The first ElClasico of the 2023/24 season is coming up this weekend and football fans around the world will tune in to the action from Catalonia on Saturday afternoon, as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid resume their historic rivalry. That heavyweight fixture logically takes centre stage, yet there are several other intriguing fixtures coming up too in an action-packed Matchday 11.
The very first game involves the joint-leaders Girona FC, who enter this round level on points with Real Madrid at the top of LALIGA EA SPORTS. Míchel's side have an impressive haul of 25 points from their first 10 games and, as the top scorers of the competition, they'll hope to put RC Celta to the sword at the Estadi Montilivi on Friday night.
On ElClasico Saturday, there is an interesting game ahead of the main dish, with bottom-placed UD Almería hoping to overcome UD Las Palmas in new coach Gaizka Garitano's first home game since taking over at the Power Horse Stadium.
Then, at 16:15 CEST on Saturday, it's time for the first ElClasico of the new season. This duel between Barça and Los Blancos will be held at the Estadi Olímpic, which has never before hosted this fixture. The FC Barcelona faithful were able to enjoy a memorable stoppage time victory when they hosted ElClasico in LALIGA EA SPORTS last season and they'll hope for another victory on this occasion.
Making this ElClasico so fascinating is the fact that just one point separates the two sides in the standings, with Real Madrid currently on 25 points and Barça on 24. The stakes could hardly be higher, and the star quality will be present in abundance with the likes of João Félix, Vinícius, Robert Lewandowski, Jude Bellingham, Ronald Araújo, Eduardo Camavinga, Alejandro Balde and Fede Valverde all having enjoyed bright starts to the season. Now, they'll have their biggest test so far.
For the fans keen for further LALIGA EA SPORTS action following ElClasico, RCD Mallorca vs Getafe CF will be coming up afterwards and the islanders will hope for a similar result to their last clash with Los Azulones, when RCD Mallorca came from behind to win 3-1 in this fixture last season.
Then, Saturday concludes with an Andalusian derby, as Sevilla FC make the short trip to face off against Cádiz CF. New Sevilla FC coach Diego Alonso will be keen to build on the positive start he achieved last weekend when the Uruguayan's new side took a point off Real Madrid.
Real Betis vs CA Osasuna kicks off a busy Sunday, and this should be a finely balanced game given that the two sides enter the matchday ninth and 10th respectively. Next up is Rayo Vallecano vs Real Sociedad and that too is a clash between two clubs who find themselves in the same area of the table, with the capital city side in seventh and the Basques in fifth, keen to qualify again for the Champions League, a competition they have been thriving in this season.
On Sunday afternoon, fans can enjoy a duel between two of the most historic and successful clubs in Spanish football as Athletic Club take on Valencia CF. They met three times in all competitions last term and the side from Bilbao won on all three occasions, so Los Che will be keen for some revenge and will look to their array of brilliant young talents, such as Javi Guerra, Diego López and Fran Pérez.
Atlético de Madrid host the Sunday night game, with Deportivo Alavés the visitors, and, no matter the result of ElClasico, Diego Simeone's charges will know that they can't afford to drop points as they look to maintain their own title chances. That makes this another hugely important game, while it'll also be interesting to see Samu Omorodion return to the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, the stadium of his parent club and a stadium where he has already scored against Atleti this season, when he netted for Granada CF in Matchday 1. Having scored just last weekend, all eyes will be on the talented 19-year-old.
It's Granada CF who then welcome Villarreal CF in the Monday night game of Matchday 11, and this is a vitally important occasion for both teams' coaches given the struggles of recent weeks. Neither side has won in the past five LALIGA EA SPORTS matchdays, so both Granada CF and Villarreal CF will give their all in this game that concludes a monumental matchday.