four at Gijón on their last away outing and have managed to find the net at least once when playing away against the likes of Sevilla, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid this season. The visitors may have failed to score in four of their 11 away matches, but the fact that they notched both home and away against this opposition in the Copa del Rey not too long ago bodes well.

As touched on above, this will be the fourth meeting between these two this season. They may have drawn 0-0 early in the campaign, but with Depor coming on strong at their own ground a repeat of that looks unlikely. What looks more likely is a repeat of the score-line (2-2) when these two at this ground in the cup less than two months ago. The hosts played on the front foot and created plenty; however, as is often the case at Riazor, they were caught on the counter.

Quite frankly, with La Coruña needing points, they’ll be as determined as ever to come out and play against this Alavés side and, as result, we could see quite an open game pan out. On this basis, coupled with the fact that goals are often seen at this venue, backing goals in the form of ‘Both Teams to Score’ and ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ is the way to go here.

See more La Liga tips here.