LALIGA EA SPORTS Matchday 2 preview

It’s time for Matchday 2 of the LALIGA EA SPORTS season, after an enthralling opening weekend in which just four teams – FC Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, RC Celta and Real Valladolid – secured a victory and in which all but one team found the back of the net, suggesting we’re in for a fun campaign full of goals. There are some heavyweight fixtures coming up in Matchday 2, including duels between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club and between Atlético de Madrid and Girona FC, four of the clubs who finished in last season’s top five.

The very first game takes place in Vigo, where RC Celta will look to make it two home wins in a row to begin 2024/25 against Valencia CF. There is a positive buzz around this RC Celta team, with 36-year-old coach Claudio Giráldez having had a full pre-season to work with this talented squad. It’ll be interesting to see if they can take another three points in the Friday evening match which kicks off this matchday. 

Also meeting on Friday night are Sevilla FC and Villarreal CF, two teams who commenced their campaigns with a 2-2 draw and two teams who are determined to qualify for Europe again after missing out on continental action last season.

There are four fixtures on Saturday, starting with Jagoba Arrasate’s return to El Sadar. Now coach of RCD Mallorca, he’ll bring the islanders to the stadium he called home for the past six years and will now try to defeat the CA Osasuna side he led to so much success.

FC Barcelona vs Athletic Club is next up, at 19:00 CEST. This is one of the most historic rivalries in Spanish football and it’ll be a tough test for new Barça coach Hansi Flick as he goes up against Ernesto Valverde, a man who knows what it’s like to be on the hotseat in the Catalan capital. FC Barcelona did get off to a great start by winning away at Valencia CF in Matchday 1, and now they’ll look to make it six points from six in their first home game of the season. 

Two matches then take place simultaneously at 21:30 CEST, so Spanish football fans can tuck into RCD Espanyol vs Real Sociedad or a Madrid derby between Getafe CF and Rayo Vallecano. Both of these games promise to be even and closely contested encounters, so there should be plenty of drama to follow on Saturday night. 

Sunday brings up four more matches, starting with Real Madrid’s first game at the Bernabéu of the new campaign. This means it’ll be Kylian Mbappé’s home debut for Los Blancos, and he’ll aim to score his first LALIGA EA SPORTS goal against Real Valladolid, wearing the No.9 that once belonged to Los Blanquivioletas’ owner Ronaldo. 

CD Leganés vs UD Las Palmas is up next, when the fans at the Estadio Butarque will be able to savour their first taste of LALIGA EA SPORTS football since 2020. That match is closely followed by Deportivo Alavés vs Real Betis, two teams who scored early goals in Matchday 1 but who couldn’t hold on for victory. 

Then, the final game of Matchday 2 is another huge one, as the teams who finished third and fourth last year square off in Atlético de Madrid vs Girona FC. They played out two thrilling encounters last season, a 4-3 win for the Catalans and a 3-1 victory for Diego Simeone’s side, and another back-and-fourth game is expected this time at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano. Considering both clubs could only draw on the opening weekend, they’ll approach this knowing that they need all three points if they’re to challenge near the top again in 2024/25.