Real Madrid set out to defend top spot against Villarreal CF

 

There’s no let-up in LaLiga Santander following the midweek action, with Matchday 7 kicking off on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There are some nicely balanced fixtures even at this early stage of the season, with Real Madrid vs Villarreal CF on Saturday night standing out.

Before that, though, defending champions Atlético de Madrid get the matchday up and running with an away game at D. Alavés on Saturday. The Basque side are currently bottom of the table having lost all five of their matches played so far, but they tend to make it tough for Atleti. Over the past two seasons, this encounter has thrown up one draw and three Atleti wins from their four meetings – but each of those victories for the Rojiblancos was by just one goal. Those wins still count for three points, though, and Diego Simeone’s men will be targeting exactly that this weekend.

Valencia CF vs Athletic Club is next up at 4.15pm CEST, with both sides looking to bounce back from midweek defeats. Both started the season well but now harbour a desire to get back to winning ways after stumbling in recent weeks. It’ll be an extra special match for Athletic Club coach Marcelino, who returns to Mestalla for the first time since leaving the Los Che dugout in 2019.

Ahead of the season, Sevilla FC were picked by many as genuine title contenders and they have lived up to that label so far. They’ll now host RCD Espanyol on Saturday evening as they look to follow up what was an impressive midweek victory over Valencia CF.

Come 9pm CEST on Saturday night, the weekend’s standout encounter kicks off: Real Madrid hosting Villarreal CF at the Santiago Bernabéu. These are two of the most impressive teams in Spanish football right now and this fixture has been very entertaining over the past few years, with Real Madrid defeating Villarreal 2-1 in their most recent encounter on the final day of last season. The three previous encounters produced one Real Madrid win, one draw and a win for the Yellow Submarine. Real Madrid are in scintillating form right now, scoring goals for fun with an average of 3.5 per game – and 11 in their last two home games – so this is one that football fans won’t want to miss.

There are five more fixtures coming up on Sunday, starting with RCD Mallorca vs CA Osasuna at 2pm CEST. They’ve each collected eight points so far this season, so this promises to be a competitive game between two evenly matched sides.

FC Barcelona and Levante UD then take centre stage at 4.15pm CEST on Sunday afternoon at the Camp Nou. After being held by Granada CF in their previous home match, Barça will look to put on a show this time for their home crowd, who may also witness the long-awaited return from injury of Ansu Fati.

Two fixtures are scheduled for 6.30pm CEST on Sunday evening, with Radamel Falcao back in action in one of them as Rayo Vallecano host Cádiz CF. The Colombian striker has hit the ground running since returning to LaLiga Santander, scoring off the bench in wins over Getafe CF and Athletic Club, turning in a last-minute winner in Bilbao in midweek. Now he’ll look to once again wow the home crowd in Vallecas, who are quickly discovering a new hero. At the same time further north, Real Sociedad will take on Elche CF at home. La Real have a mini-injury crisis right now, with the likes of Asier Illarramendi, Alexander Isak, Nacho Monreal and David Silva among others all out of action,  but have had a good start to their campaign and will be out to keep that run up.

Sunday night’s match , which kicks off at 9pm CEST, is a huge one for Getafe CF and their coach Míchel. The Azulones have zero points from a possible 18 so far, but impressed against Atlético de Madrid in midweek, losing 2-1 deep into stoppage time. They almost earned points against Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona too, so their lack of points so far is slightly deceptive. Nevertheless, they know that points have to follow – and quickly. Away at Real Betis, who come into the game in high spirits following an impressive win away at Osasuna, they’ll do all they can to take something positive back to the capital.

The Matchday 7 action then concludes on Monday night as RC Celta host Granada CF at 9pm CEST. The Galician side just earned their first win of the season in midweek, thanks to a goal from talisman Iago Aspas. Now that they and their star man up front are up and running, they’ll look to pick up some momentum with another win, this time in front of their home supporters.

 

Watch LaLiga Santander live this weekend on [LOCAL BROADCASTER].