Madrid (Spain): The final matchday of 2023 in La Liga will take place this midweek from Tuesday to Thursday with several incredibly intriguing fixtures on the schedule. All 20 teams will be in action and aiming to add to their points tallies before the mini break over the festive period.
The first game of this midweek round will be between Rayo Vallecano and Valencia, a very evenly matched duel to kick off Tuesday’s action. Both sides come into this match on 20 points and winless across their previous five matches. As such, both Francisco and Rubén Baraja will view this as a great opportunity to get back to winning ways and it should be a lot of fun to watch.
Later on, Tuesday night, there are two derby matches. On is an all-Andalusian affair, as Granada CF host a Sevilla FC side who just moved on from Diego Alonso. Both these teams are currently in the bottom five and desperate need of a win, so it promises to be a thrilling back-and-forth duel.
Meanwhile, two of the sides from Spain’s capital will meet at the Estadio Civitas Metropolitano, as Atletico de Madrid and Getafe CF do battle. Atleti have won 20 in a row at home, but this is one of the best Getafe CF squads in several years and Diego Simeone won’t be taking anything for granted, even facing a club he has achieved 19 victories and four draws against in 23 meetings.
Three more games follow on Wednesday, the first of which is FC Barcelona vs UD Almería. Xavi’s side haven’t won any of their past three games across all competitions so will be keen to put on a show when they host the bottom-placed team in the competition. UD Almeria did defeat Barca the last time these two sides met, though, so anything could happen.
Two more matches follow on Wednesday night, one of which involves two of the in-form teams of the competition -- Athletic Club and UD Las Palmas. Both these sides are pushing for European qualification so this should be a fascinating duel at San Mames, where Athletic Club haven’t lost since the opening weekend of the season. The Basque have been scoring an average of three goals per home game since then, delighting their fanbase.
Also on Wednesday night is Villarreal CF vs RC Celta. The Galician outfit just secured their second win of the season so will travel to the Estadio de la Ceramica with a new-found confidence and with the aim of ensuring they spend Christmas outside of the relegation zone.
Thursday brings up four more games. Girona FC have a difficult trip away to Real Betis as they look to keep up their title charge, but Míchel’s side have been so impressive this season that even a visit to the Estadio Benito Villamarín won’t faze them.
Also taking place in Andalusia is another of the most intriguing matchups of the round, as Cadiz CF host Real Sociedad. It was Takefusa Kubo who scored the only goal in this fixture last season and the Japanese winger remains in excellent form.
At the later Thursday night timeslot there are two more games to conclude this midweek matchday. One of them is RCD Mallorca vs CA Osasuna, as Javier Aguirre coaches his current team, RCD Mallorca, against the club where he first made his name in Spanish football.
Deportivo Alaves vs Real Madrid is the other match which concludes Matchday 18, as Joselu returns to the Estadio Mendizorrotza looking to score goals for his current club. Real Madrid won by a 4-1 scoreline on each of their previous two visits to the Basque club, so will be hoping for another big win to round off their 2023.
—IANS