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

Deportivo de A Coruña host Levante UD on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the Estadio Abanca-Riazor in what promises to be a compelling LaLiga EA Sports Matchday 9 clash between two promoted sides looking to steady their early-season campaigns. Deportivo sit 8th in the table with 10 points from eight matches, while Levante are struggling down in 17th place with just six points, and the hosts will be eager to bounce back after a narrow 3-2 defeat away to Real Sociedad last weekend, a game in which Mario Soriano and a Yeremay penalty kept them in the contest until the final whistle.

The team news carries a significant blow for the Galicians, as star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to miss around two months of action following knee surgery, depriving Deportivo of a player who has carried a huge share of their goalscoring burden since promotion. Levante, meanwhile, arrive in A Coruña without an away win this season and with defensive vulnerabilities exposed in their thrilling 3-3 draw against Sevilla on Monday, although Iván Romero's standout performance in that fixture offers the visitors genuine hope of punishing a Deportivo back line that has kept only three clean sheets this term.

Real Betis host FC Barcelona on Saturday, 17 October 2026 at 18:30 CEST at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, in a mouth-watering LaLiga Matchday 9 showdown between two of the division's early pace-setters. League leaders Barcelona arrive with a perfect record — eight straight league wins and 24 points — while Manuel Pellegrini's Betis sit third on 19 points after an impressive start to the 2026/27 campaign. The Catalans are fresh from a 4-1 Champions League triumph in Istanbul over Galatasaray, sealed by goals from Cancelo, Fermín, Gordon and Adeyemi, while Betis produced a statement win of their own last weekend, thrashing Osasuna 5-2 in a thrilling La Cartuja goal-fest inspired by a double from captain Isco.

Hansi Flick's 2026/27 Barcelona squad blends experienced winners with electric young talent: Joan García guards the goal behind Koundé, Cubarsí and Eric García, with Cancelo and Balde providing width, while Pedri, Gavi, Rodri, Fermín López and Dani Olmo pull the strings in midfield. Up front, captain Raphinha (12 league goals) and Lamine Yamal (7 goals) lead the line alongside Gabriel Jesus, Karim Adeyemi and Anthony Gordon. The only significant absences are Andreas Christensen (thigh) and Roony Bardghji (ACL), although Frenkie de Jong and Raphinha are minor doubts after returning to training. Betis counter with Álvaro Valles in goal, a back line of Bellerín, Diego Llorente, Natan and Fran García, the creative axis of Isco, Marc Roca and Fornals, and the dangerous Cucho Hernández and Abde Ezzalzouli in attack, with Antony, Ceballos and Troy Parrott among Pellegrini's options off the bench.

Espanyol vs Atlético Madrid in LaLiga is set for 17 October 2026 at RCDE Stadium, with the 2026/2027 season context pointing to an away-favourite market: in European odds Atlético are around 1.75 to win, while Espanyol need to turn home pressure into goals after a 1:1 draw with Málaga and a 1:3 home defeat by Elche.

Manolo González’s Espanyol squad for 2026/2027 is expected to lean on Marko Dmitrović/Álvaro Fortuño in goal, Omar El Hilali, Clemens Riedel, Leandro Cabrera, Roger Hinojo and Quili Hartman in defence, Gabriel Moscardó and Urko González in midfield, plus Javi Hernández, Pere Milla, Bryan Zaragoza and Roberto Fernández as the main attacking outlets.

As of 13 October 2026, the next major fixture at Mestalla is LaLiga EA Sports Matchday 9: Valencia CF vs Athletic Club on Saturday 17 October at 21:00 local time, a meeting between a Valencia side bottom-half at 1-2-5 and an Athletic team sitting around ninth at 2-2-2. Valencia’s latest pointer is the 2-2 draw at Racing Santander, and with European odds hovering near Valencia 3.45, draw 3.35 and Athletic 2.10, the market leans toward the visitors despite the Mestalla setting.

Carlos Corberán’s 2026/27 Valencia squad is built around Stole Dimitrievski in goal, José Gayà, Mouctar Diakhaby, César Tárrega, Arnau Martínez and Pablo Maffeo across the back line, Pepelu, Javi Guerra, Guido Rodríguez, Harvey Elliott and Filip Ugrinic through midfield, and Hugo Duro, Umar Sadiq, Arnaut Danjuma, Luis Rioja and Dani Raba as the attacking options. The encouraging recent note was the 1-0 win at Alavés, but only five points from eight rounds means set-piece control and faster transitions are essential if Duro and Danjuma are to see quality service.

Villarreal will host Elche at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Saturday, 17 October 2026, in a LaLiga Matchday 9 clash that both sides badly need to win for very different reasons. The Yellow Submarine are still searching for consistency under Iñigo Pérez in what has been a rollercoaster start to the 2026/27 campaign, while Elche arrive at the Ceramica sitting 18th in the table with just five points from their opening eight fixtures. Villarreal's most recent outing ended in a narrow defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu, where they fell 1–0 to Real Madrid despite finishing strongly and forcing late pressure, even after Vinícius Júnior's red card. Elche, meanwhile, were held to a goalless 0–0 draw at home by Celta Vigo, a result that extended their winless run and highlighted their well-documented struggles in front of goal this season.

Despite their indifferent league form, Villarreal possess one of the most talented squads outside Spain's traditional giants, and their home performances against sides around them in the table have been far more convincing. The Yellow Submarine swept aside Levante in their last home league game, a dominant 3–1 victory in which Alberto Moleiro earned a 9.4 match rating and Villarreal racked up 21 shots and an expected goals figure above 4. Before the international break they also won away at Málaga by 1–3, a result kick-started by goals from Moleiro, Akhomach and a Gueye brace. Elche, by contrast, have managed just one win in their last five league matches, shipping 17 goals already, and their away record remains one of the weakest in the division.

Getafe host Rayo Vallecano at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Monday, 19 October 2026 (21:00 CEST) in a LaLiga meeting priced almost level in European odds: Getafe about 2.55, the draw about 3.20 and Rayo about 2.90, with correct-score 0-0 trading around 7.50. The recent pattern points to patience rather than fireworks: Getafe were beaten 3-0 at Barcelona in their latest away test, while their last home result was a hard-earned 1-0 win over Málaga. Rayo arrive off a 2-1 home success against Espanyol and a 1-1 draw at Osasuna, so confidence is similar but not overwhelming.

The market’s respect for the draw makes sense because this fixture has been stubbornly compressed, with Rayo unbeaten in the recent league series and several of the last meetings landing on 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1. Getafe’s identity remains structure first: David Soria behind a back line using Djené, Zaid Abner Romero, Johan Mojica and Andrés García, a midfield in which Nemanja Gudelj, Iván Azón, Francho Serrano, Mario Martín and Martín Satriano must win the second balls, and Enes Ünal as the focal point. The absences of Juanmi and Christantus Uche, plus doubts around Abdel Abqar and Kiko Femenía, keep Getafe’s bench looking thinner than the starters even with Mario Martín available again.