New strength of La Liga: Osasuna Club sets out to conquer the top

LaLiga's most mouth-watering fixture of the season so far arrives on Sunday 8 November 2026 as second-placed Atlético Madrid host league leaders Barcelona at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Matchday 12's headline clash, with kick-off at 21:00 CET. Hansi Flick's champions hold a slender two-point advantage over Diego Simeone's side at the summit, meaning a Barcelona victory in Madrid could open up real breathing space at the top, while an Atlético win would propel the Rojiblancos above the Catalans and into first place. The bookmakers make the visitors clear favourites in European odds, with Barcelona priced around 1.85 to win, the draw at 3.60 and an Atlético home win at 3.55 — a reflection of Barça's devastating attacking numbers this season, which stand at a remarkable 4.2 goals per game across their last twenty outings. Our prediction, however, goes even further than the market expects: we are backing a high-scoring away triumph, with our final scoreline tip at the bottom of this preview.

Atlético come into this showdown wounded in confidence after Tuesday's Champions League disappointment at home to Bayern Munich, where they slipped to a 0-2 defeat at the Metropolitano in a match that exposed their lack of cutting edge against elite opposition. Simeone's men had entered that tie in strong domestic form, having beaten Levante away by 2-0 on the previous Saturday and seeing off Deportivo La Coruña 1-0 at home a week earlier, but the Bayern loss leaves question marks over whether their compact 3-4-1-2 shape can withstand Barcelona's relentless press. Defensively, Cristián Romero is unavailable with a muscular problem, although captain Koke has returned to full training after his hamstring issue and should anchor the midfield. For the 2026/27 campaign Simeone has built his squad around Jan Oblak in goal, a back line of Romero, Robin Le Normand and Dávid Hancko with Álex Grimaldo and Marcos Llorente as wing-backs, a midfield featuring Koke, Pablo Barrios, Morten Hjulmand and the creative Kang-in Lee, and an attack spearheaded by Julián Álvarez — the subject of a €130 million Barcelona bid last summer — supported by Ademola Lookman, Alexander Sørloth and Jonathan David, with Antoine Griezmann having departed to Orlando City in the summer.

Celta Vigo host Levante at Estadio Abanca-Balaídos on Sunday 8 November 2026 in Spain's LaLiga, with the 2026/2027 campaign already shaping into a tight mid-table and relegation-zone fight. Celta come in after a frustrating 0-3 defeat at Rayo Vallecano and a 0-0 home draw with Betis, sandwiching a confident Europa League win at Celtic. Levante's path is more volatile: a 0-2 home loss to Atlético Madrid and a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad were balanced by a 3-1 home win over Athletic Club. In European odds, Celta are the clear home favorite at about 1.86, the draw is near 3.90, and Levante are around 4.52.

For the 2026/2027 season, Celta's squad is built around Ionut Radu in goal, Javi Rodríguez, Yoel Lago, Marcos Alonso and Santiago Cáceres in central defence, Javi Rueda, Ilaix Moriba, Aleix Febas, Hugo Sotelo, Javi Galán and Sergio Carreira in the wide and midfield roles, with Hugo Álvarez, Ferran Jutglà, Iago Aspas, Pablo Durán and Williot Swedberg competing for the attacking spots. The main fitness concerns are Borja Iglesias, Carl Starfelt, Miguel Román, Álvaro Núñez and Jones El-Abdellaoui, so Claudio Giráldez may need Aspas, Durán or Swedberg to give Celta a sharper edge after failing to score in their last two LaLiga matches.

Elche welcome high-flying Real Betis to the Estadio Martínez Valero on Sunday, 8 November 2026, for a LaLiga EA Sports clash that pits two sides heading in very different directions this season. Betis arrive in fourth place with 23 points from 11 matches, firmly in the European race under Manuel Pellegrini, while Elche sit just above the relegation zone with 10 points and are still searching for consistency in front of their own fans. The home side's recent form has been a mixed bag: they followed a resilient goalless draw at Villarreal with a stunning 3-0 demolition of Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas, where Federico Redondo and Fer Niño converted penalties either side of Germán Valera's strike, only to fall to a narrow 0-1 home defeat against Valencia last time out, undone by Umar Sadiq's second-half goal despite dominating possession. Betis, by contrast, have been one of the stories of the campaign, beating Real Madrid 1-0 and grinding out a hard-fought 2-1 win over Málaga at La Cartuja thanks to first-half goals from Marc Bartra and Pablo Fornals, sandwiching a 0-0 draw at Celta Vigo and an Isco penalty that sealed a 1-0 Champions League victory over Feyenoord.

