The 2023/24 Spanish La Liga season returns this weekend and we are in for a treat of 10 fixtures starting tonight.
Barcelona had smooth sailing last season and won the league title with a 10 points difference over rivals Real Madrid who finished second. Real Sociedad qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2014 while Real Valladolid, Espanyol, and Elche were relegated to La Liga Segunda.
Tonight, Almeria will host Rayo Vallecano in the first match of the season at Estadio Mediterráneo. Almeria finished 17th just one point from relegation last season while Vallecano finished 11th.
Last season’s UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla will also play tonight against Valencia at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville. Both clubs struggled last season in the league and finished in the bottom half of the table. They will want to improve their performances this season.
Tomorrow, Saturday, August 12, Real Madrid will make the trip to Bilbao to play Athletic Club at the San Mamés Barria Stadium in a match that will be interesting.
The last time these two clubs met, Athletic Club got the better of Real Madrid with a 1-0 victory, a result that dented the Los Blancos’ title hopes. They are expected to do better this time around.
On Sunday, August 13, defending champions Barcelona will kick off their campaign on the road away to Getafe. The cash-strapped Catalan club added Ilkay Gundogan to their midfield but there have been issues with having him registered with La Liga before kick-off. The club is working tirelessly to have this resolved so he can feature on Sunday.
Athletico Madrid, who finished third last season, will round off matchday one on Monday night when they host newly-promoted Granada under the floodlights of the Civitas Metropolitan Stadium in Madrid.
Here are the fixtures
Today
Almería vs Rayo Vallecano
Sevilla vs Valencia
Saturday, August 12
Real Sociedad vs Girona
Las Palmas vs Mallorca
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid
Celta Vigo vs Osasuna
Sunday, August 13
Villarreal vs Real Betis
Getafe vs Barcelona
Monday, August 14
Cádiz vs Alavés
Atlético Madrid vs Granada.
