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There is a full slate of LaLiga Santander matches this weekend, as Matchday 22 follows hot on the heels of the midweek Matchday 21 games. There are several attractive fixtures this weekend, starting with RCD Espanyol vs Real Betis on Friday night. Manuel Pellegrini’s Verdiblancos are the team to beat and the team to watch in Spanish football right now, having put on a show in their 4-0 midweek thrashing of D. Alavés, a result that keeps them third.
Four more matches follow on Saturday, starting with a huge relegation six-pointer as bottom-placed Levante UD host second-bottom Cádiz CF. Both teams come into this one with a certain amount of confidence, with the Granotas finally achieving their first league win of the campaign last time out and with Cádiz CF already earning a league point and reaching the Copa del Rey quarters under new coach Sergio González. It will be fascinating to see if either side can secure what would be a momentous three-point haul.
Villarreal CF host the next match as they welcome RCD Mallorca to the Estadio de la Cerámica. For the visiting coach Luis García Plaza and visiting playmaker Takefusa Kubo, this will be a return to their former club and they’ll be keen to make a statement, with the Japan international arriving in good form after scoring a beautiful freekick last weekend.
Sevilla FC will then look to keep up their title challenge when they take on RC Celta at home, with the Andalusian outfit now just four points behind leaders Real Madrid after collecting a point from their game in hand in midweek. With Julen Lopetegui welcoming back some players from the absentees list, he’ll be confident of a strong performance and a good result.
In the Saturday night slot is Atlético de Madrid vs Valencia CF, a fixture that has produced plenty of fireworks in recent years. There was epic drama when they met earlier this season at Mestalla, as Los Che scored two stoppage time goals to hold Atleti to a 3-3 draw. Diego Simeone’s side will be out for some revenge, looking for a win this time around.
Granada CF vs CA Osasuna gets Sunday’s action up and running, with this another fixture that produced a late equaliser earlier in the season. On that occasion, Granada’s Ángel Montoro netted a 90th minute goal to hold Los Rojillos to a 1-1 draw and now Osasuna will hope for a victory, especially as they continue to slip down the LaLiga Santander standings.
Real Madrid take on Elche CF at 4.15pm CET on Sunday afternoon, when they’ll show their new Spanish Super Cup trophy to the Santiago Bernabéu crowd before kick-off. Once the ball gets rolling, they’ll be determined to consolidate their position at the top of the LaLiga Santander standings. It was the Vinícius show when these sides met earlier in the season and the Brazilian remains in excellent form. The fans will hope to see another spectacular performance from him on Sunday afternoon.
There are then two 6.30pm CET games this Sunday, with Rayo Vallecano vs Athletic Club particularly interesting as the capital city side look to protect their undefeated home record against the only team they’ve defeated away from home this season. For former Athletic captain and current Rayo coach Andoni Iraola, this is a match he’ll have been looking forward to for some time. At that same kick-off time, Real Sociedad are at home to Getafe CF. With the visitors’ revival starting with their draw against La Real earlier in the season, they’ll travel north with confidence, especially bearing in mind they’ve won 2-1 on four of their last six visits to the Reale Arena.
The final Matchday 22 game is also taking place in the Basque Country, as D. Alavés host FC Barcelona. This is a duel between one of the most experienced coaches in the league in José Luis Mendilibar and one of the least in Xavi Hernández. Xavi, though, will be delighted that he has most of his squad back and he’ll even be able to give Ferran Torres his LaLiga Santander debut for Barça. This clash at Mendizorrotza should be the perfect way to bring this action-packed weekend to a close.
Watch LaLiga Santander live this weekend on BeINSports
