La Liga matchday 11 preview: Barcelona host Alavés, Atlético at Levante, Real Madrid at Racing, the Basque derby

Barcelona lost the Clásico and now lead by two points, and the top three all play away from each other this weekend. Second-placed Atlético Madrid, winners of their last six league matches, go first, at Levante on Saturday lunchtime; Barcelona host Alavés on Saturday night; and Real Madrid, three points behind, visit Racing Santander on Sunday afternoon. The match to watch first is Atlético's: a win in Valencia would put them top until Barcelona kick off. On Sunday night Athletic Club host Real Sociedad in the Basque derby.

Friday

Villarreal v Espanyol (20:00 UTC, Estadio de la Cerámica). Villarreal, tenth on 12, came from behind to win 2–1 at Valencia and then won 5–0 at Manacor in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday. Espanyol, eighteenth on eight, have lost four of their last five league matches, the latest 2–1 at Racing, and went out of the Copa on Tuesday, beaten 4–3 after extra time at Sestao River. Villarreal have won the last five meetings, 4–1 here in February and 2–0 away in November 2025 the latest two.

Saturday

Levante v Atlético Madrid (13:00 UTC, Estadio Ciudad de Valencia). Atlético, second on 25, beat Deportivo La Coruña 1–0 with a goal from Julián Álvarez and have conceded eight, the second-fewest in the league. Levante, fourteenth on ten, lost 2–1 at Real Sociedad. Sports Mole reports that Levante are without Roger Brugué, their top scorer with five league goals, who was hurt at Real Sociedad, and Enzo Bardeli; it expects Atlético to be without Koke, Cristian Romero and Johnny Cardoso. The meeting here in January finished 0–0; Atlético won 3–1 at home in November 2025, and Levante's last win was 1–0 in Madrid in February 2022.

Rayo Vallecano v Celta Vigo (15:15 UTC, Estadio de Vallecas). Rayo Vallecano, sixteenth on nine with a match in hand, lost 3–0 at home to Elche; Sergio Camello has seven league goals. Celta Vigo, ninth on 12, drew 0–0 with Real Betis, their sixth draw in ten, and have conceded seven, the fewest in the league. Celta won 3–0 at home in January; the meeting here in September 2025 finished 1–1.

Real Betis v Málaga (17:30 UTC, Estadio de la Cartuja). Real Betis, fourth on 20, drew 0–0 at Celta. Málaga are last on five, the only side without a league win after ten matches; they drew 1–1 at Alavés after leading until the 89th minute. Their last league meeting was in April 2018, a 2–1 Betis win in Seville; Málaga won a pre-season friendly 3–1 in August 2025.

Barcelona v Alavés (20:00 UTC, Spotify Camp Nou). Barcelona, first on 27, lost 2–1 at home to Real Madrid after nine league wins; they have scored 40, the most in the league, and Raphinha leads the scorers with 13. Hansi Flick said afterwards that "the injuries are the biggest concern", the club reports, and the club has since said Xavi Espart, hurt in a collision in the Clásico, will be out for around seven weeks with an ankle syndesmosis injury. Sports Mole lists Dani Olmo, Roony Bardghji and Eric García as out and Jules Koundé and Andreas Christensen as doubts. Alavés, seventh on 12, have not won in five league matches and drew 1–1 with Málaga; Sports Mole says Facundo Garcés and Mikel Rodríguez are out with knee problems. Alavés won the last meeting 1–0 at home in May; before that Barcelona won 3–1 at home in November 2025 and 1–0 at home in February 2025.

Sunday

Getafe v Sevilla (13:00 UTC, Coliseum). Getafe, seventeenth on nine, lost 4–0 at Athletic and have scored five, the fewest in the league. Sevilla, sixth on 17, beat Osasuna 2–0. Getafe have not scored in their last three home meetings with Sevilla: 0–1 in February, 0–0 in February 2025 and 0–1 in March 2024. Getafe won 2–1 in Seville in August 2025.

Racing Santander v Real Madrid (15:15 UTC, Estadio El Sardinero). Real Madrid, third on 24, won 2–1 at Camp Nou with two goals from Kylian Mbappé, who has eleven in the league. Sports Mole reports that Vinícius Júnior, banned for four domestic matches after his red card against Villarreal, is not expected back before 21 November, that Federico Valverde is a major doubt with a hamstring problem, and that Thibaut Courtois, who missed the Clásico through illness, is expected back; Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raúl Asencio are out. Racing, thirteenth on eleven, beat Espanyol 2–1 with a late goal from M. Zabiri, who has eight, and won 2–0 at Ribadesella in the Copa on Thursday, but they have conceded 26, the most in the league. The two last met in February 2012, a 4–0 Real Madrid win in Madrid; the last meeting here, in September 2011, finished 0–0.

Elche v Valencia (17:30 UTC, Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero). Elche, fifteenth on ten, won 3–0 at Rayo with two penalties; Fer Niño has six league goals. Valencia, nineteenth on six, lost 2–1 at home to Villarreal and have scored seven, as many as Málaga. Elche won 1–0 here in April; the meeting in Valencia in January finished 1–1.

Athletic Club v Real Sociedad (20:00 UTC, San Mamés Stadium). Athletic, eighth on 12 with a match in hand, beat Getafe 4–0 and won 6–1 at Prat in the Copa on Thursday. Real Sociedad, fifth on 19, beat Levante 2–1 for a fourth league win in a row and are a point behind Real Betis. The league meeting here in February finished 1–1, and Real Sociedad won 3–2 at home in November 2025; they also won both Copa del Rey meetings 1–0, here in February and at home in March.

Monday

Deportivo La Coruña v Osasuna (20:00 UTC, Estadio Municipal de Riazor). Two sides on eleven: Deportivo La Coruña, eleventh, lost 1–0 at Atlético and have not won in five league matches; Osasuna, twelfth, lost 2–0 at Sevilla and have conceded 20. Ante Budimir has seven league goals for Osasuna. Osasuna won 2–1 here in the Copa in December 2021; the last league meeting, in the Segunda División in Pamplona in April 2019, was a 2–1 Osasuna win.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	10	+29	27
2	Atlético Madrid	10	+12	25
3	Real Madrid	10	+15	24
4	Real Betis	10	+2	20
5	Real Sociedad	10	+1	19
6	Sevilla	10	0	17
…
17	Getafe	10	−10	9
18	Espanyol	10	−2	8
19	Valencia	10	−10	6
20	Málaga	10	−12	5

Atlético can go top for a few hours on Saturday; Barcelona then need a win against Alavés to stay two clear, and Real Madrid play on Sunday knowing both results. Four sides, from seventh to tenth, are on 12, and Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano have played nine. At the bottom Espanyol travel to Villarreal on Friday, and Valencia, a point above Málaga, play at Elche on Sunday.

Numbers to know

• Atlético have won their last six league matches and conceded eight, one more than Celta Vigo, who have conceded the fewest.
• Raphinha leads the scorers with 13, ahead of Mbappé on eleven and Zabiri and Lamine Yamal on eight.
• Barcelona have scored 40, the most; Getafe five, the fewest.
• Racing Santander have conceded 26, the most in the league.
• Málaga are the only side without a win, with five draws and five defeats.

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, Sports Mole, Sports Mole, Sports Mole.