LALIGA EA SPORTS Matchday 4 preview

The new LALIGA EA SPORTS season is well and truly up and running, with three matchdays already completed and with a fourth coming up this weekend. Following the drama of the midweek round, there are some tough fixtures up ahead for the title challengers, especially for Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid.

There is no Friday night game this matchday, meaning the first fixture of the round is FC Barcelona’s home game against Real Valladolid at 17:00 CEST on Saturday. Having won all three of their matches so far by a scoreline of 2-1, Hansi Flick’s side sit at the top of the table and will hope to keep up the winning streak as Dani Olmo, the match-winner from midweek, makes his home debut.

Athletic Club vs Atlético de Madrid follows and, having already drawn twice this campaign, this will be a true test of the capital city side’s title credentials. Winning away at San Mamés would be a statement victory at this early stage of the season, however Diego Simeone’s side have failed to contain Los Leones in recent times and have lost on four of their past five trips to Bilbao. 

RCD Espanyol take on Rayo Vallecano on Saturday and the Catalan side will look to kick on after picking up their first point of the season in midweek. Rayo Vallecano, though, have collected four points from their two road games so far, so will be a difficult opponent. 

On Saturday night, there are two 21:30 CEST games, one of which is a Valencian Community derby between Valencia CF and Villarreal CF. These are two clubs who have had contrasting starts to the season, as Los Che are the only team without a point, whereas Villarreal CF have seven points already and have scored eight goals. At that same time slot, CD Leganés host RCD Mallorca, a duel between two teams who secured goalless draws in the midweek round.

Five more games follow on Sunday, starting with two at 17:00 CEST. One of those is CA Osasuna vs RC Celta, and it’s one football fans won’t want to miss considering how entertaining each of the Galician side’s matches have been so far this season, with eight goals scored and six conceded through their first three rounds. The other early match on Sunday is Deportivo Alavés vs UD Las Palmas, two teams who know every point earned in the first month of the season is just as valuable as those earned in the springtime.

Next up is Sevilla FC vs Girona FC, with García Pimienta, the new coach of the Andalusian institution, eager to secure his team’s first victory of the season. Considering Girona FC won both these teams’ meetings last season, it could be another tough game for Los Nervionenses. 

Getafe CF are back in action on Sunday evening when they take on a Real Sociedad side who have had a difficult start to the campaign by losing both of their home games so far. Away in Spain’s capital, La Real will hope for a little more joy, although it won’t be easy against José Bordalás’ well-organised unit.

The final game of the matchday takes place at the Bernabéu, where Real Madrid and Real Betis will go head to head. Curiously, Los Verdiblancos have a very good record away at Real Madrid in recent years, having won two, drawn four and lost just one of their past seven trips to take on Los Blancos in the capital. At this early stage of the new season, this is an early hurdle for Real Madrid to navigate.