La Liga matchday 8 preview: Barcelona put their perfect record on the line against Getafe, Real Madrid host Villarreal

Barcelona have won all seven and lead by five points, and they are at home to Getafe on Saturday afternoon. Before that, Atlético Madrid, second on 16, go to Alavés, and in the evening Real Madrid, fourth on 15 after losing the derby, host Villarreal. The round opens on Friday at the bottom: Málaga, last and still without a win, are at home to Espanyol.

Friday

Málaga v Espanyol (19:00 UTC, La Rosaleda). Málaga have three draws and four defeats, have scored three goals, the fewest in the league, and lost 1–0 at Getafe; Espanyol are fifteenth on seven and have lost their last two, 3–1 at home to Elche last time. Espanyol's coach, Manolo González, has Puado in his squad, the club says, and said he was "convinced I can change the situation". Espanyol won the last four competitive meetings: 3–0 in Málaga and 3–0 at home in the Segunda División in 2020–21, and 4–1 at home and 1–0 here in La Liga in 2018.

Saturday

Rayo Vallecano v Athletic Club (12:00 UTC, Estadio de Vallecas). Level on eight points: Rayo Vallecano, twelfth, drew 1–1 at Osasuna, and Athletic Club, tenth with a match in hand, drew 0–0 with Alavés. Rayo have not beaten Athletic in the last five meetings: 1–1 here in February, and before that four Athletic wins, two of them here, 2–1 in December 2024 and 1–0 in May 2024.

Alavés v Atlético Madrid (14:15 UTC, Estadio de Mendizorroza). Alavés are sixth on eleven and, with Athletic and Celta, have conceded six, the fewest in the league; they drew 0–0 in Bilbao. Atlético beat Real Madrid 2–1 last time out and have won five of seven. Atlético have not won on their last three visits here: 1–1 in August 2025, 0–0 in May 2025 and 2–0 to Alavés in April 2024. They won 1–0 at home in January.

Barcelona v Getafe (16:30 UTC, Spotify Camp Nou). Barcelona have scored 31 goals in seven matches and won 3–1 at Sevilla; Getafe, eleventh on eight, beat Málaga 1–0 and have scored four. Barcelona say all their internationals are back in training; Raphinha, the league's top scorer, was sent home from Brazil's squad with a minor muscle problem in his right thigh, ESPN reported. Barcelona are unbeaten in the last five meetings: 2–0 in Getafe in April, 3–0 here in September 2025, 1–1 in Getafe in January 2025, and 1–0 and 4–0 here in 2024.

Real Madrid v Villarreal (19:00 UTC, Santiago Bernabéu). Real Madrid lost 2–1 at Atlético, their second defeat; Villarreal, ninth on eight, have won their last two, 3–1 against Levante and 3–1 at Málaga, after three straight defeats. Real Madrid's training report on Monday still listed six players recovering, Mbappé, Valverde, Konaté, Asencio, Mendy and Rodrygo, and ESPN writes that José Mourinho already has a lot to do to save Real Madrid's season. Real Madrid have won the last four meetings — 2–0 in Villarreal in January, 3–1 here in October 2025, 2–1 there in March 2025 and 2–0 here in October 2024 — and the one before was 4–4 in Villarreal in May 2024.

Sunday

Elche v Celta Vigo (12:00 UTC, Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero). Both won for the first time this season last time out: Elche, eighteenth on five, 3–1 at Espanyol, and Celta Vigo, fourteenth on seven, 5–0 against Racing Santander. Each won at home last season, Elche 2–1 in September 2025 and Celta 3–1 in May.

Real Sociedad v Deportivo La Coruña (14:15 UTC, Anoeta). Level on ten points: Real Sociedad, eighth, won 3–2 at Valencia, and Deportivo La Coruña, seventh, drew 1–1 with Betis and have lost once. It is their first meeting since February 2018, when Real Sociedad won 5–0 here.

Real Betis v Osasuna (16:30 UTC, Estadio de la Cartuja). Real Betis, third on 16, drew 1–1 in A Coruña; Osasuna, thirteenth on eight, drew 1–1 with Rayo and have conceded 13. Betis are unbeaten in the last five meetings: 1–1 in Pamplona in April, 2–0 at home in September 2025, 1–1 at home in May 2025, and two wins in Pamplona before that.

Racing Santander v Valencia (19:00 UTC, El Sardinero). Racing Santander, sixteenth on seven, have conceded 21, the most in the league, twelve of them in their last two matches, 7–2 at Barcelona and 5–0 at Celta. Valencia are nineteenth on four, with four goals scored, and lost 3–2 at home to Real Sociedad; Diego López had knee surgery on Tuesday, the club says. Racing say Zabiri, Pablo García and Jorge Salinas are back from international duty and ready, and that the match is Javier Aguirre's debut at El Sardinero as Valencia coach. It is their first meeting since January 2012, a 2–2 draw here.

Monday

Levante v Sevilla (19:00 UTC, Estadio Ciudad de Valencia). Levante, seventeenth on five with a match in hand, lost 3–1 at Villarreal; Sevilla, fifth on 13, lost 3–1 at home to Barcelona. Levante won both meetings last season, 3–0 in Seville in January and 2–0 here in April.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	7	+24	21
2	Atlético Madrid	7	+9	16
3	Real Betis	7	+2	16
4	Real Madrid	7	+10	15
5	Sevilla	7	+1	13
6	Alavés	7	+5	11
…
17	Levante	6	−4	5
18	Elche	7	−6	5
19	Valencia	7	−9	4
20	Málaga	7	−9	3

Atlético play before Barcelona and can cut the gap to two points for a couple of hours; Betis go on Sunday. Athletic and Levante have played six.

Numbers to know

• Raphinha has twelve league goals, five more than Sergio Camello of Rayo, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé, on seven each.
• Barcelona are the only side with a perfect record and have scored 31, thirteen more than Real Madrid, the next highest on 18.
• Málaga are the only side without a win.
• Racing Santander have conceded 21; Alavés, Athletic and Celta six each.

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

Sources for the context: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Valencia CF, Real Racing Club, Real Racing Club, RCD Espanyol, ESPN, ESPN.