2023/24 LaLiga Matchday 6 Preview

It’s Madrid derby weekend in Spain as the big two in the capital go head to head on Sunday night. There are a host of other matches to look out for too with Barcelona trying to build on back-to-back 5-0 wins while Girona and Athletic Club are also riding high and looking to extend bright starts. Here’s our full 2023/24 LaLiga matchday 6 preview.

LaLiga Matchday 6 Preview

Friday 22nd September 2023

21:00 – Alaves vs Athletic Club

	Alaves	Athletic Club
Win Probability	26%	43%

Alaves and Athletic Club meet in a Basque derby on Friday with both sides making a positive start to the campaign. Alaves have won both home games to date and should be competitive here against an Athletic side that is still missing Nico Williams. He wasn’t missed too much last weekend though as three late goals swept Cadiz aside at San Mames. Ernesto Valverde’s side have recovered well from a really poor opening day performance and would go level on points with 2nd placed Barcelona if they win here.

Possible Home Lineup: Sivera – Duarte, Abqar, Sedlar, Gorosabel – Blanco, Guevara – Rioja, Guridi, Alkain – Kike (4-2-3-1)

Possible Away Lineup: Simon – Yuri, Paredes, Vivian, De Marcos – Ruiz de Galarreta, Vesga – Berenguer, Sancet, Iñaki Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)

Saturday 23rd September 2023

14:00 – Girona vs Mallorca

	Girona	Mallorca
Win Probability	52%	20%

Girona have made a flying start to LaLiga 23/24 with only Barcelona scoring more goals and only Real Madrid taking more points than the Catalan side. Teenager Savio was the star in the 4-2 win at Granada on Monday with a goal and an assist and already looks like a fixture in this side. Mallorca meanwhile got their first win of the season last time out, in slightly unconvincing fashion at Celta. They continue to play direct to Vedat Muriqi which may see the hosts drop David Lopez back into defence for this game, potentially at new signing Eric Garcia’s expense.

Possible Home Lineup: Gazzaniga – Miguel Gutierrez, Blind, David Lopez, Arnau Martinez – Herrera, Aleix Garcia, Ivan Martin – Savio, Stuani, Tsygankov (4-3-3)

Possible Away Lineup: Rajkovic – Van der Heyden, Nastacic, Valjent – Lato, Morlanes, Samu, Maffeo – Rodriguez, Darder – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)

16:15 – Osasuna vs Sevilla

	Osasuna	Sevilla
Win Probability	38%	32%

Sevilla also got their first win and first points of the season last time out, beating Las Palmas 1-0 as Sergio Ramos was thrust straight into the starting lineup on his return to the club. Ramos started again in the draw against Lens in midweek but this will be Sevilla’s 3rd game in 7 days which could spark rotation, particularly with midweek action in LaLiga next week. Osasuna are not in Europe any more so should be the fresher team here, although they have lost their last two in LaLiga.

Possible Home Lineup: Herrera – Mojica, David Garcia, Catena, Pena – Torro, Munoz, Oroz – Moi Gomez, Budimir, Chimy (4-3-3)

Possible Away Lineup: Dmitrovic – Pedrosa, Gudelj, Bade, Navas – Jordan, Sow – Oliver, Suso, Ocampos – Rafa Mir (4-2-3-1)

18:30 – Barcelona vs Celta Vigo

	Barcelona	Celta Vigo
Win Probability	76%	9%

Barcelona are flying right now with two 5-0 wins over the past week as they demolished Real Betis and Antwerp at their temporary home. They are back there this weekend and will expect to be too strong for Celta too. Xavi has few injury concerns currently so has plenty of options for rotation with midweek hero Joao Felix potentially dropping back to the bench while Lamine Yamal may return. Rafa Benitez could effectively play with a back five here with the former Valencia and Real Madrid boss already under a bit of pressure to improve on a record of 4 points from 5 games so far.

Possible Home Lineup: Ter Stegen – Alonso, Christensen, Kounde, Cancelo – De Jong, Romeu, Gavi – Ferran, Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal (4-3-3)

Possible Away Lineup: Villar – Dominguez, Nuñez, Starfelt – Ristic, De la Torre, Beltran, Mingueza – Bamba, Aspas – Douvikas (3-4-2-1)

21:00 – Almeria vs Valencia

	Almeria	Valencia
Win Probability	33%	40%

Valencia produced one of the performances of the season by thumping Atletico Madrid 3-0 at Mestalla last weekend. They are a young team though and their other performances this term have been nowhere near that convincing. They are unlikely to have this all their own way against an Almeria side that played well in defeat at Villarreal last weekend and has been creating chances despite only taking 1 point so far this term.

Possible Home Lineup: Maximiano – Akieme, Montes, Edgar, Chumi – Robertone, Lopy – Ramazani, Melero, Arribasi – Luis Suarez (4-2-3-1)

Possible Away Lineup: Mamardashvili – Gaya, Mosquera, Diakhaby, Correia – Almeida, Pepelu, Guerra – Diego Lopez, Duro, Fran Perez (4-3-3)

Sunday 24th September 2023

14:00 – Real Sociedad vs Getafe

	Real Sociedad	Getafe
Win Probability	59%	16%

Only a late equaliser denied Real Sociedad a famous Champions League win over Inter Milan in midweek and they played well in defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend. There may be some doubts about their transition into the demands of midweek UCL nights combined with league action. There is depth in some areas which could potentially lead to rotation at full-back here for example but they’ll still fancy their chances against a direct Getafe side that beat Osasuna 3-2 last weekend with three headed goals.

