Real Madrid set to defend top spot against Villarreal
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 lock horns with 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.
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other fixtures lined up for Sunday include RCD Mallorca vs CA Osasuna . 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.