Matchday fourteen begins the final stretch of matches in the first half of the 2024-25 La Liga season. The headline match will be played on Sunday night between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad in the Basque derby. Read on for our prediction of that match and the rest of the weekend’s games in our La Liga Matchday 14 predictions.
La Liga Matchday 14 Predictions: Basque Derby Headlines
Historic Match Up
The 155th meeting between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad in La Liga will take place on Sunday night at the former’s San Mamés stadium. La Real, who started the season poorly, have hit form of late, winning three of their last four, whereas Athletic will look to stop a run of three consecutive draws.
Athletic Club haven’t lost at home to Sociedad since 2020 and will expect their San Mamés stadium to provide a passionate backdrop to this encounter, typically considered the friendliest rivalry (between fans) in Spain. This match has been used as an expression of Basque identity by the locals, but the rivalry on the pitch remains as strong as ever, with both teams boasting a high number of academy graduates who know what it would mean to get the win on Sunday night.
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Injuries to Mikel Oyarzabal and Martín Zubimendi whilst on international duty may hand Athletic the advantage, given how important those two players are to the away side. The lack of a deep-lying midfielder could give the opportunity for Oihan Sancet to have a license to dictate for Athletic high up the pitch.
LWOF Prediction: Athletic Club 2-1 Real Sociedad
Keeping It Close
FC Barcelona currently hold a six-point advantage over second-place Real Madrid, with the latter having played a game fewer. They will hope a trip up to the North West city of Vigo ends with them extending their lead to put the pressure on their rivals who play the next day. RC Celta Vigo have put in good performances against the top sides at home so far this season and will look to make life difficult for Barça too. Hansi Flick has a multitude of players coming back from international duty but should have enough to come away with a result.
LWOF Prediction: RC Celta Vigo 0-1 FC Barcelona
Real Madrid make the short trip to the southern outskirts of the city to CD Leganés, who have managed a solid start to the season, all things considered. Another disappointing international break for Vinicius Jr will give him fire in the belly to come out and perform well in this one, and Kylian Mbappe will want to make everyone forget that he was dropped from the French national squad.
LWOF Prediction: CD Leganés 0-3 Real Madrid
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Atlético Madrid would finish Saturday above city rivals Real if they can beat Deportivo Alavés at home. Both father Diego Simeone and son Giuliano Simeone have been nominated for La Liga awards for the month of November after a mini revival has restored excitement to the Metropolitano after a shaky October. Alavés hover worryingly over the relegation zone and come into this match as La Liga’s worst-form side.
LWOF Prediction: Atlético Madrid 2-0 Deportivo Alavés
Potential ‘Partidazos’
It’s fourth against fifth as CA Osasuna welcome Villarreal CF to Pamplona on Sunday lunchtime. A win for the home side would send a strong message to be taken seriously as genuine European-spot contenders. They’ll have to negotiate with an impressive Villarreal side who could be without both Álex Baena and Ayoze Pérez, who picked up injuries during the international break. Without their top goalscorer and top assister, this could be a tricky one for the Yellow Submarine.
LWOF Prediction: CA Osasuna 1-1 Villarreal CF
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Valencia CF against Real Betis looks like a tasty match at a glance, but both teams are currently far from their best. Valencia are yet to play a game in November due to the devastating floods that hit the region, which has left them bottom of the league with a lot of catching up to do. On the other hand, the only game Betis have lost in La Liga since September was the Seville derby. Although league form looks good on paper, they haven’t convinced in their performances, only the win against Atlético Madrid being an exception. This is a great opportunity for them to show their best version.
LWOF Prediction: Valencia CF 1-2 Real Betis
Most people had written UD Las Palmas off after just a handful of games, but with a manager change and a bit of luck on their side, they have managed to climb out of the relegation zone and are only looking upward. They face a team who are going the other way down the table, RCD Mallorca, who, after a brilliant start to the campaign, have somewhat trailed off, winless in their last three. It might be an unlikely game worth watching if you find yourself with time on Saturday afternoon.
LWOF Prediction: UD Las Palmas 2-2 RCD Mallorca
Bottom Half Blues
You’d have to be really into your Spanish football or just plain mad to tune into Getafe CF vs Real Valladolid on Friday night. The hosts in 17th and the 19th-placed visitors have managed just three wins between them all season and look to be in prime positions for relegation. Whatever the result, we can assume there won’t be very many goals, with Getafe mustering a pitiful eight goals and Valladolid not doing much better on ten so far this season.
LWOF Prediction: Getafe CF 1-1 Real Valladolid
A derby only by location, Girona FC vs Espanyol doesn’t have the history behind it like other regional rivalries in Spain. The two Catalan teams have enjoyed polar successes in recent years, with Espanyol yo-yo-ing between divisions while Girona are playing in the Champions League. The team playing continental football will be favourites as they start to recuperate key players back into their squad.
LWOF Prediction: Girona FC 1-0 RCD Espanyol
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Maybe unfair to leave them until last, Sevilla FC and Rayo Vallecano have the potential to deliver a ‘vibes’ match on Sunday afternoon, with both teams boasting similarly impressive and disappointing results so far this season. It’s a tough one to call, but given Rayo’s home capitulation against Las Palmas last time out, it’s Sevilla who go into this one the slight favourites.
LWOF Prediction: Sevilla FC 1-0 Rayo Vallecano
