La Liga matchday 10 preview: Barcelona host Real Madrid in the Clásico, Atlético v Deportivo, Valencia v Villarreal

Barcelona have won all nine league matches and lead by five points, and on Sunday night they host Real Madrid, third and six points behind, in the Clásico. Second-placed Atlético Madrid play first, at home to Deportivo La Coruña on Saturday evening, and at the bottom Málaga, still without a win, open the round at Alavés on Friday.

Friday

Alavés v Málaga (19:00 UTC, Estadio de Mendizorroza). Alavés, seventh on eleven, lost 2–1 at Celta Vigo and have taken one point from their last five league matches. Málaga are last on four, the only side without a win, and lost 5–2 at home to Real Sociedad; they have conceded 18. Sports Mole says Alavés have Ángel Pérez back from suspension, and that Málaga are without Diego Murillo and Julen Lobete. It is their first league meeting since the Segunda División in May 2023, when Alavés won 2–1 here; Málaga won 1–0 at home in December 2022, and Alavés won 3–0 in Málaga in La Liga in May 2018.

Saturday

Rayo Vallecano v Elche (12:00 UTC, Estadio de Vallecas). Rayo Vallecano, fourteenth on nine, have played eight and drew 1–1 at Getafe; Elche, eighteenth on seven, drew 0–0 at Villarreal. Rayo won 1–0 here in April; Elche won 4–0 at home in December 2025 and in April 2023.

Racing Santander v Espanyol (14:15 UTC, El Sardinero). Both are on eight: Racing Santander, seventeenth, lost 2–0 at Osasuna and have conceded 25, the most in the league; Espanyol, sixteenth, lost 1–0 at home to Atlético. Racing won 2–0 here in the Segunda División in February 2024, six months after a 2–0 Espanyol win in Cornellà; their last top-flight meeting, in March 2012, went 3–1 to Espanyol.

Valencia v Villarreal (16:30 UTC, Estadio de Mestalla). Valencia, nineteenth on six, drew 0–0 with Athletic Club and have one win in nine. Villarreal, twelfth on nine, drew 0–0 with Elche and lost 4–3 at Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday. Sports Mole reports that Umar Sadiq, Sergi Canós and Diego López are out for Valencia, and that Villarreal have Tajon Buchanan available again but not Nicolas Pépé. Valencia have not beaten Villarreal in the last five meetings: 2–1 to Villarreal in February, 2–0 to Villarreal here in October 2025, 1–1 in February 2025, 1–1 here in August 2024 and 1–0 to Villarreal in March 2024.

Atlético Madrid v Deportivo La Coruña (19:00 UTC, Riyadh Air Metropolitano). Atlético, second on 22, won 1–0 at Espanyol with a goal on 89 for a fifth league win in a row, then drew 1–1 at Stuttgart in the Champions League on Tuesday. Deportivo, ninth on eleven, drew 1–1 with Levante, their fifth draw in nine. Sports Mole reports that Koke is out with a hamstring injury and that Lee Kang-in has recovered from a thigh problem; Deportivo are without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Zakaria Eddahchouri, Marc Casado and Bright Ede, with Lorenzo Amatucci back from suspension. Atlético won 1–0 in A Coruña in the Copa del Rey in January, and 1–0 here in the last league meeting, in April 2018.

Sunday

Athletic Club v Getafe (13:00 UTC, San Mamés Stadium). Athletic Club, thirteenth on nine, have played eight and lost 3–1 at Levante on Wednesday in a match held over from matchday 6. Getafe, fifteenth on nine, drew 1–1 with Rayo and have scored five, the fewest in the league. Getafe won the last two meetings, 2–0 at home in April and 1–0 here in October 2025; Athletic won 2–0 at Getafe in May 2025.

Celta Vigo v Real Betis (15:15 UTC, Municipal de Balaídos). Celta Vigo, eighth on eleven, beat Alavés 2–1 and won 2–1 at Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday; they have conceded seven, the fewest in the league. Real Betis, fourth on 19, lost 5–2 at home to Barcelona and beat Feyenoord 1–0 in the Champions League on Wednesday. The last two meetings were 1–1 draws, in Seville in March and here in August 2025; Celta won 3–2 here in February 2025.

Real Sociedad v Levante (17:30 UTC, Anoeta Stadium). Real Sociedad, fifth on 16, won 5–2 at Málaga and 6–0 at Lillestrøm in the Europa League on Thursday. Levante, eleventh on ten, beat Athletic 3–1 on Wednesday for their second league win. Real Sociedad won 2–0 here in April, and the meeting in Valencia in December 2025 finished 1–1.

Barcelona v Real Madrid (20:00 UTC, Spotify Camp Nou). Barcelona won 5–2 at Betis for a ninth league win in nine, and have scored 39 and conceded nine; Raphinha leads the scorers with twelve and Lamine Yamal has eight. They then lost 4–2 at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, their first defeat of the season, the club says. Dani Olmo hurt his left adductor in Paris and is expected to be out for around a month, according to the club; Sports Mole lists Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji as out and Jules Koundé as a major doubt with an ankle problem. Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4–1 and RB Leipzig 4–1 in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Kylian Mbappé has nine league goals. Vinícius Júnior misses the match, part of a four-match league ban for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair and protesting to the referee against Villarreal, AP reported; Sports Mole adds Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raúl Asencio to the injured. FC Barcelona points out that it is Hansi Flick's first Clásico against José Mourinho, and that Flick has won six of his seven Clásicos. Barcelona have won four of the last five meetings: 2–0 here in May, 3–2 in the Super Cup in January, 4–3 in the league in May 2025 and 3–2 in the Copa del Rey final in April 2025; Real Madrid won 2–1 at home in October 2025.

Monday

Sevilla v Osasuna (20:00 UTC, Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán). Sevilla, sixth on 14, lost 4–1 at Real Madrid; Osasuna, tenth on eleven, beat Racing 2–0, Ante Budimir scoring a penalty for his seventh league goal, and have conceded 18. Osasuna won 2–1 at home in April; Sevilla won 1–0 here in November 2025, Osasuna 1–0 at home in April 2025, and the two meetings here before that finished 1–1.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	9	+30	27
2	Atlético Madrid	9	+11	22
3	Real Madrid	9	+14	21
4	Real Betis	9	+2	19
5	Real Sociedad	9	0	16
6	Sevilla	9	−2	14
…
17	Racing Santander	9	−12	8
18	Elche	9	−6	7
19	Valencia	9	−9	6
20	Málaga	9	−12	4

Atlético play on Saturday and can cut the gap to two points before the Clásico; a Real Madrid win at Camp Nou would bring them within three of Barcelona. Four teams, from seventh to tenth, are on eleven points, and Athletic Club and Rayo have played eight.

Numbers to know

• Barcelona are the only side to have won every league match; they have scored 39 and conceded nine.
• Raphinha leads the scorers with twelve, ahead of Mbappé on nine and Lamine Yamal on eight.
• Málaga are the only side without a win; Getafe have scored five, the fewest.
• Racing Santander have conceded 25, the most in the league; Celta seven, the fewest.

The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the La Liga page.

Sources for the context: FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona, AP, Sports Mole, Sports Mole, Sports Mole, Sports Mole, Sports Mole.