How Bettors Can Capitalise on Card-Happy La Liga Referees

La Liga continues to lead the way in terms of cards. The Spanish top flight ranks comfortably above Ligue 1, Serie A, the Bundesliga and the Premier League and that looks set to continue. 

The card happy nature of the referees and the team’s willingness to engage in the dark arts of football make Spain a hotbed for cards, presenting an opportunity for punters. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Standout Stats and Referees  

There were a record number of cards in the Premier League last season, with an average of 4.53 per game, but that was dwarfed by the 5.01 cards per La Liga game. That trend has continued this season, the Spanish top flight has seen an average of five cards per game, 0.53 more than the top tier of English football, which still ranks second for cards amongst Europe’s top five leagues.

La Liga also far exceed the Premier League in terms of red cards. There were 37 red cards after 27 matchdays in the English top tier.  West Ham and Arsenal are the only teams to have picked up four red cards or more. Spain’s top division has seen 59 red cards handed out after one less round of fixtures. Seven of the teams in La Liga have reached this mark with Mallorca leading the way having picked up six reds.

The abundance of cards and overall standing of officiating has led to vocal criticism. In January, Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, asked the Spanish FA to draft in Premier League referees in order to improve the standard of officiating in La Liga. In the same month, Mallorca’s manager, Jagoba Arrasate, launched a scathing attack on the referees. He said “it always goes against us (the referee’s decision) and when it is the other way around it is never reviewed. It makes me tired, sad. I don’t even get angry anymore.” Mallorca have received more red cards than any other side. 

Jesus Gil Manzano is by far the most prolific referee in Spain in terms of cards. He has officiated 13 league games, dishing out 88 yellows and six reds, an average of 7.23 cards per game. Both teams have picked up two cards or more in eight of his last 10 La Liga matches so he is a referee to watch in the weeks to come. 

Mateo Busquets Ferrer ranks second in terms of cards awarded with 81 yellows and five red, an average of 6.14 per game, well above the league average of 4.99. He has the tendency to give the away team the bulk of the cards. The visitors have had three or more in the last nine league games he has refereed.  

Ones to watch

Valladolid vs Celta Vigo

Valladolid matches have seen an average of 5.67 cards, the fifth most in La Liga and well above the line of 4.5 set by the bookmakers here. There were three yellow cards and a straight red in their alst home match, meaning this bet would have landed on bet365. In fact, there last five home matches have seen over 4.5 cards.

Celta Vigo matches see slightly fewer cards with an average of 5.19 but that’s still above the required mark. There were eight yellows cards and a straight red card as Celta beat Valladolid earlier in the season. Let’s hope for more of the same here.  

Villarreal vs Real Madrid

Villarreal’s matches are the most card-friendly in La Liga with an average of 6.31 per game. They have earned 2.77 of those cards but are forcing more from the opposition than any other team in the league. There were two red cards and five yellows as they succumbed to defeat against Alaves last weekend. One of those was a straight red, which counts double on bet365. The Yellow Submarine’s opponents have picked up three cards or more in eight of their last nine home games so we are backing ocer 2.5 cards for Real Madrid here.

Jesus Gil Manzano is at the whistle for this one. We’ve already discussed how prolific he can be in terms of cards but he also has history in this fixture. The last time he officiated a clash between these teams at this ground, he gave real Madrid four yellow cards. There could also be some tired tackles from Los Blancos as the game wears on after their lengthy battle with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

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