LALIGA EA SPORTS Matchday 13 preview

Matchday 13 promises to be an interesting one, as the top three teams in LALIGA EA SPORTS each face quality opponents with European qualification aspirations of their own. This should make for some very competitive and compelling games of football.  

The first of the weekend’s matches takes place on Friday night, when Rayo Vallecano host a UD Las Palmas side who have significantly improved since Diego Martínez took over as coach. They have won two of their first three games under their new tactician, only losing at Atlético de Madrid, and will travel to Vallecas seeking the three points.

The action remains in Spain’s capital for the first of Saturday’s games, which is Real Madrid vs CA Osasuna at 14:00 CET. Given that their Matchday 12 fixture was postponed, this is Real Madrid’s first LALIGA EA SPORTS match since losing ELCLASICO, so they’ll be determined to turn in a positive performance in front of their fans at the Bernabéu. Yet, CA Osasuna won’t make life easy for their hosts. Los Rojillos sit fifth in the table and have lost just twice on the road this season.

The day’s next fixture sees Luis García Plaza take his Deportivo Alavés side to the Estadio de la Cerámica, the home of Villarreal CF, one of his former clubs. By winning last week, the Basque side snapped a five-game losing run, so will travel with renewed confidence. 

RCD Espanyol vs Valencia CF was set to be the next match of the day, however the game has been postponed as the city of Valencia continues to deal with the aftermath of the severe DANA storm which hit the region last week. 

CD Leganés host the last of Saturday’s matches, taking on Sevilla FC at the Estadio Butarque. The home side have scored 12 total goals this season but half of them have come across just their past two matches, so they’ll enter this duel confident that they can find the back of the net.  

Sunday should be an action-packed day, with five total fixtures taking place, the first of which is Real Betis vs RC Celta, a fixture that has produced a lot of goals in recent years. In fact, the past eight meetings between these teams at the Estadio Benito Villamarín have produced 33 total goals, or 4.2 on average. 

Next is a clash between RCD Mallorca and Atlético de Madrid, who enter this matchday eighth and third in the table, respectively. Given that Atleti have won just two of six away games so far this LALIGA EA SPORTS season, Diego Simeone knows his players need to be at their best if they’re to take three points back to the mainland. 

At 18:30 CET, there are two games taking place simultaneously, Real Valladolid vs Athletic Club and Getafe CF vs Girona FC. These could be two clashes of footballing styles, as the two home teams are amongst the three lowest-scoring sides in the division, whereas the away teams are known for their attacking football and are both amongst the top eight for big chances created and for goals scored. 

The Reale Arena in San Sebastián is the site of the final match of the round, as Real Sociedad take on FC Barcelona. The Catalan side remain the clear leaders of LALIGA EA SPORTS and have a good recent record against the Txuri-Urdin, having won 16 of their past 20 encounters across all competitions. La Real do boast one of the most talented squads in the competition, though, so anything is possible in this Sunday night showdown.