LaLiga: Action Packed Weekend With Real Madrid vs Sevilla, Real Betis vs Atleti and Barça vs Athletic Bilbao

• LaLiga leaders Real Madrid will welcome Sevilla at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday evening
• Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid will travel to Benito Villamarín to play against Real Betis in a cagey encounter
• Barcelona will host their former coach Ernesto Valverde who returns to the Camp Nou with Athletic Bilbao

Following a thrilling midweek round of LaLiga Santander action, there’s immediately even more top-flight Spanish football this weekend with Matchday 11.

This round includes some huge fixtures between the biggest clubs in Spain, such as Real Madrid vs Sevilla FC, Real Betis vs Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona vs Athletic Club.

There is no Friday fixture this weekend, so the first match of the round is on Saturday as Rayo Vallecano host Cádiz CF. Both teams were buoyed by impressive midweek draws, against Atlético de Madrid for Rayo and against Real Betis for Cádiz CF, who have now gone five matches undefeated. They’ll put that run to the test in Vallecas, where El Submarino Amarillo haven’t won since 1990.

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Two more teams on a good run of form will then put their records on the line later on Saturday, starting with Real Sociedad as they seek what would be a ninth victory in a row, away at Real Valladolid. Valencia CF, meanwhile, have gone five matches undefeated as Gennaro Gattuso’s side really start to click and they’ll host RCD Mallorca. It will be a special occasion for captain José Gayà in front of the Mestalla crowd, after this week signing a contract extension to 2027.

Real Madrid vs Sevilla

At 9pm CEST on Saturday night, it’s Real Madrid vs Sevilla FC at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. It’ll be worth tuning in early, since Karim Benzema will present his recently acquired Ballon d’Or trophy to the fans, before the French striker will then seek to score for a third game in a row against a Sevilla FC squad that boasts players who could hurt the champions and that is improving under new coach Jorge Sampaoli.

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There are five matches on Sunday, starting with RCD Espanyol vs Elche CF. Los Franjiverdes won this fixture 2-1 last season thanks to two early goals from Pere Milla and the attacking midfielder is being made to feel like a key player once again under new coach Jorge Almirón.

Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid

Then comes Real Betis vs Atlético de Madrid at the 4.15pm CEST time slot, with these two sides looking to bounce back from their aforementioned midweek draws against Cádiz CF and Rayo Vallecano. Atleti won 3-1 on their trip to the Estadio Benito Villamarín last season thanks to a spectacular counter-attacking performance from João Félix. Although the Portuguese hasn’t been used much in recent weeks, this is the kind of game where his skillset might be needed and where he can make an impact.

On Sunday evening, there are two games at the same time as Girona FC welcome CA Osasuna to Catalonia and as Villarreal CF host UD Almería. The first of those is an unprecedented fixture in LaLiga Santander, as the Catalan and Navarre sides have never before met at this level, while the latter sees Unai Emery take on the club he won promotion with near the beginning of his coaching career.

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Athletic Bilbao vs Barcelona

The big Sunday night game at 9pm CEST also sees a coach take on his former club, as Ernesto Valverde returns to the Camp Nou with his Athletic Club side. He won two LaLiga Santander titles when he was the coach of FC Barcelona and a warm reception is expected for the 58-year-old, before the crowd will back their team from the first whistle to the last as Barça look to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the table.

The final match of the round then comes on Monday as RC Celta host Getafe CF. Neither side is in particularly good form, but they boast top-quality forwards with the likes of Iago Aspas, Borja Mayoral and Enes Ünal. That should make for a fun shootout to end Matchday 11.