Both coaches will draw on their settled 2026/27 squads, with Martín Anselmi likely to keep faith in the Elche core of Matías Dituro in goal; Buba Sangaré, Víctor Chust and Roy Revivo across the back; a midfield guided by Gonzalo Villar, Thomas Lemar and Javi Morcillo with Facundo Buonanotte providing the creative spark; and Fer Niño, the club's top scorer with five league goals, leading the line alongside Lucas Cepeda, Germán Valera and Tete Morente. Elche do have a concern in the middle of the park, where Marc Aguado remains sidelined with injury, forcing Redondo into a deeper role. Pellegrini's Betis boast enviable depth: Álvaro Vallés in goal, Héctor Bellerín, Bartra, Natan and Fran García in defence, and a star-studded midfield axis of captain Isco, Marc Roca, Pablo Fornals, Giovani Lo Celso and Dani Ceballos, with Lo Celso and Ceballos offering game-changing quality from the bench. In attack, the visitors can call on Abde Ezzalzouli, their leading marksman, Troy Parrott, Rodrigo Riquelme, Antony and Cucho Hernández, giving Pellegrini multiple ways to hurt a defence that has kept only two clean sheets all season.

Real Sociedad welcome Rayo Vallecano to the Reale Arena on Sunday, November 8, 2026, for a LaLiga Matchday clash that pits one of Spain's most solid home sides against a team still searching for its first away win of the 2026/27 campaign. The txuri-urdin come into this fixture off the back of a narrow 2-1 defeat away to Basque rivals Athletic Club, a result that followed their 2-1 home victory over Levante and a stunning 6-0 UEFA Europa League triumph away to Lillestrom. Rayo Vallecano, meanwhile, were humbled 0-3 at home by Elche last weekend and have picked up just seven points from their opening fixtures, leaving them 17th in the table and winless on their travels. Bookmakers clearly favour the hosts, pricing a Real Sociedad win at around 1.85, the draw at 4.00 and a Rayo victory at 4.75 in European decimal odds, and our prediction is a convincing 3-1 home win. Sociedad's home record of three wins from five at the Reale Arena, combined with Rayo's defensive frailties, makes a multi-goal home performance the most likely outcome.

Imanol Alguacil's squad for the 2026/27 season blends experienced campaigners with exciting youth, and the spine of the team remains formidable: Alex Remiro guards the goal, with Igor Zubeldia and Jon Martin anchoring the defence, Aihen Munoz and Alvaro Odriozola providing width from full-back, and Jon Gorrotxategi and Beñat Turrientes dictating tempo in midfield. Further forward, captain Mikel Oyarzabal continues to lead the line alongside the creativity of Ander Barrenetxea, Pablo Marin and Goncalo Guedes, while Aramburu has emerged as one of the most promising young attackers in the squad. The depth in wide areas has been particularly productive this season, with Sociedad averaging close to two goals per home game, and their last three home league outings produced scorelines of 2-1 against Levante. For a full breakdown of that home win, see our 2-1 prediction, while their midweek European rout is covered in our 6-0 preview.

Villarreal host Getafe at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Sunday, November 8, 2026, in a LaLiga EA Sports Round 12 clash that arrives at a pivotal moment for both 2026/27 campaigns. Villarreal come into this fixture desperate to bounce back after a bruising week that saw them lose 1-0 at home to Espanyol in the league — a result that left Iñigo Pérez's side sitting mid-table — before suffering a humbling 0-6 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, where Fabián Ruiz scored twice and the visitors raced into a 4-0 lead inside 17 minutes. The Yellow Submarine's defending has been their undoing, but their home league form earlier this autumn, including a dramatic late 2-1 win at Mestalla, shows they can still respond under pressure. With European odds of around 1.75 for a home win, 3.80 for the draw and 4.75 for an away victory, the bookmakers clearly expect Villarreal to rediscover their scoring touch against a Getafe side that has leaked goals on the road.

Getafe arrive in Castellón as one of the season's great enigmas under their new-look 2026/27 squad. José Bordalás' men produced their best performance of the campaign just a week ago, thrashing Sevilla 3-1 at the Coliseum with goals from Enes Ünal, Martín Satriano and Orel Mangala, but that result sits awkwardly alongside a 0-4 drubbing at Athletic Bilbao and a shocking 2-5 home defeat to Lugano in the UEFA Conference League. The Azulones have been one of the busiest clubs in the summer transfer market, bringing in veterans Nemanja Gudelj, Dani Carvajal, Johan Mojica and Saba Sazonov, alongside loanees Andrés García, Iván Azón and Orel Mangala, but their away record — just one win on their travels all season — remains a serious concern. Discipline has also been an issue, with red cards already shown to Djené, Mario Martín and Zaid Romero this campaign.