Football Bet of the Day: Sparks in Spain

Promotion chasers to entertain

Almeria v Ponferradina
Monday 11 April, 20:00
Live on LaLiga Smartbank YouTube

Our chum Tobias had to wait a while for his winner in Spain to arrive yesterday, but Espanyol's 89th-minute strike against Celta Vigo gave him an odds-against success, and the 1-0 victory gave the Catalan club three precious points.

We'll kick off our week in Spain, because Almeria are facing Ponferradina in the Segunda Division, and both teams need wins to service their respective aims.

Almeria are still in the automatic promotion race, but they have had a serious wobble, winning just one of their last five games. Usefully for our purposes, they have only managed one clean sheet in that spell, and if you go back further they've only recorded three shut-outs in their last 14 outings in the league. On home soil, they have kept just one clean sheet in seven.

Ponferradina are on the fringes of the playoff race, but they haven't won a game since February. Los Blanquiazules have managed one clean sheet in their last 11 games, and in that spell a BTTS bet has landed nine times. That wager has also been successful in five of their last eight road matches.

We're getting to the stage where both teams have to go for it, and neither of these sides is defending well. I'll happily back Both Teams To Score at 1.981/1.