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After the conclusion of the international break, La Liga takes centre stage once again as the Spanish curtains are raised for the 9th game-week.
The previous match-day saw normal service resume as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid propelled themselves into the upper trenches of the table, thereby consigning Granada, the surprise package of the season, to 4th spot. The superpowers of Spanish football would be hoping to solidify their spots in the top three come the weekend.
Granada and Osasuna open proceedings on Friday with the latter travelling to Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes. The hosts suffered only their 2nd loss of the campaign last time around and would be looking to put that behind them and continue their promising start to the season.
On Saturday, defending champions, Barcelona visit Eibar in the first encounter as the Blaugrana hope to stitch together their 4th consecutive victory in La Liga. After a patchy start, Ernesto Valverde’s men have found their groove and their credentials could be strengthened with another win on the road.
Atletico Madrid host Valencia next as Los Rojiblancos look to nip their two-match win-less streak in the bud. Though Diego Simeone’s charges haven’t lost a league game since their defeat to Real Sociedad, they’ve been indulging in too many stalemates, something that may come back to haunt them. Hence, they would want to iron out that flaw as swiftly as possible.
Getafe host Leganes in the penultimate fixture on Saturday as the away side continue their search for a win this term. So far, Leganes have managed just a couple of points from their 8 games, meaning that they are firmly rooted to the foot of the table.
In the final encounter of the day, Real Madrid travel to RCD Mallorca as Los Blancos hope to keep their unbeaten record intact and in the process, extend their lead at the pinnacle of the table.
Alaves and Celta Vigo begin the action on Sunday with the former hosting the latter at the Mendizorrotza Stadium. Real Betis and Villarreal travel to Real Sociedad and Espanyol respectively in the next set of fixtures with each team hoping to fulfil their seasonal objectives.
Real Valladolid visit the San Mames Stadium in the following game as the hosts look to arrest a recent slide that has seen them lose twice and draw once in their last 3 matches.
The final contest of the 9th game-week sees Sevilla play host to Levante. Julen Lopetegui’s side started off the season briskly but have fallen off a cliff since then. Consequently, they’ve dropped down to 6th position, despite being at the peak during the early exchanges. Thus, they would be looking for a positive result against 10th placed Levante, especially if they want to keep themselves in the hunt for the title.
Complete List of Fixtures
Granada vs Osasuna
Eibar vs Barcelona
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia
Getafe vs Leganes
RCD Mallorca vs Real Madrid
Alaves vs Celta Vigo
Real Sociedad vs Real Betis
Espanyol vs Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Valladolid
Sevilla vs Levante
