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LaLiga returns for matchday 18 after midweek cup action

football08 January 2021 10:17
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© Luis Suarez and Joao Felix

The Spanish top-flight is back with an action-packed matchday following midweek cup encounters.

We are at the midway point of the season and the title race is heating up with the top three teams in a good run of form in the league.

Atletico Madrid are on top with 38 points with two games in hand over Real Madrid and FC Barcelona who sit second and third with 36 and 31 points respectively.

Matchday action kicks off on Friday night with an intriguing game between RC Celta and Villarreal CF. The Yellow Submarine visit the Galician side, which despite playing attractive football under new coach Eduardo Coudet crashed out of the Copa del Rey after a 5-2 defeat by UD Ibiza.

The visitors, on the other hand, will be boosted by Samuel Chukwueze. The Nigerian is now the youngest Villarreal centurion at just 21 years old and will be desperate to add to his goal tally, having only netted once this season.

The first game on Saturday promises to be a thrilling encounter between two attacking teams, as Sevilla take on Real Sociedad. It was 3-2 to Sevilla FC when this fixture was played last season.

Youssef En-Nesyri will hope to secure three points for his side to keep their top-four aspirations alive. The Moroccan has registered five goals so far this campaign. Real Sociedad will not give up their fourth position easily, making for a mouth-watering encounter.

TITLE RACE HEATS UP ON SUPER SATURDAY

League leaders Atletico Madrid will want to put Wednesday’s shock defeat that saw them knocked out of the Copa del Rey behind them when they welcome Athletic Club on Saturday. The visitors will be hoping their new coach Marcelino can outsmart Diego Simeone and inflict damage on Atleti’s title aspirations.

Barcelona will hope to continue their good run of form when they face a tricky Granada CF side who beat the Catalans 2-0 last season and only sit four places behind them on the table.

The hosts will hope their African talents Kingsley Fobi (Ghana), Ramon Azeez (Ghana) and Yan Brice Eteki (Cameroon) help them beat the Catalan giants. Koeman will be hoping the newly-flourishing partnership of Messi and Pedri will be enough to see off the Andalusian side.

It’s second-from-bottom taking on second-from-top when Real Madrid travel to CA Osasuna in the last of the big games for the day. Zidane will be hoping their impressive away record will continue as they look to make ground on their Madrid rivals. Osasuna will want to move away from the relegation zone and will be inspired by their new-look El Sadar Stadium.

The final Sunday fixture sees Real Valladolid host Valencia CF, with both sides hovering just above the relegation zone.

Given that these are two teams with just two clean sheets each so far this season, this could be a match that produces a lot of goals. Come the end of the season, those goals could turn out to be significant in the relegation battle.

Monday night action between SD Huesca and Real Betis will round off matchday 18.

Intriguingly, Huesca have the fewest wins so far this season. This is a statistic that African midfield duo Idrissa Doumbia (Ivory Coast) and Kelechi Nwakali (Nigeria) will be motivated to change. On the other hand, the Betis team has recorded the most defeats, suggesting that Paul Edgar Akouokou (Ivory Coast) and his teammates will hope to lift their side into the top half of the table.

More LaLiga fixtures for you:

Levante UD taking on SD Eibar with just one point separating the two sides

Cádiz CF v D. Alavés in a tactical showdown between Álvaro Cervera and Pablo Machín

Elche CF host Getafe CF at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero

Be sure not to miss the LaLiga action with SuperSport:

Matchday 18 starts on Friday and the action continues throughout the weekend, ending on Monday evening. Catch LaLiga Santander live this weekend on LaLiga’s dedicated channel - SuperSport LaLiga on DStv Channel 204.

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