La Liga Matchday 5 Preview, September 11-14

Four matchdays have been enough to crack the usual logic of the table. Barcelona are top and have yet to drop a point, but Alaves sit right behind them. Deportivo have returned to La Liga and are still unbeaten, while Villarreal, by contrast, are stuck in the relegation zone with two points.

Matchday 5 continues those storylines: Alaves travel to a fearless Racing side, Deportivo will try to keep the zero in their defeats column against Getafe, and the Yellow Submarine need to find their first win. The giants have their own tasks: Real Madrid must respond to the defeat by Betis, while Barca will test their wild attacking form in Valencia. To make getting ready for the games even more exciting, check out the bonuses at sports betting sites Spain.

Sevilla vs Valencia

Sevilla have surprisingly climbed into the upper part of the table with seven points. However, after a 3-1 defeat to Atletico, the Andalusians drew 1-1 with Espanyol, so their start should not be idealized. The team are still coming together as the season develops, but they have been collecting points consistently.

Valencia have the opposite story: one point and only one goal scored, while the previous round ended in a nightmare 5-0 defeat to Barcelona. This fixture rarely turns into a shootout either: 27 of the 43 official meetings produced fewer than three goals, with an average total of just 2.21. The visitors' first task here is simply not to fall apart again.

Match link:

Sevilla vs Valencia

Racing Santander vs Alaves

Racing are the most entertaining promoted side of the season. In four matchdays, the Santander club have scored seven goals and conceded eight. Against Rayo in Matchday 4, they took the lead twice but still lost 3-2. Playing cautiously simply does not seem to be in this team's nature, especially at El Sardinero.

One of the biggest early-season surprises now visits the Green-and-Whites. Alaves have taken 10 points from a possible 12 with a 10-3 goal difference. There is another reason to expect goals: each of Racing's last nine home matches has produced at least three. With the current versions of these teams, a goalless draw would look like a genuine sensation.

Match link:

Racing Santander vs Alaves

Osasuna vs Espanyol

Everything had looked almost perfect for Osasuna before the trip to Vitoria, but a 5-2 defeat to Alaves quickly brought them back down to earth. The Pamplona side are usually more convincing at home, having scored in 22 of their last 23 La Liga matches at El Sadar. Ante Budimir is in good shape too, with four goals already.

Espanyol have gone three matches without a win since their opening-round victory, although they rescued a 1-1 draw with Sevilla last time out. The Catalans traditionally find things tougher away from home: 11 of their previous 12 league trips ended without a win. After conceding five, Osasuna badly need a calmer evening, and this opponent looks suitable for a reset.

Match link:

Osasuna vs Espanyol

Athletic Bilbao vs Elche

Athletic's start was uneven, but the last two matchdays have changed the picture significantly: they beat Celta 2-0 and Atletico 3-0. The Basques are finally starting to show the football expected of them in the summer. For the first time, the Lions' defence looks less like a temporary construction and more like a genuine strength.

Elche have lost three in a row, but they have not stopped fighting back: they went down 3-2 to Real Sociedad in their previous match. Moreover, the visitors have scored in 13 of their last 14 La Liga away games. On the other hand, this fixture rarely produces big scorelines — eight of the last nine meetings featured no more than three goals.

Match link:

Athletic Bilbao vs Elche

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Real Madrid failed their first serious test, losing 1-0 to Betis. Before that, the Madrid side had won three times, scored ten goals and conceded only three, so there is no talk of a crisis. The more interesting question is how quickly Jose Mourinho's team can respond after a setback.

Rayo have just recorded their first win, beating Racing 3-2, with Sergio Camello scoring twice to take his league tally to five. But the Bernabeu remains an unpleasant place for the visitors: four of their last five La Liga trips there ended in 2-1 defeats. Even on their best days, Rayo compete, but rarely leave with points.

Match link:

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Celta Vigo vs Malaga

Celta have played five matches without a win: three draws, two defeats and only two goals scored. The 1-1 draw with Getafe was revealing. The team play, control the initiative and see plenty of the ball, but rarely manage to turn it into anything dangerous.

Malaga have a similar problem in attack. They drew 0-0 with Levante in the previous round and have scored only once in four matches. The numbers describe this pairing well. Each of Celta's last seven La Liga games and nine of Malaga's last ten matches produced no more than three goals. Here, even one accurate finish could change the entire script.

Match link:

Celta Vigo vs Malaga

Levante vs Barcelona

After a difficult start, Levante have collected five points and already produced the biggest anomaly of the opening rounds by beating Betis 5-2. That was followed by a more familiar 0-0 draw with Malaga. It is still unclear which version of this team is the real one, but the hosts certainly do not look helpless.

The problem is the opponent. Barcelona have four wins and a 17-2 goal difference, while Raphinha leads the scoring charts with six goals. The head-to-head record looks intimidating too: the Catalans have won 26 of 34 meetings, with the fixture averaging 3.76 goals. Levante can bite, but they will need an almost perfect match here.

Match link:

Levante vs Barcelona

Getafe vs Deportivo

Getafe have scored two goals and conceded five in four matches. Last time out, the Madrid side drew 1-1 with Celta, once again turning the game into a grinding contest in which every decent chance had to be fought for.

Now one of the most enjoyable teams of the early season enters that battle. Deportivo are still unbeaten, have eight points and have just taken a 3-2 win away at Villarreal. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored in all four matchdays. Historically, however, this pairing is almost even. In 21 meetings, Getafe have won eight and Deportivo six.

Match link:

Getafe vs Deportivo

Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid

Real Sociedad have collected seven points from five matches. Their latest win at Elche was a nervous one: the Basques went 2-0 ahead, allowed their opponents to equalize and still snatched victory late on. It makes for entertaining football, but eight goals conceded suggest where the team's current weakness lies.

Atletico come into the round after an unpleasant 3-0 defeat in Bilbao and with the same questions over chemistry that have followed them since August. Historically, though, this is a comfortable opponent for the Madrid side: Atletico have won 23 of 40 official meetings, compared with only ten for Sociedad. The problem is that the current Atletico do not yet look like a team whose old numbers can be trusted blindly.

Match link:

Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid

Villarreal vs Real Betis

The pressure is starting to build at Villarreal. Four matchdays without a win, two points and eight goals conceded, while Deportivo left La Ceramica with victory in the previous game. On paper, the squad looks strong, but for now the team seem more likely to create problems for themselves. Betis have the opposite story: nine points and a fresh 1-0 win over Real Madrid.

Even so, this is an evenly matched pairing. In 38 head-to-head meetings, the hosts have 17 wins, the visitors 12, with nine draws. The average total is 2.68. Villarreal need to start winning, but this is about as awkward an opponent as they could face.

Match link:

Villarreal vs Real Betis

Matchday 5 Summary

Matchday 5 should provide a few more answers than the previous four. Alaves will have to defend their status as one of the early leaders for the first time, Deportivo face an opponent whose style is unusual for them, while Villarreal have reached the point where explaining the lack of wins purely as an early-season issue is becoming difficult.

There is plenty of intrigue around the favorites too. Real Madrid go into a league match after a defeat for the first time, Atletico must react to the heavy loss in Bilbao, and Barcelona are still destroying everyone in their path.