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

Sevilla host Deportivo Alavés at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán on Friday, 6 November 2026, with the LaLiga matchday 12 fixture kicking off at 21:00 CET. Sevilla enter the weekend sixth in the table with 17 points, while Alavés sit tenth on 12 points. The teams last met in a 1-1 league draw in February 2026, with Alavés winning the previous Copa del Rey meeting 1-0. Sevilla hold an 8-5 head-to-head advantage across the last 20 meetings, although Alavés have avoided defeat in several recent encounters. Sevilla have scored ten goals in their last five matches, whereas Alavés are without a victory in seven attempts.

Sevilla’s most recent match ended in a 3-1 defeat at Getafe, where Manu Bueno’s late red card completed a difficult afternoon. Luis García’s team had previously beaten Osasuna 2-0 and Sporting Hortaleza 3-0, but they remain inconsistent after losing 4-1 at Real Madrid and drawing 3-3 at Levante. Sevilla’s probable 2026/27 starting squad is Odysseas Vlachodimos; Juan Iglesias, Andrés Castrín, Kike Salas, Gabriel Suazo; Chidera Ejuke, Lucien Agoumé, Youssouf Fofana, Félix Correia; Lucas Stassin and Isaac Romero. Robbie Ure, Rubén Vargas, Peque Fernández, Jon Guridi, Alfon González and Arouna Sanganté provide additional options if rotation is required.

Espanyol host Deportivo de A Coruña at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday, 7 November 2026 (16:15 CET) in a LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 round 12 clash, with the home side looking to build on their 1-0 win at Villarreal last time out — a result that snapped a five-match losing run for Manolo González's men. The Catalan outfit edged that contest 0-1 away from home thanks to a composed second-half finish, but their previous two outings had gone the other way: a 2-1 defeat at Racing Santander and a narrow home loss to Atlético Madrid in which Álex Baena struck an 89th-minute winner. Deportivo, meanwhile, arrive in Barcelona 11th in the table after a 1-2 home reverse against Osasuna on Monday, a result that ended a difficult week following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Julián Álvarez's Atlético Madrid and a 1-1 draw with Levante earlier in October.

Both squads for the 2026/27 season show intriguing profiles ahead of this meeting. Espanyol's settled core features goalkeeper Ángel Fortuño, defenders Leandro Cabrera and Marash Kumbulla, midfielders Pol Lozano, Edu Expósito and Javi Hernández, with the pace of Javi Puado and Bryan Zaragoza offering the main goal threat alongside Jonathan David, though Kike García and Jofre Carreras have been ruled out. Deportivo, promoted and impressively competitive in the top flight, rely on Leo Román in goal, Ximo Navarro, José Giménez and Giacomo Quagliata across the back line, captain Diego Villares and Lorenzo Amatucci in midfield, and the exciting duo of Yeremay Hernández and Benjamin Nsongo in attack — although veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains a significant absentee for the visitors, a blow reflected in their recent scoring struggles.

Málaga welcome Racing Santander to Estadio La Rosaleda on Saturday, 7 November 2026 for a LaLiga fixture loaded with significance for two newly promoted sides who are fighting to establish themselves in Spain's top flight. Kick-off is scheduled for 14:00 CET, and both teams head into this encounter under pressure: Málaga are winless in four league outings following their heavy home defeat, while Racing Santander are still searching for their first away win of the campaign after being swept aside by Real Madrid. Historically the Andalusians hold the edge, with six wins to Racing's three in twelve previous meetings, and La Rosaleda — restored over the summer after its resurfacing — should provide a raucous backdrop for what promises to be a tense, open contest between two attack-minded squads.

The hosts arrive with mixed emotions from their recent run. After picking up a creditable point away to Alavés in a 1-1 draw, Juan Francisco Funes's men were brought back down to earth in front of their own fans, losing a high-scoring thriller to Real Sociedad in a 2-5 reverse that exposed defensive fragilities. The injury list remains a major concern for the Málaga boss, with Ángel Recio, Pablo Martínez, Joaquín Muñoz, Juan Cruz, Julen Lobete, Aarón Ochoa and Diego Murillo all unavailable, which has forced the club to lean on its promotion-winning core and academy graduates such as Miguel Santaella, Marcos Rosa, Juani and Adri López throughout the opening months of the season.

Osasuna host Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Estadio El Sadar in Pamplona in a Round 12 LaLiga clash that pits two of Spain's most passionate clubs against each other. The hosts come into this fixture sitting in the lower half of the table after a difficult start to the 2026/27 campaign, while Athletic Club arrive in high spirits following their Basque derby triumph over Real Sociedad. With both sides eager to build momentum before the international break, this promises to be a fiercely contested encounter under the lights in Navarre.

Osasuna's recent form has been mixed at best, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Deportivo La Coruna last time out despite Ante Budimir giving them a first-half lead, a match you can revisit in our 2-1 prediction report, while before that they were beaten 2-0 by Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, as covered in our 2-0 preview. Their most recent home victory came against Racing Santander, a comfortable 2-0 success at El Sadar. The big news in Pamplona is on the touchline: Jagoba Arrasate returned as head coach in October 2026 after Luis Miguel Ramis departed, tasked with steadying a side that conceded far too many goals in the opening weeks. The 2026/27 squad features Sergio Herrera in goal, defenders Alejandro Catena, Enzo Boyomo, Valentin Rosier and Abel Bretones, a midfield led by Jon Moncayola, Iker Muñoz, Lucas Torró and Moi Gómez, and summer signings Jonathan Dubasin and Romain Del Castillo supporting veteran striker Ante Budimir, though Arrasate remains without the injured Jorge Herrando, Aimar Oroz and Del Castillo for this one.

Valencia host Real Madrid at Mestalla on Saturday, 7 November 2026, in a LaLiga Matchday 12 clash that arrives with contrasting momentum. Los Blancos are flying, fresh from a fourth consecutive league win (0-3) at Racing Santander and a statement Clásico triumph (1-2) at Camp Nou that cut the gap to Barcelona to three points. Valencia, meanwhile, picked up a morale-boosting away win (0-1) at Elche last weekend, but still sit in the lower reaches of the table after a home defeat to Villarreal (1-2) and a goalless draw with Athletic Club.

Álvaro Carles' 2026/27 Valencia squad lines up in a compact 4-4-2 built around Stole Dimitrievski in goal, Arnau Martínez, César Tárrega, Pepelu and captain José Gayà across the back line, with Pablo Maffeo, Aaron Mayol, Guido Rodríguez and Luis Rioja in midfield feeding Javier Guerra and Arnaut Danjuma. Injuries to Diego López, Sergi Canós, Kayne van Oevelen, José Copete and David Otorbi thin the options, and a leaky defence remains their biggest concern against elite opposition. Valencia will rely on Danjuma's pace in transition and the energy of Mestalla's crowd to unsettle the visitors, but keeping shape for 90 minutes against Madrid's attack is a tall order.

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.