LaLiga Matchday 9 preview: Barça aim to return to winning ways, while Sevilla FC and Real Betis come together in Elgran Derbi

The 2024/25 LaLiga title race is heating up, after FC Barcelona dropped points for the first time last weekend.

Real Madrid couldn’t fully capitalise, as they conceded a late equaliser to draw the Madrid Derby 1-1, but Los Blancos have managed to cut their rivals’ lead at the top to just three points. That makes the upcoming Matchday 9 all the more fascinating, as does the fact that Sunday brings up the season’s first Elgran Derbi.

The first game of this matchday takes place on Friday night, when CD Leganés take on Valencia CF. These two teams are both currently inside the bottom five in the standings, so this could be a decisive game in the relegation battle.

There are five fixtures to enjoy on Saturday, starting with RCD Espanyol v RCD Mallorca. The island club have had an incredible start to this season under new coach Jagoba Arrasate and currently occupy one of the European qualification positions, so they’ll hope to keep that up when they make the short trip across the Mediterranean Sea to take on Los Pericos.

Despite losing Arrasate from their own dugout at the end of last season, CA Osasuna have also started the new season well under their new coach Vicente Moreno. Confidence is high after Los Rojillos just defeated FC Barcelona and now they travel to take on Getafe CF, another team full of confidence after Los Azulones secured their first victory of the season last weekend.

There are two games taking place simultaneously at 18:30 CEST on Saturday. One is UD Las Palmas v RC Celta, as the Galicians look to return to winning ways following a mini slump, while the other is Real Valladolid v Rayo Vallecano, a duel between two clubs whose primary objective this season is to avoid relegation. Curiously, this is a match involving two former World Cup Golden Boot winners, with Ronaldo Nazário the president of Real Valladolid and with James Rodríguez having joined Rayo Vallecano.

The most recent World Cup Golden Boot winner, Kylian Mbappé, is set to return to LALIGA EA SPORTS action on Saturday night, in Real Madrid’s home game against Villarreal CF. Los Blancos have been excellent at home in recent times, but this game is against the last team who they lost to at the Bernabéu. It was back on April 8th 2023, when Villarreal CF defeated Real Madrid 3-2, which was Los Blancos’ most recent home loss. Villarreal CF will hope to repeat that feat this Saturday night.

Girona FC v Athletic Club is the first of four matches on Sunday, and this could be a huge one in the European qualification race. Both their duels were close affairs last season, as they played out a 1-1 draw and a 3-2 victory for the Basque side. Even at this early stage of 2024/25, the three points on offer could be crucial if these teams want to qualify for Europe again.

At 16:15 CEST on Sunday, league leaders FC Barcelona return to action away at Deportivo Alavés. After winning their first seven games on the league season, they fell to a 4-2 defeat at CA Osasuna last weekend and coach Hansi Flick will expect a defiant response from his squad. It won’t be easy, though, as Deportivo Alavés have won two and drawn one of their three home games so far this term.

At 18:30 CEST, there is another huge game as Sevilla FC and Real Betis come together for Elgran Derbi The derby of the city of Seville is known around the world for being one of the most intense in world football and it should be once again. Their past four meetings have ended up as draws, so this is a very competitive match-up these days, yet both sides will set out with the aim of taking all three points from this one.

There is time for one more match on Sunday night, with Real Sociedad v Atlético de Madrid rounding out Matchday 9. This will be a special game for several of the former Real Sociedad players in Diego Simeone’s squad, namely Antoine Griezmann, Alexander Sørloth, Robin Le Normand and Javi Galán. Those past links will be put to one side as Atleti seek three points which would allow them to keep up in the title race.