La Liga matchday 6 preview: Barcelona host Racing, Real Madrid go to Elche, Valencia try again at Alavés

A midweek round, nine matches from Tuesday to Thursday, and one already played: Real Sociedad and Celta drew 0–0 on 3 September when their fixture was brought forward. Barcelona start it three points clear on fifteen from five, with 21 goals scored; Real Madrid are second on twelve and go to Elche, who have two points; Real Betis, level with Madrid on twelve after Monday's win at Villarreal, close the round at home to Getafe on Thursday. At the bottom, Valencia — one point, one goal — visit third-placed Alavés on Tuesday.

Tuesday

Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol (17:00 UTC). Rayo are sixteenth with four points and have conceded fourteen, the most in the division; Espanyol are eighth on seven after winning 2–0 at Osasuna. Espanyol have won four of the last five meetings, including 4–0 at Rayo in April 2025 — though Rayo won the most recent, 1–0, this April.

Alavés v Valencia (18:00 UTC, Mendizorroza). Alavés are third on ten points after a 2–1 defeat at Racing; Valencia are last on one point, with one goal scored and ten conceded, after losing 1–0 at Sevilla. Valencia did win the last meeting, 3–2, in March; the one before at Mendizorroza was 0–0.

Elche v Real Madrid (19:30 UTC, Martínez Valero). Elche are nineteenth on two points and have conceded thirteen; Madrid arrive from a 4–1 win over Rayo with Kylian Mbappé on six goals, level at the top of the scoring chart. Madrid won 4–1 in March; the last visit to Elche, in November, was 2–2.

Wednesday

Atlético Madrid v Osasuna (17:00 UTC, Metropolitano). Atlético, fourth on ten, scored three times after the 83rd minute at Real Sociedad; Osasuna, eleventh on seven, lost 2–0 at home to Espanyol. Atlético have won the last two meetings 2–1 and 1–0, but Osasuna have won two of the last five — including 4–1 at the Metropolitano in May 2024.

Deportivo La Coruña v Sevilla (17:00 UTC, Riazor). Deportivo are the only side outside the top two still unbeaten — two wins, three draws — and sit sixth on nine; Sevilla are fifth on ten after beating Valencia. These two have not met since April 2018, a 0–0 at Riazor; Sevilla won three of the previous five.

Barcelona v Racing Santander (19:30 UTC, Camp Nou). Five wins from five, 21 scored, four conceded; Lamine Yamal and Raphinha have six goals each. Racing are tenth on seven after beating Alavés with a Yassir Zabiri double. The last league meetings were in 2011–12, all Barcelona wins; the last meeting of any kind was a 2–0 for Barcelona at Racing in the Copa del Rey in January.

Levante v Athletic Club (19:30 UTC). Levante are thirteenth on five after losing 4–2 to Barcelona; Athletic are ninth on seven and have lost two of their last three. Athletic have won four of the last five meetings, 4–2 and 2–0 this year.

Thursday

Real Betis v Getafe (17:00 UTC, Benito Villamarín). Betis have won four of five and are level on points with Madrid; Getafe are fourteenth on five with one win. Getafe won the last meeting 2–0 in March, but Betis won the three before that, including 4–0 in December.

Málaga v Villarreal (19:30 UTC, La Rosaleda). Two sides without a win: Málaga seventeenth on three points and two goals scored, Villarreal eighteenth on two after Monday's 2–1 home defeat to Betis. They last met in April 2018, a 1–0 for Málaga; Villarreal won three of the previous four.

Table watch

Before the round, counting Monday's result at Villarreal:

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	5	+17	15
2	Real Madrid	5	+10	12
3	Real Betis	5	+1	12
4	Alavés	5	+6	10
5	Atlético Madrid	5	+4	10
6	Sevilla	5	+2	10
7	Deportivo La Coruña	5	+3	9
…
18	Villarreal	5	−3	2
19	Elche	5	−7	2
20	Valencia	5	−9	1

A Barcelona win keeps them clear whatever Madrid and Betis do. Alavés, Atlético and Sevilla are all on ten, so Wednesday's matches decide who sits fourth. At the bottom, a win would lift Málaga, Villarreal or Elche out of the bottom four; a Valencia win at Alavés would not, on goal difference.

Numbers to know

• Four players share the top of the scoring chart on six: Sergio Camello, Raphinha, Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal. Three of them play on Tuesday or Wednesday.
• Barcelona have scored 21; the bottom four have scored sixteen between them.
• Deportivo La Coruña and Barcelona are the two unbeaten sides after five rounds.

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