Possible Home Lineup: Remiro – Aihen, Le Normand, Pacheco, Odriozola – Merino, Zubimendi, Brais Mendez – Barrenetxea, Sadiq, Kubo (4-3-3)

Possible Away Lineup: Soria – Rico, Duarte, Mitrovic, Damian Suarez – Mata, Djene, Maksimovic, Carmona – Mayoral, Latasa (4-4-2)

16:15 – Rayo Vallecano vs Villarreal

	Rayo Vallecano	Villarreal
Win Probability	37%	36%

This should be one of the more entertaining games this weekend with Villarreal winning their first game under Pacheta but still giving up a load of chances against Almeria last time out. They rested key men in their Thursday night Europa League game in Greece so should go strong here against a Rayo Vallecano side that bounced back from successive defeats with a strong 2-0 win over Alaves last Friday. They’ll be very happy with a return of 9 points from 5 games despite the 7-0 drubbing they suffered against Atletico Madrid.

Possible Home Lineup: Dimitrievski – Espino, Aridane, Lejeune, Balliu – Valentin, Ciss – Alvaro Garcia, Isi, De Frutos – De Tomas (4-2-3-1)

Possible Away Lineup: Jorgensen – Moreno, Gabbia, Albiol, Foyth – Capoue, Parejo – Yeremi Pino, Gerard Moreno, Baena – Sorloth (4-2-3-1)

18:30 – Real Betis vs Cadiz

	Real Betis	Cadiz
Win Probability	53%	21%

Real Betis and Cadiz clash in an Andalusian derby on Sunday. Both sides were well beaten last weekend, something of a reality check for both coaches after positive starts. Betis in fairness just came up against Barcelona at their best, but should have much more of the game here against a Cadiz team that has an injury doubt over Darwin Machis who was the star in their recent win over Villarreal. Expect rotation from Betis after their Thursday night trip to Glasgow.

Possible Home Lineup: Bravo – Miranda, Pezzella, Riad, Ruibal – Guido Rodriguez, Guardado – Ayoze Perez, Isco, Rodri – Willian Jose (4-2-3-1)

Possible Away Lineup: Ledesma – Javi Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Fali, Iza – Machis, Alcaraz, Escalante, Alejo – Ramos, Maxi Gomez (4-4-2)

18:30 – Las Palmas vs Granada

	Las Palmas	Granada
Win Probability	47%	26%

Two newly promoted teams with very different but very serious problems meet here. Las Palmas still haven’t scored from open play while Granada have let in 16 goals in 5 matches, 5 more than any other team in the league. Las Palmas incidentally also have the 3rd highest possession stats in the division but they need to find a way of converting control of the ball into chances and goals. They may get some help here from what is a very leaky Granada defence.

Possible Home Lineup: Valles – Cardona, Marmol, Alex Suarez, Araujo – Kirian Rodriguez, Loiodice, Viera – Sandro, Kaba, Munir (4-3-3)

Possible Away Lineup: Raul Fernandez – Neva, Miquel, Diaz, Ricard – Bryan, Gumbau, Ruiz, Callejon – Uzuni, Boye (4-4-2)

21:00 – Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid (Featured Game)

	Atletico Madrid	Real Madrid
Win Probability	35%	37%

The big one on Sunday night sees Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid meet at the Civitas Metropolitano. Atleti will be hungry for a response after a woeful showing in Valencia last weekend while Los Blancos need to prove they can get results without having to rely on the late interventions of a certain Jude Bellingham who popped up with another Stoppage Time winner in the Champions League against Union Berlin in midweek.

There is more pressure on the home team who were widely tipped to challenge for the title and looked every bit contenders when they hit 7 in Vallecas last month. A postponed fixture and an international break didn’t help matters as they sought to build momentum after that fine display while early season injuries have also hampered them.

The reality here is that they’ll be 11 points behind Real Madrid already if they lose this match. Atleti would still have a game in hand but playing catch-up to that extent will be really difficult so it’s vital Diego Simeone’s side get something here. They could be boosted by the return of Koke in midfield but fellow midfielders Thomas Lemar, Pablo Barrios and Rodrigo De Paul are all out.

Real Madrid are still 100% for the season in all competitions but they haven’t been that convincing so far with a series of scrappy late wins. Their midfield options are the envy of just about every club in Europe, but there are a few question marks about them at the back while things haven’t totally clicked at the other end following the exit of Karim Benzema.

Vini Junior is nearing fitness again but it’s likely to be Joselu and Rodrygo who start this game in attack with Bellingham just behind once more. It’ll be interesting to see just how bold Carlo Ancelotti is willing to be with the opportunity to do serious damage to Atleti’s title challenge very early in the season.

Possible Home Lineup: Oblak – Hermoso, Gimenez, Savic – Lino, Saul, Koke, Llorente, Molina – Morata, Griezmann (3-5-2)

Possible Away Lineup: Kepa – Fran Garcia, Alaba, Rudiger, Nacho – Camavinga, Tchouameni, Valverde – Bellingham – Joselu, Rodrygo (4-3-1-2)

Featured Game Prediction: Atletico Madrid 1-1 Real Madrid

This may be one of the better Madrid derbies in recent years given both sides appear to have defensive flaws which should serve up chances at each end. It’s only matchday six though and as often happens in these fixtures, a bit of caution could prevail in the end so don’t be surprised if it ends up all square.

Head over to our LaLiga match predictions for score predictions for all of the other matches via Pooky, a new football predictions game.