How to Bet on La Liga Soccer Games

Betting on La Liga has never been simpler! Whether you want to wager against a rival or put some capital behind your club, we’re here to show you how to bet on Spanish soccer. 

So, let’s break down the best betting options when it comes to Barcelona, Real Madrid and company.

La Liga Moneyline (H2H)

The moneyline is the simplest La Liga bet to make, don’t let the added line throw you! 

Betting the moneyline in most sports means you are picking a team to win the game outright. Given there are three possible outcomes in every soccer match, the draw moneyline option is available too - so we call this a three-way moneyline in soccer. 

If a team/draw is favored they will have a “-" next to their name. Conversely, the underdog will have a “+.” 

Example:

• If a team has a -200 moneyline it means you need to wager $200 in order to win $100. 
  
• If a team has a “+” moneyline, the goalposts shift. The + tells us how much you would win betting $100, if you win of course.
  
• For example, a +150 moneyline would mean — if successful — a profit of $150.
  
• Similarly if a team had a +185 moneyline, you would make $185 profit — $285 total — when betting $100. 
  

MORE: How do La Liga odds work?

La Liga Spread

Often you’ll hear the term against the spread, largely in NFL betting. However, this type of bet is slightly less prevalent when it comes to La Liga games. 

No different from basketball or football, the spread bet is essentially a sportsbook’s way of leveling out two unequal opponents.  

The underdog team is given a ‘head start’ in the form of points. To cover a spread a favored team needs to win the game by the specified amount of points. Meanwhile, an underdog can either win, or lose by the number to cover.

Naturally, the spread numbers aren’t as high in soccer as football but the principle remains identical. 

Example:  

Barcelona FC -2

Real Madrid FC +2

Using the example above, if you bet Real Madrid +2, they would need to lose by under 2 goals, draw, or win outright, to cover the spread.

Conversely, if you bet Barcelona (-2) against the spread, Barca would need to win by more than 2 goals for you to profit. 

MORE: Betting strategies for La Liga

La Liga PK or Pick ‘Em Spread

There are times where you will see PK, or Pick ‘Em, when looking at soccer spreads.

Often it looks like this:

PK only appears when a match is incredibly tight and almost too close to call. All your team needs to do is win the game — it doesn’t matter by how much. So long as there’s 3 points collected at the final whistle, you’ll also receive a nice little bonus in your account.

You will also see alternate spreads available for La Liga games. In this case the spread number is shifted slightly, enabling you to choose between multiple options -- all of which give you either a better chance of covering or larger odds.

MORE: How to live bet on La Liga

La Liga Three-Way Spread

You will notice three-way handicaps are equally common. This handicap offers bettors an opportunity to make money even if you think a La Liga game may be one-sided.

Example:

Atletico Madrid -2

Handicap draw -2

Sevilla +2

For Atletico Madrid (-2) to cover they would need to win by 3 goals or more. This is because they are starting with a two goal deficit. For the handicap draw (-2) to win Atletico must win by 2 goals exactly, thereby cancelling out the -2 start. 

Finally, if Sevilla lost by one goal, drew, or won they would cover (+2), given their +2 advantage. 

The handicap draw only comes off if a team wins by the exact number specified. 

MORE: Dimers Live Now section

La Liga Over/Under (Total)

Betting the over/under in a Premier League match simply means you are wagering on how many goals will be scored overall, NOT how many one team will score, nor who will win. 

Example:

Barcelona vs Real Madrid — Over/Under 3.5

• Bet the Over (4+ goals to be scored by both teams) 
  
• Bet the Under (3 goals or less to be scored in total)
  

There are other options to choose from, including scoring totals for a particular half, home team total goals and more. 

MORE: Dimers Quick Picks section

Soccer Double Chance bet

As it sounds, double chance betting involves predicting two of the three possible outcomes in a soccer match. 

In any game you will have three double chance options:

• Team 1 win + draw (e.g. Villarreal  and draw)
• Team 2 win + draw (e.g. Real Sociedad and draw)
• Team 1 or Team 2 win (e.g. Villarreal or Real Sociedad win)

MORE: The best sportsbooks in each state

La Liga Soccer Futures 

Futures bets are exactly what they sound like. You are wagering on an often far away event. If you’re looking to lay down some capital in the hopes of large winnings down the line, this is the bet for you.

Example: 

Popular future bets include:

• La Liga Winner
• Top 4 Finish
  
• La Liga Top Scorer
  
• Relegation
  
• Champions v The Field 
• To Finish Outside The Top 4
• To Finish Bottom

Other common futures bets include La Liga Player of the Year — player adjudged the best throughout the season by his peers —  along with relegation treble (picking the three teams going down) and a top 10 finish bet. The list is endless!

The only downside to futures bets is they can take weeks or even months to occur. If you’re patient, they can pay off big.

MORE: Dimers La Liga Bet Hub

La Liga Soccer Prop Bets

Prop bets are popular throughout the La Liga season and enable you to bet on almost anything which may unfold in a football game. 

You can wager on player props; choosing whether they will achieve over/under a certain amount of yards, or be focused on when a team will score.

Example:

Common prop bets include:

• Correct score 
• First team to score
  
• Which team will score last
  
• Anytime goalscorer
  
• Player to score 2+/hat-trick
  
• First player to be shown a card
  

Depending on the sportsbook, there may be options to include props in a mixed parlay. Although most books force you to have a parlay strictly involving props. 

In Dimers’ La Liga Bet Hub you have the perfect opportunity to locate some of the best prop bets across the United States. Our predictive analytics model simulates each soccer game 10,000 times to give you the best probabilities for over/under and correct score.

MORE: Sports betting podcasts

Multiple-Game Bets

La Liga Soccer Parlay

A parlay simply involves more than one wager combined together for greater odds. You can place a same-game Spanish football parlay — multiple events from one matchup — or alternatively, events across multiple games.

Example:

You could take Barcelona (-0.5) to cover against Valencia — beat them by 1 goal or more — and take the over 2.5 goals total in a same-game parlay. You could add bets from other games, say Celta Vigo to beat Real Betis (Moneyline). 

More legs = higher odds and a greater chance at a larger return. Beware, some sportsbooks do not allow you to bet both the moneyline and spread within the same game. Books may even cap the number of events you can have in a parlay, although there are those without limits.

In any parlay you will need to get each event correct for there to be a payout. Often there is no refund for getting 7 out of 8 accurate. 

MORE: Daily free-to-play contests

La Liga Live Soccer Betting 

Live or in-play betting is where you wager on a soccer game currently in progress. As odds shift throughout the game, you can find the bet to suit you whilst the action continues on. 

Example: 

• Moneyline
  
• Spread
  
• Props bets
  
• Next team to score
  
• Next goalscorer 
• Next player to receive a card

Utilize the Dimers live in-play probabilities section to increase your knowledge and chances of winning on your live bets. 

The live probabilities of any La Liga match can be accessed through the scoreboards at the top of the Dimers website, the Live Now section and even in the La Liga Bet Hub.

Move fast in the live betting space, otherwise your odds will disappear quicker than Lionel Messi’s shirt.

Join a sportsbook in your State and start betting today