Atlético Madrid in Levante test as debutants Eibar, Granada square off: Liga F Week 3 Preview
Atlético Madrid will be looking to build on their opening match win when they face hosts Levante at the Ciudad Deportiva de Buñol - Campo 1 on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams had winning starts in the new season with the hosts winning 2-0 against Sevilla and the visitors winning 3-0 against Athletic Club.
Levante will be looking up to last season’s top goal scorer forward Alba Redondo to lead their attack. However, they will have to be strong defensively due to the threat posed by the visitors’ forwards led by former Villarreal skipper forward Sheila Guijarro.
The teams have met 27 times in competitive matches with Atlético Madrid winning 16, losing six and drawing five.
Meanwhile, defending champions Barcelona clash against Sporting Huelva at the Nuevo Colombino on Sunday night.
The Blaugranes registered a 2-0 win in their opening match against Madrid CFF last weekend whilst the hosts lost by an identical scoreline away to UDG Tenerife.
The visitors will be banking on experienced attackers in forwards Asisat Oshoala, Caroline Graham Hansen and Mariona Caldentey who will be having able support from their midfield trio of skipper Alexia Putellas, Patri Guijarro and the evergreen Aitana Bonmatí.
The hosts, on the other hand, have a host of new faces including midfielder Miku Ito, forward Patricia Hmírová and former Villarreal midfielder María Cienfuegos Baragaño to bank on as they look to go pound for pound with the defending champions.
The teams have met 26 times with Barcelona winning 23, losing two and drawing one.
UDCA Tenerife host last season’s runners-up Real Madrid at their newly constructed Campo de Fútbol de Adeje on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts will be looking to build on their 2-0 win against Sporting Huelva last weekend whilst the Madrid side will also be looking forward to collecting maximum points following their 2-0 win against Valencia last weekend.
The hosts will be banking on the ever-reliable forward Jassina Blom who will be complimented upfront by former Liverpool and Real Betis forward Rinsola Babajide.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be missing their midfield dynamo Caroline Weir after she was forced off with a knee injury in Spain’s clash against Belgium in the UEFA Women’s Nations League on Tuesday with reports coming in to suggest that she has torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The teams have met seven times with both teams winning twice and drawing three.
Madrid CFF will be looking to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat at the hands of defending champions Barcelona when they meet hosts Sevilla at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Saturday morning.
The hosts also lost 2-0 to last season’s third-placed Levante UD and both teams will be looking to collect maximum points to set their campaign in motion.
Sevilla will be depending on the likes of midfielders Tony Payne and Amanda Sampedro to drive the team whilst Madrid CFF will be banking on forward Racheal Kundananji who took the league by storm last season narrowly losing the Golden Book Award to Levante’s Alba Redondo.
The teams have met 12 times with Sevilla winning eight, losing two and drawing two.
Real Sociedad will be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat at the hands of newcomers Granada when they meet visiting Real Betis at the Instalaciones de Zubieta on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts started the new campaign the way they ended last season dropping points they are supposed to be collecting. The visitors, on the other hand, narrowly beat Villarreal 1-0 to start the season on a winning note.
The hosts will be missing defender Ane Etxezarreta who was shown a straight red card last weekend whilst Betis will be banking on new signings to inspire their team to victor with former Liverpool midfielder Rhiannon Roberts opening her scoring account last weekend with a solitary strike which secured a crucial three points.
The teams have met 14 times with Real Sociedad winning five, losing four and drawing five.
Valencia will be looking to extend their dominance over hosts Villarreal at the Ciudad Deportiva on Saturday night.
The visitors have not lost to their weekend opponents since 2019 in both competitive and friendly matches.
Both teams lost their opening matches at the weekend with Villarreal losing 1-0 to Real Betis and Valencia losing 2-0 to Real Madrid.
The hosts will be banking on former Atlético Madrid midfielder Virginia Torrecilla and former Alavés forward Teresa Morató Armengol for inspiration whilst Valencia will be hoping that midfielder Marta Carro and new signing forward Marina Martí Serna are in good form to inspire them to victory.
The teams have met four times in competitive matches with Valencia winning three and drawing one.
Having lost their opening match 2-0 against Real Madrid last weekend, Athletic Club will turn their attention to their encounter against hosts Levante Las Planas at the Camp Municipal Les Planes on Sunday evening.
Las Planas started their campaign on a winning note after they beat newcomers SD Eibar 2-1 and will be looking forward to building on the result. They will be hoping that experienced midfielder Yasmin Mrabet will play a pivotal role in the middle of the park whilst also hoping that forward Irina Uribe is back to last season’s goal scoring form.
Athletic Club, on the other hand, have history in their favour as they have not lost to their hosts before. The teams have met six times with Athletic Club winning all of them.
Battle of newcomers is on the cards as hosts Granada CF face SD Eibar at the Los Cármenes on Saturday afternoon.
Granada opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad last weekend whilst Eibar lost with an identical scoreline to Levante Las Planas.
The hosts will be looking forward to utilising home advantage for the second time in a row and hoping to extend their 100% start to life in Liga F whilst Eibar will be looking for their first win as they return to Liga F.
The teams have met twice and have drawn both matches with a scoreline of 0-0 and 1-1.
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Fixtures (Saturday): Sevilla vs Madrid CFF (11:00); Levante vs Atlético Madrid (12:00); Granada CF vs SD Eibar (12:00); Villarreal vs Valencia (19:00)
Fixtures (Sunday): UDCA Tenerife vs Real Madrid (12:00)*; Real Sociedad vs Real Betis (12:00); Levante Las Planas vs Athletic Club (17:00); Sporting Huelva vs Barcelona (19:00)
All times are in Central European Time (CET)
*Peninsular Time