Cádiz vs Almería is a clash between two Andalusian teams whose primary objective for this season is to avoid relegation. Almería are doing a better job of that right now as, unlike Cádiz, they find themselves outside the relegation zone. However, Almería’s superior points tally has been fuelled by their good home form, not their away form.

In fact, Almería have the greatest difference in all of LaLiga between their home form and away form, having collected 15 of their 16 points at home and just one on the road, which was against bottom-placed Elche. Almería’s terrible away form even continued into the Copa del Rey, as they were knocked out in the first round of the cup competition at fourth-tier CD Arenteiro.

Cádiz, on the other hand, have been able to pick up points here and there at home and on the road. In their past four home games, they secured three draws and a victory against Atlético Madrid, so will be confident of taking something from this clash with Almería.

This may be a game between two teams from the region of Andalusia, but the distance of 340km is still large enough that Almería will have to fly to Cádiz. Passing through the airport will very much make it feel like an away game for Rubi’s team, and that’s not a good thing given their form on the road this season.

This match is a relegation battle, with Celta Vigo having spent the World Cup break in 17th and Sevilla in 18th. But, the mood in the two camps is very different.

At Celta Vigo, there is fresh optimism following the hiring of new coach Carlos Carvalhal. After a defeat and a draw in his first two LaLiga games, he has then enjoyed comfortable victories – a 6-1 and a 3-0 – against lower league opposition in the Copa del Rey. Having had a month and a half to share his methods with the squad – which had just two players away at the World Cup in Ghana’s Joseph Aidoo and USA’s Luca de la Torre – this should be a new-look Celta Vigo side under Carvalhal.

Sevilla, on the other hand, are down to the bare bones. They have six players out with injury and three suspensions too. That means there are just five of their usual starters in their 21-man squad, a squad which is padded out with the inclusion of seven youth teamers. Plus, Sevilla had several players go deep into the World Cup and, other than goalkeeper Bono, they might struggle to play the full 90 minutes. It really will be a depleted Sevilla side, especially in defence where there isn’t a single usual starter available.

Throw on top of all that the fact that severe flooding has made Celta Vigo’s Balaídos Stadium an especially uninviting place to visit this week, with damaged dressing rooms, and Sevilla’s poor pre-World Cup form could very well continue.

Real Valladolid are unbeaten in four at home, a run dating back to September, while Real Madrid have lost their last two matches on the road. That may seem ominous for Carlo Ancelotti and his players, but they’ll still be expecting to get back into action with a win and it also means there are surprisingly reasonable odds for a Real Madrid win.

The Real Madrid men yet to be back and fully available are Luka Modrić, Aurelién Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga, but with Toni Kroos coming off a six-week break, Fede Valverde having returned after the group stages and Dani Ceballos back from injury, Ancelotti has options.

Vinícius Júnior and a fit-again Karim Benzema are expected to lead in attack, and they’ll be up against a weakened Valladolid defence as Morocco’s World Cup exploits cost them Jawad El Yamiq as the centre-back was hit by injury.

The last time Valladolid won this fixture was in 2008, with 11 Real Madrid wins and two draws in the 13 games since. Coach Pacheta lost his only previous meeting with Los Blancos with a 2-1 defeat while with Huesca in 2021.

Valladolid will be hoping to revert that trend to maintain a strong first half of the season, but that form could be deceiving. They have beaten their opponents for xG only twice from 14 games and their run has also involved defeat in their only two fixtures to date against the current top four. Real Madrid will pose a very different test as they are very unlikely to fail to take their chances in the same way that many of Valladolid’s opponents have so far this season.