La Liga 20/21: Matchday 12 Preview

Introduction

As the month of December kicks off. We look at some of the major fixtures that await us in the first weekend of December in LA Liga Santander. One of the most important matches of the weekend will be Real Madrid taking on Sevilla away. Atletico Madrid will be looking to continue their unbeaten run in LA Liga against Real Valladolid. FC Barcelona plays away from home against Cadiz in another match. League leaders Real Sociedad take on Deportivo Alaves in the final match of the weekend.

Now lets look at some exciting fixtures from this week action in La Liga

La Liga Fixtures

1. Sevilla vs Real Madrid

This might be the most exciting match at the weekend when Real Madrid will be facing Sevilla in La Liga. Both the teams will be hungry to grab 3 points in the Spanish top flight. This will be Real Madrid’s 11th game in La Liga whereas Sevilla’s 10th. This game will be played at the Estadio Ramòn Sánchez Pizjuán. Real Madrid are currently placed 4th on the league table with 17 points in 10 matches and Sevilla is 5th with 16 points from 9 games. Over the last 10 seasons, Real Madrid has won 19 times as compared to Sevilla’s 6, with only one draw.

Sevilla

Sevilla has been in great form in La Liga. They have won their last 3 matches in La Liga. They will be coming into this fixture following a 0-4 defeat midweek to Chelsea at home. Julen Lopetiegui would love to forget this defeat and continue their form in the league. They haven’t drawn in their last 9 matches. Lucas Ocampos, Jesus Navas, and Youssef En-Nesyri will be key for Sevilla to get 3 points against the rivals. They will miss Yassine Bounou, Sergio Escuredo, Sudo, Marcos Acuna, and Carlos Fernandez.

Predicted Lineup

Vaclík; J. Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Rekik; Rakitic, Gudelj, Óscar Rodríguez; Ocampos, Youssef En-Nesyri, Munir

Real Madrid

Real Madrid will be aiming to get 3 points and reach the 3rd spot on the La Liga standings. Zinedine Zidane will be looking for a win after a shocking 1-2 defeat at home vs Deportivo Alaves last weekend and later a defeat midweek to Shaktar Donetsk 2-0 in the Champions League. Real Madrid has just one point from 3 games. Los Blancos will look to get back to winning ways against Sevilla, against whom they have won their last 3 clashes in La Liga. They will be without the services of captain Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard, Daniel Carvajal, Federico Valverde, Luka Jovic, and Alvaro Odriozola. Even with injuries to many key players Real Madrid has plenty of squad depth and can defeat any opponent on the given day.

2. Atletico Madrid vs Real Valladolid

Atletico Madrid will be hosting Real Valladolid at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in their next match in La Liga. Los Rojoblancos have won 7 and drawn one of their last 8 meetings with Real Valladolid. Atletico Madrid are currently 2nd in La Liga standings with 23 points from 9 matches and Real Valladolid are in 17th place with 10 points from 11 matches.

Atletico Madrid

Los Rojoblancos are the only unbeaten side in La Liga. They come into this fixture having won the last 6 matches on the trot in La Liga. They have conceded just 2 goals in 9 games in the league. Since coming back from the international break their scoring rate has decreased having scored just 3 goals from 4 matches in all competitions. Youngster Joao Felix has shined in the absence of veteran strikers Luis Suarez, who misses out as he is covid-19 positive, and Diego Costa, who misses out due to physical discomfort. Sime Vrsaljka and Manuel Sanchez complete the list of players who are on the injury list.

Real Valladolid

Real Valladolid is unbeaten in 3 games and will try to continue their run but they will have to do something miraculous to even get a point from Atletico Madrid. They have scored 6 goals in the last 3 matches. Marcos de Souza is their top scorer with 3 goals in 9 La Liga appearances this season. Oscar Plano will look to continue his form as he has 1 goal and 2 assists in the last 2 matches. They will be without their experienced defender Kiko who is out due to a knee injury.

Predicted lineup

Masip; Hervías, Bruno González, Joaquín Fernández, Martínez; Plano, Alcaraz, Emeterio, Orellana, Marcos de Sousa, Guardiola

3. Cadiz vs Barcelona

This game might be an exciting one to watch out for as Cadiz will looking for motivation from their heroics at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu when they defeated Real Madrid Madrid 0-1. Whereas FC Barcelona will be expecting to ride on their form. Cadiz is in the 6th position on the table with 15 points from 11 matches and Barcelona is at 7th position with 14 points from 9 matches. They have faced each other 2 times prior to this in La Liga history with the Catalans coming out victorious in both meetings.

Cadiz CF

Cadiz will be looking to rejuvenate their campaign after winning just one match of their last 5 La Liga matches. Though the newly-promoted side has been great away having won 4 out of their 6 matches and losing just one. Although their form at home is quite contrasting not winning a single match at Estadio Ramòn de Carranza. They have scored just one goal in their last 3 matches. Alvaro Negrodo has been their star man in La Liga with 2 goals and 3 assists but he will not be available due to injury. Juan Cala and José Mari miss out due to injuries.

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona will be high on confidence coming into this match as they have won 5 of their last 6 matches in all competitions. They have scored 11 goals in the last 3 matches and keeping a clean sheet in all of them in all competitions. Barca has faced some problems away having lost 2 of their 4 away matches in La Liga. Ronald Koeman rested Lionel Messi, Marc Andre Ter Stegen, and Philippe Coutinho when they traveled midweek to play Ferencvaros, whom Barca defeated comfortably 0-3. Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite are on a great run of form with scoring in all 3 previous matches. Barca faces Juventus next week in the Champion’s League so they might rest some players. Barca has injury problems in defense with Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Ronald Araújo, and Sergi Roberto.

4. Deportivo Alaves vs Real Sociedad

In this match, the 1st placed Real Sociedad will take on 13th placed Deportivo Alaves at Reale Arena. They have placed against each other 30 times in La Liga of which Alaves have won 13 times as compared to Real Sociedad’s 11 victories, with 6 matches ending in a draw. Both the teams are unbeaten in La Liga over the last 5 matches. Real Sociedad has 24 points from 11 matches where as Deportivo Alaves have 13 points from 11 matches.

Deportivo Alaves

Deportivo Alaves will look to jump in the points table with a positive result as there are as many as 5 teams are with 13 points with Deportivo Alaves being one of them. They have scored 8 goals in the last 5 matches and conceded 5 goals. Lucas Perez will be hoping to continue his form, he has 3 goals and 2 assists in La Liga. They have won just one game at home out of 6, lost 2, and drawn 3, and have just 2 points at home from the last 3 matches. Midfielders Manu Garcia and Pere Pons are among the injured players.

Real Sociedad

The league leaders will look to extend their lead at the top of La Liga. They had lost just one match in their league campaign this season and are unbeaten in their last 6 matches. Mikel Oyarzabal has been a player to watch out for with 7 goals and 2 assists in La Liga. They are the highest-scoring team in La Liga with 22 goals in 11 matches but the scoring has dinked with just 4 goals in the last 3 matches in the league. The injury list includes Alex Sola, Jon Guridi, and Luca Sangalli. 

Conclusion

Real Madrid taking on Sevilla promises to be thriller by the looks of it. Atletico Madrid still with injuries that have enough quality to have a comfortable win vs Real Valladolid. FC Barcelona might have an easy game as well vs Cadiz. Real Sociedad should be able to absorb the pressure from Deportivo Alaves.

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