Atlético Madrid v Cádiz

Atlético Madrid get this weekend’s La Liga Santander action up and running as they have the Friday night game, ahead of their visit to Old Trafford next Tuesday. They’ll take on a Cádiz side that has improved in recent weeks, but Atleti have experienced a transformation of their own and they’ve won three league games in a row for the first time this season.

The main reason for this is that João Félix is in excellent form. He is scoring goals and early goals too, netting in the third minute in the recent 3-0 win over Osasuna and in the second minute last weekend in the 3-1 victory over Real Betis. At odds of 5.5, he’s even a good pick for first goalscorer in this game.

João Félix and Atleti will really hope to get off to a quick start, as this has been the key to their recent good results against Cádiz. Since the Andalusian side were promoted back into Spain’s top division in the summer of 2020, Atlético Madrid have beaten them 4-0, 4-2 and 4-1, with Cádiz crumbling each time after conceding the first goal.

If Atlético Madrid can open the scoring early, this could be a comfortable victory for the Colchoneros. With a packed stadium expected, it could be a Friday night party at the Wanda Metropolitano.

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Levante v Espanyol

It’s Levante vs Espanyol to kick off Saturday’s slate of fixtures and neutrals will be hoping that this is as exciting as it was last time they met, when Espanyol won 4-3. Both these sides are continuing to score goals and to concede goals, meaning another busy scoresheet should be expected.

Each of these teams comes into this weekend’s game with 52% of their respective matches having produced over 2.5 goals this season. But, this has especially been the case in recent weeks. Since their seven-goal thriller in December, eight out of Espanyol’s 10 LaLiga matches have had more than 2.5 goals, while six out of Levante’s 10 LaLiga matches have hit that over.

Levante are still bottom of the table and, if they are to cut the seven-point gap to safety, they need three-point hauls, not one point at a time. At home, they’re expected to play a very attacking game against Espanyol, which could see Levante create chances while also leaving space in behind. Given that Espanyol have a clinical striker in Raúl de Tomás, the away side should be able to exploit that on Saturday. This really could be another back-and-forth shootout, like it was when they faced off in December.

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Granada v Elche

Granada come into this weekend’s match against Elche on a nine-match winless run, but there is fresh optimism around the Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes after the sacking of Robert Moreno. Following the coach’s dismissal last weekend, reports have emerged explaining that there was dressing room tension and that he had fallen out with several players. Now that Moreno has been replaced, with B team coach Rubén Torrecilla taking temporary charge, this should give that dressing room a lift.

More than the new manager bounce, Granada can be confident about this fixture because they’re playing a struggling Elche side. They had a good run of their own after changing manager in December, but they’ve struggled in recent weeks. Elche have lost three of their past four games, while they didn’t play particularly well in the other of those four – a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano – either.

This could, then, be a turning point in Granada’s season. They currently occupy the spot just above the relegation zone, but now have a home game, an opponent with struggles of their own and a change in the dugout. It is set up to be a good weekend for Granada if their players can grasp this opportunity.

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Villarreal v Celta Vigo

Villarreal’s good run of form came to an abrupt end last weekend as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Osasuna. The result and the performance were reminiscent of their loss to Elche in January, after which they went on their impressive run, so Unai Emery will hope his team can write last week’s result off and get back on track against Celta Vigo.

Although Villarreal may be tempted to look ahead to their Champions League second leg against Juventus, which takes place next Wednesday, Emery is the kind of coach that will have his squad focused on this weekend’s league game first and foremost. They didn’t rotate much at all ahead of the Juve first leg, and earned a 4-1 win over Granada that weekend as a result.

At home against Celta Vigo, Villarreal are the logical favourites, and even more so since they’re starting to recover players from injury. They lost Alberto Moreno to a season-ending injury last weekend, but that will be compensated for this by the return of other key pieces, with Gerard Moreno potentially getting a run-out here.

Celta Vigo won’t make it easy for Villarreal and come into this one buoyed by their 97th minute winner last weekend as they overcame Real Mallorca 4-3 at home. But, Celta Vigo haven’t won any of their past five away matches across all competitions and this presents Villarreal with a good opportunity to get back on track and to restore some momentum before the challenge of Juventus.

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Getafe v Valencia

José Bordalás returns to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez this Saturday night and it’ll surely be a special occasion as the former Getafe coach walks out at the ground that was his home from 2016 to last summer. He brought Getafe back up to Spain’s top tier and led them on a Europa League adventure, so the fans still love their former boss.

Once the ball gets rolling, though, this should be battle between two teams that are much more pragmatic than pretty. Expect fouls, expect stoppages and expect both teams to play a back five. This isn’t a match that is set up for goals, as both of these sides prefer to absorb pressure and then play on the counter. If they both approach this game with that mentality, it could be a very dull watch for the neutrals.

In recent weeks, backing Getafe at home has been the smart thing to do because their form at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez had been really good. They’ve not lost there since October, winning six and drawing two since then, but the visit of Valencia is going to be a tricky one for Geta. They’re a team with a very similar style to Getafe but with better individual players, which is why this time it makes more sense to look to the goals market than the win market.

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