Round 14, La Liga 2018/2019
New La Liga leaders Sevilla will have a major test of their credentials when they play away to surprise package Deportivo Alaves in the penultimate match of round 14 in the 2018/19 season.
Pablo Machin’s side assumed first place on the log this past weekend as they took full advantage of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid drawing 1-1 – their 1-0 win at home to Real Valladolid (featuring another goal from the outstanding Andre Silva) took them to 26 points at the summit.
Yet a clash away to Mubarak Wakaso’s Alaves at Estadio de Mendizorroza will be no easy task – even if the hosts are licking their wounds from a 1-0 loss to strugglers Leganes in the previous round.
Barcelona will have the chance to go back to the top of the standings and put pressure on Sevilla when they host Villarreal on Sunday evening. Three successive matches without a win for the Blaugrana (across all competitions) has increased the pressure on manager Ernesto Valverde.
He will hope his superstars such as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are back to prime form for the visit of a ‘Yellow Submarine’ team which boasts the attacking talents of Karl Toko Ekambi and Samuel Chukwueze and is unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions.
Real Madrid will face a test of their mettle when they host Geoffrey Kondogbia’s Valencia on Saturday night. Manager Santiago Solari had enjoyed a great start to life in the hot seat (seeing his status upgraded from caretaker to permanent appointment) but things went horribly wrong after the international break as they succumbed 3-0 at Eibar this past weekend.
Los Blancos are six points adrift of the top of the log – not an unrecoverable situation for a team of their class and pedigree, but they cannot afford to fall further off the pace as the season heads into a busy December period.
Eibar, meanwhile, will look to build on their stunning win over Real when they face Gael Kakuta and Gilbert Imbula’s Rayo Vallecano on Friday night in the first match of the round, Sofiane Boufal’s Celta de Vigo will chase a home win over Huesca, and Thomas Partey’s Atletico Madrid face a potential banana skin away to Girona, who should have Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou between the sticks.
Key match stats
Barcelona v Villarreal – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 40
Barca wins 23
Villarreal wins 8
Draws 9
Real Madrid v Valencia – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 54
Real wins 29
Valencia wins 12
Draws 13
Deportivo Alaves v Sevilla – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 14
Alaves wins 4
Sevilla wins 7
Draws 3
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