There is one more round of LALIGA EA SPORTS action before the October international break, and it promises to be a hugely entertaining one. There are three fixtures which pit members of the current top 10 against each other, namely Real Madrid vs Villarreal CF, Sevilla FC vs FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol vs Real Betis. It’ll be a lot of fun as we work out who gets to sit top of the table during the upcoming international break.
The very first game of Matchday 8 is the Friday night clash between CA Osasuna and Getafe CF. This is a fixture which Los Azulones have dominated in recent years. Since 2019, these clubs have met 12 times and CA Osasuna have only won once, compared to five draws and six Getafe CF wins. José Bordalás will hope his squad can keep that impressive run going in this opening game of the matchday.
The first of Saturday’s fixtures is a duel between two newly promoted sides, as Real Oviedo take on Levante UD in Asturias. Both these clubs are currently outside of the relegation zone, which is their primary objective for the season, so they’ll be hoping to keep it that way.
Girona FC, on the other hand, sit rock bottom of the table and they are the only team in LALIGA EA SPORTS yet to win a game. When Valencia CF visit the Estadi Montilivi on Saturday afternoon, the Catalan outfit will hope to finally secure a much-needed victory.
Two other teams who have had disappointing starts to the season are Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca. The Basques sit ninth and haven’t won any of their past four league games, while the islanders are second-bottom. They meet in Bilbao on Saturday, a game that has become very important for both clubs.
The Saturday night game this weekend takes place at the Bernabéu, where Real Madrid face off against Villarreal CF, a meeting of the teams currently second and third in the table. Not only is this a fascinating duel between two of the best teams in the country, two sides who have only lost once each so far this season, but past meetings between these clubs have produced a lot of goals. To be more precise, their past six head-to-head duels in LALIGA EA SPORTS have averaged 4.33 goals each.
Sunday will be an action-packed day, with five fixtures taking place. The first is Deportivo Alavés vs Elche CF, as Los Franjiverdes look to keep up their unbeaten run. Alongside FC Barcelona, Elche CF are the only other undefeated team in the division, an especially impressive feat for a newly promoted unit.
Then, at 16:15 CEST, it’s time for Sevilla FC vs FC Barcelona, with Hansi Flick’s men keen to strengthen their grip on first place heading into the international break. Although it’s rarely a comfortable game at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla FC haven’t actually won there yet this season. So, both sides have a lot to play for in this one.
There are two games in the 18:30 CEST time slot, one of which is a clash between RCD Espanyol and Real Betis, who both enter this matchday level on 12 points and fighting for European qualification. The other game at that time is a battle between two sides inside the bottom five but who have also recently qualified for Europe, as Real Sociedad host Rayo Vallecano in the Basque Country.
The final game of the matchday is taking place in Vigo, where RC Celta will take on an Atlético de Madrid team who have turned their season around. Atleti have scored five goals in each of their past two matches, in ELDERBI DE MADRID and in the Champions League, so Los Colchoneros will hope to start October strong as well.
SOURCE: LALIGA CONTENTHUB
