The top-of-the-table battle between Barcelona and Sevilla is the headline clash of this coming weekend’s ninth round of matches in the 2018/19 La Liga season, with the continuing struggles of Real Madrid and coach Julen Lopetegui also coming under further scrutiny.
Sevilla, led by the scoring power of former Tunisia national team target Wissam Ben Yedder, have risen to the top of the log with four successive wins, but quite whether they will be able to continue their momentum after the international break will be put to the test at Camp Nou on Saturday night.
Barca, however, have failed to win any of their last four Liga matches. Lionel Messi, who scored in a 1-1 draw at Valencia in their last outing, continues to produce outstanding performances, but his teammates are not rising to his level, leaving the Catalan giants and coach Ernesto Valverde with some question marks heading into what promises to be a thrilling match.
The round opens on Friday night with Sofiane Boufal’s Celta de Vigo looking to end a five-game winless streak when they host Mubarak Wakaso’s Deportivo Alaves at Abanca-Balaidos, before the early Saturday fixture sees Real Madrid at home to Moses Simon’s Levante.
Los Blancos are winless in four games across all competitions and coach Lopetegui is coming under increasing pressure, with rumours swirling that Zinedine Zidane could return just six months after leaving his post at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Saturday’s late afternoon and early-evening games see Valencia host Nabil El Zhar and Youssef En-Nesyri’s Leganes at Estadio de Mestalla, before Karl Toko Ekambi looks to score for a third game in a row for Villarreal, as they play host to Thomas Partey’s Atletico Madrid at Estadio de la Ceramica.
Sunday opens with Rayo Vallecano – who are likely to field Gael Kakuta, Gilbert Imbula and Abdoulaye Ba – at home to Amath Ndiaye’s Getafe, Papakouli Diop’s Eibar will host Athletic Bilbao at Estadio Municipal de Ipurua, and Carlos Akapo’s Huesca will look to end a seven-game winless streak when they host an Espanyol side which has picked up seven points from the last nine up for grabs.
The weekend action continues on Sunday night when Aissa Mandi’s Real Betis welcome Anuar Tuhami’s Real Valladolid (who are on a hot streak of three straight wins) to Estadio Benito Villamarin, and the round will be completed on Monday night with Real Sociedad at home to Yassine Bounou’s Girona.
Key stats
Villarreal v Atletico Madrid – Head-to-Head, all competitions
Matches played 34
Villarreal wins 15
Atletico wins 11
Draws 8
Real Madrid v Levante – Head-to-Head, all competitions
Matches played 22
Real wins 16
Levante wins 3
Draws 3
Barcelona v Sevilla – Head-to-Head, all competitions
Matches played 57
Barca wins 35
Sevilla wins 11
Draws 11
La Liga fixtures, 19-22 October
All times CAT (GMT + 2)
Friday 19 October
21:00: Celta de Vigo v Deportivo Alaves – LIVE on SS7, Max2 & SelGO4
Saturday 20 October
13:00: Real Madrid v Levante – LIVE on SS7, Max2 & SelGO4
16:15: Valencia v Leganes – LIVE on SS7, Max360 & SelGO4
18:30: Villarreal v Atletico Madrid – LIVE on SS7 & SelGO4
20:45: Barcelona v Sevilla – LIVE on SS7 & Max2 & SelGO4
Sunday 21 October
12:00: Rayo Vallecano v Getafe – LIVE on SS7/SS10, Max360, SelGO4
16:15: Eibar v Athletic Club – LIVE on SS7 & SelGO4
18:30: Huesca v Espanyol – LIVE on SS7, Max2 & SelGO4
20:45: Real Betis v Real Valladolid – LIVE on SS7 & SelGO4
Monday 22 October
21:00: Real Sociedad v Girona – LIVE on SS7, Max2 & SelGO4
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Source: DStv