Atletico Madrid will look to maintain their unbeaten start
Atletico Madrid will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they play host to Espanyol in Wednesday’s La Liga contest. The newly-promoted visitors are waiting to get off the mark after beginning the campaign with back-to-back defeats.
Atletico Madrid may have aspirations of mounting a serious title challenge after making several notable additions in the summer transfer window. Robin Le Normand and Conor Gallagher have strengthened the defence and midfield respectively, while Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth have been recruited to boost Diego Simeone‘s forward options. Having bolstered their squad, Atleti have made an encouraging start to the new season, collecting four points from their opening two matches.
Atleti will now turn their focus to their first meeting with Espanyol since being involved in an entertaining 3-3 draw in May 2023, and they will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in head-to-head meetings to six matches.
Atletico have reported no fresh injury concerns, ensuring Simeone that will have the majority of his squad available for Wednesday’s home fixture.
Gallagher is also pushing to make his first start after making his Atletico debut as a 58th-minute substitute at the weekend.
Atleti would have taken confidence from Sunday’s commanding win over Girona, and we think that they will produce another strong home display to maintain their unbeaten start and condemn Espanyol to a third consecutive defeat.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Athletic Bilbao welcome Valencia to San Mames
After taking one point from their first two matches, Athletic Bilbao will attempt to claim their first win of the season when they welcome Valencia to San Mames on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Los Che are still waiting to get on the board after beginning their La Liga campaign with consecutive defeats.
Athletic came into the new season off the back of a successful 2023-24 campaign where they achieved a fifth-placed finish and ended a 40-year wait for Copa del Rey.
After experiencing success last term, Los Leones are viewed as a potential contender to challenge for Champions League qualification, but those hopes may be slightly tempered by an underwhelming start to the season.
The Basque side were held to a 1-1 draw by Getafe in their opening match of the season, before they fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat in Saturday’s away clash with Barcelona.
After being involved in a relegation battle in 2023-24, Valencia would have been pleased to finish in ninth place in Ruben Baraja‘s first season in charge.
While they would have been satisfied with their efforts last season, Los Che did experience a disappointing end to the campaign, mustering just two points from their final seven matches.
Unfortunately for Valencia, that poor form has carried into the new season, having begun the campaign with consecutive defeats despite taking the lead in both matches.
Athletic would have been disappointed to take just one point from their first two matches, but they are usually a force to be reckoned with at San Mames, and we think that they will make full use of home advantage to condemn Valencia to a narrow defeat.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Deportivo Alavés travel away to Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad won their first game of the season after beating Espanyol 1-0 in their last match. They lost 2-1 to Rayo Vallecano in their first competitive game this season, after a difficult run in the pre-season. Irrespective of their inconsistency, Real Sociedad may get their first home win in this encounter after losing to Vallecano in the previous.
Deportivo Alaves have struggled in their last two matches, following a goalless draw in their last league game against Real Betis and a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo. The season just started and Alaves are yet to win their first competitive game, after a decent run in the pre-season losing only once in their last eight matches friendlies.
Due to their recent form, it will be a difficult game for Alaves as they face Real Sociedad away from home. Their last five games ended with one win, two draws, and two defeats as a result of their inconsistency. Meanwhile, we don’t see Real Sociedad losing in this clash regardless of their average performance against Espanyol.
Real Sociedad and Alaves have been unlucky in front of goal in their last two league matches. This fixture may not produce many goals following their recent performances.
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Newly-promoted Real Valladolid and Leganes face off today
Two newly-promoted sides will face off when Real Valladolid welcome Leganes to the Estadio Jose Zorrilla for Wednesday’s La Liga contest.
The hosts have three points to their name after two matches, while Leganes have begun their campaign with a win and a draw.
Last season, Valladolid collected 72 points from 42 matches to finish in second place in the Segunda Division, securing them a La Liga return at the first time of asking.
Having experienced relegation in their last two top-flight campaign, Valladolid’s main aim will be hoping to avoid the drop for the first time since finishing in 13th spot in 2019-20.
Valladolid would have been pleased to start the new campaign with a 1-0 win over last season’s Segunda Division playoff winners Espanyol, but they were unable to spring a surprise in Sunday’s away clash against European champions Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Leganes were promoted to the top flight as champions after they finished two points better off than Wednesday’s opponents.
Los pepineros have made a promising start to their first La Liga season since 2019-20, playing out a 1-1 draw against Osasuna before edging out Las Palmas at the weekend.
Leganes may be winless in six head-to-head meetings, but they played out two draws against Valladolid last season, and we think that they may take another point off Pezzolano’s side in Wednesday’s contest.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
