The second week of the season pits last season’s top three against the three newly promoted sides.
The 2025/26 LALIGA EA SPORTS season is up and running, and Matchday 2 is coming up this weekend. After FC Barcelona and Real Madrid secured victories during the opening round, Hansi Flick and Xabi Alonso will hope their teams can make it six points from six. Elsewhere, Atlético de Madrid will aim to bounce back from an opening weekend defeat when they play their first home fixture of the campaign.
The action begins in Seville on Friday night, when Real Betis take on Deportivo Alavés. The game will be held at the Estadio de La Cartuja, Los Verdiblancos’ temporary home while work is carried out on their usual home ground. It’ll be interesting to see if Manuel Pellegrini’s men can adapt quickly to their new surroundings.
Three games follow on Saturday, the first of which is RCD Mallorca vs RC Celta. Both these sides suffered home defeats in Matchday 1, so it was a far from ideal start to the campaign. In Matchday 2, there is a fresh opportunity to secure the first points of the season.
That’s exactly what Atlético de Madrid will be aiming to do when they welcome Elche CF to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano at 19:30 CEST on Saturday evening. After falling to defeat at RCD Espanyol last weekend, the first opening matchday loss in the Diego Simeone era, Los Colchoneros desperately need a three-point haul from this clash against a newly promoted side.
Then, at 21:30 CEST, Levante UD, another newly promoted team, are also in action against a Spanish football giant. In their case, Los Groguets host reigning champions and early league leaders FC Barcelona. It won’t be an easy task, but the Estadi Ciutat de València will be packed and raring to go.
Four more fixtures follow on Sunday, starting with CA Osasuna vs Valencia CF. These are two clubs who briefly challenged for European qualification towards the end of last season and who have that as a goal this term. At El Sadar, they’ll both set out looking for their first win of the season.
There are then two simultaneous games at 19:30 CEST on Sunday, in Real Sociedad vs RCD Espanyol and Villarreal CF vs Girona FC. All four of these clubs have made intriguing signings during the summer transfer window, so this will be an opportunity for the likes of Gonçalo Guedes and Alberto Moleiro to stand out for their new teams.
In the final fixture of Sunday evening, Real Oviedo’s supporters will pack the Estadio Carlos Tartiere, as the stadium hosts top-flight football for the first time in 24 years. And, it’s a huge fixture too, with Real Madrid coming to town. It’s yet another case of a newly promoted team taking on a title contender, but anything can happen in LALIGA EA SPORTS.
The matchday concludes on Monday, with two more fixtures. The first is Athletic Club vs Rayo Vallecano, an interesting game for the capital city side as it comes in between their Conference League playoff against Neman Grodno. Coach Iñigo Pérez will try to make sure his squad isn’t distracted by that European tie, as he returns to one of his former clubs.
Sevilla FC vs Getafe CF is the final game of the matchday, and it promises to be an interesting tactical tussle. New Sevilla FC coach Matías Almeyda is still looking for his first points in charge of Los Rojiblancos, while José Bordalás already demonstrated in Matchday 1 that he remains an expert in getting the most out of his squad. He’ll look to do so once again in the final fixture of Matchday 2.
Watch LALIGA EA SPORTS live this weekend on [LOCAL BROADCASTER].
