Primera Iberdrola Week 14 Preview: Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid look to bounce back as Barcelona seek to maintain winning run
Barcelona will seek to maintain their 100 percent start to the campaign as they welcome struggling Rayo Vallecano at Estadi Johan Cruyff on Saturday.
They will be aiming to carry on from their 5-0 midweek demolition of HB Koge in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The hosts last lost a home match against the visiting team in September 2012 and have won all the other home fixtures ever since.
Barcelona forwards are in rampant form and Rayo, whose last visit to this venue ended in a 7-0 drubbing, will likely expect a baptism of fire as the log leaders look to maintain a clean sheet in terms of goals and wins.
Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid will be hosting Real Betis on Saturday at the Estadio Wanda Atletico de Madrid Alcalá de Henares.
The home side played out to a goalless draw last weekend away to Sevilla whilst Real Betis were 2-0 away winners at Rayo Vallecano.
Atletico Madrid have not lost at home to Real Betis in their head-to-head encounters and hope to maintain that record as they consolidate their top three finish to play in the Champions League next season.
Second-placed Real Sociedad visit the Unbe Sports Complex in an early Saturday kick off with Eibar hoping for nothing short of a victory to consolidate their position.
The visitors will want to quickly forget the chance they squandered to keep check on log leaders Barcelona when they drew two-all at home with struggling Sporting Huelva last weekend.
The hosts, on the other hand, lost 2-0 at home last weekend to Granadilla Tenerife and will seek to bounce back. Eibar have not won a match in their last five matches.
They, however, will be motivated by last season’s results where they drew with Real Sociedad at home and won away.
Fifth-placed Granadilla Tenerife host fourth-placed Athletic Club at Estadio La Palmera on Saturday evening.
The two teams are separated by a point and a win for Tenerife will dislodge the visitors from fourth position on the log standings.
Both teams won their matches last weekend with the hosts winning 2-0 away to Eibar and the visitors registering a 4-1 home win against Alaves.
The home side have won all six home encounters against Athletic Club in their head-to-head record and will be seeking to maintain that record.
Consistency key
Madrid CFF host Real Madrid at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Antiguo Canódromo in their first derby of the season on Sunday.
The hosts will be looking to building from their 3-1 away win at Valencia last weekend.
The visitors, on the other hand, were humbled 3-1 at home by Barcelona.
Madrid CFF will be missing the services of their top goal scorer Geyse Ferreira, who was given a red card last weekend against Valencia having received her second yellow card of the match.
The visitors will be looking to shrug off the fatigue of playing Zhilstroy-1 Kharkiv Vfl at home in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Thursday where they came out 3-0 victors.
Madrid CFF have not beaten their opponents at home in the three matches which they have met so far. In their last meeting at home to Real Madrid in April 2021, they lost 2-0.
Newcomers Alaves will have their consistency at home tested when they host Levante at Mendizorroza on Sunday evening.
The visitors have seen their chances of Champions League football fade away after they lost two matches in a row.
Alaves lost 4-1 away to Athletic Club last weekend while the visitors lost 2-1 at home to Villarreal.
Levante has been struggling away from home while the hosts have been doing well at home.
A win for the hosts will increase their chances of finishing in a respectable position in their first season in the Primera Iberdrola.
Relegation battle hots up
Sporting Huelva will be buoyed by their three draws in a row, seeking to make it a win when they host an equally inconsistent Sevilla side at Campo Federativo de la Orden on Saturday.
The home side have lost just once at home to Sevilla and that defeat came in October 2010. The record will be a motivator to the home side to get the three points and enhance their chances of surviving relegation.
Bottom-placed Villareal host 14th placed Valencia on Saturday.
Valencia will look to bounce back from their 3-1 loss at the hands of Madrid CFF last weekend.
The struggling hosts, on the other hand, shocked Champions League hopefuls Levante with a 2-1 win away from home. The result brought them closer to 15th placed Rayo Vallecano in terms of points and a win over Valencia will move them to five points to help them fight relegation.
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two teams.
Fixtures (Saturday): Eibar vs Real Sociedad (11:30); Atlético Madrid vs Real Betis (12:00); Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano (12:00); Villarreal vs Valencia (16:00); Sporting Huelva vs Sevilla (16:00); Granadilla Tenerife vs Athletic Club (19:00)
Fixtures (Sunday): Madrid CFF vs Real Madrid (12:00); Alaves vs Levante (17:00)
All times are Central European Time (CET)
(Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)