Matchday 28 of the 2021/22 LaLiga Santander season will start and end with games featuring the two giants of the Spanish capital, with Atlético de Madrid vs Cádiz CF kickstarting the weekend’s action on Friday and with RCD Mallorca hosting Real Madrid on Monday.
Atlético de Madrid will be aiming to keep up their good run of form in their Friday night fixture at home to Cádiz CF, with Diego Simeone’s side having won each of their past three league matches. João Félix has scored three goals across these three games and is in excellent form, so will look to put on a show for the crowd at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano.
Saturday’s action then starts with Levante UD vs RCD Espanyol and this game could produce goals, as their meeting earlier in the season finished 4-3 to the Catalan side. In front of their home fans, bottom-placed Levante UD will be looking to keep up what had been a good recent run and maintain their belief in pulling off a great escape.
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Granada CF then have their first match since Robert Moreno was fired as coach, as the Andalusian side face Elche CF at home. Los Franjiverdes have improved since they decided to make a change in their own dugout, so Granada CF will now hope for a similar turnaround in their fortunes.
Later on Saturday evening, Villarreal CF will look to bounce back from what was a disappointing loss last weekend, as they invite RC Celta to the Estadio de la Cerámica. Gerard Moreno could be back from injury to face Iago Aspas’ side, which would make this a battle of the last two men to win the Zarra Trophy.
José Bordalás will then make an emotional return to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, where he achieved so much success with Getafe CF. The coach will be in the away dugout this time and hoping his Valencia CF team can secure the three points, with Getafe CF academy graduate Hugo Duro leading Los Che’s line against his parent club.
Sunday starts with tricky fixtures for the two clubs of Seville. First, Sevilla FC will visit Rayo Vallecano in Vallecas, which is still one of the most difficult stadiums to go to in LaLiga Santander, even if Rayo are on a poor run of form. Later, Real Betis will play at home against Athletic Club, which could be a decisive match in the race for European qualification.
There is then a Basque derby on Sunday evening with Real Sociedad vs Deportivo Alavés at the Reale Arena. This was a hard-fought 1-1 draw when these two outfits met earlier in the season and another close contest should be expected here as José Luis Mendilibar’s side seek points that can move them out of the relegation zone.
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FC Barcelona vs CA Osasuna is the Sunday night fixture, kicking off at 9pm CET at the Camp Nou. Xavi’s side are in great form and have now won three league games in a row, scoring 10 goals in the process, but the team from Navarre boast the third-most away victories in LaLiga Santander this season and they’ll be especially motivated after coach Jagoba Arrasate just signed a new contract.
The final fixture of Matchday 28 is RCD Mallorca vs Real Madrid, which will take place at 21:00 CET on Monday night. The last time the capital city side visited the island, RCD Mallorca achieved a 1-0 victory, so they’ll hope for a similar outcome this time around. For Takefusa Kubo, this Monday night game is an especially exciting challenge, as he’ll be taking on his parent club.
