Fascinating matches are coming up in LaLiga Santander this weekend, as Real Madrid play Real Betis at 4am on Sunday morning, while champions Atlético de Madrid welcome Villarreal CF to the Spanish capital at 4am Monday morning.
Matchday 3 begins tonight with two recently promoted teams as RCD Mallorca host RCD Espanyol at 2am followed by Valencia CF face D. Alavés at 4.15am, as José Bordalás, the new boss of Los Che, takes on one of his former clubs.
At 11pm, Celta Vigo will play Athletic Club, two clubs who fell just short of European qualification last season but who are both aspiring to return to the continent now that their coaches Eduardo Coudet and Marcelino have a full season at the helm.
Top-of-the-table Sevilla FC travel to Elche CF and will play at 1.30am on Sunday morning as they aim to continue their bright start. The Andalusian side lost this fixture last season during the title race run-in, so will know the dangers that Fran Escribá’s men pose.
But, with new signing Erik Lamela having already netted three goals, and with fellow new arrival Rafa Mir creating the winner last time out, confidence is high at Sevilla.
The other of the Saturday evening games is Real Sociedad vs Levante UD, two teams who like to attack. La Real have scored three goals so far and conceded four, while Levante have scored four and conceded four, so goals should be expected in this one given these two teams’ attacking philosophies.
At 4am Sunday morning, comes Real Betis vs Real Madrid. This is a huge fixture, mirroring the same encounter at the same stage of last season – when Real Madrid edged a thrilling 3-2 contest.
No matter what the score is this time around, Saturday’s meeting promises to be even more exciting because of the return of fans to the Benito Villamarín, famously one of the most atmospheric stadiums in Spain and Europe.
FC Barcelona will get Sunday’s slate of fixtures going when they welcome Getafe CF to the Camp Nou at 11pm.
With Barça missing a few players for this fixture, this could be a tricky test for the Blaugrana and Ronald Koeman may have to trust some of his rising stars against a Getafe side who have played better than their record of two defeats from two suggests.
Cádiz CF vs CA Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano vs Granada CF both will play at 1.30am early Monday, with all four of these clubs aware that the primary goal for this season is to secure their status in LaLiga Santander for next season.
There are some very interesting stylistic aspects to look out for in these couple of fixtures, such as Osasuna’s determination to fit as many forwards into their XI as possible this season, or the evolution of Granada’s new 4-3-3 formation under new coach Robert Moreno.
Matchday 3 reaches its conclusion at 4am Monday morning with Atlético de Madrid vs Villarreal CF, a clash of two sides who’ll be present in the Champions League group stages this year.
This fixture was a draw last year and, looking at their previous 15 meetings, there have been five wins each and five draws. It promises to be a very competitive matchup at the Wanda Metropolitano, one which could be decided by a moment of quality from star forwards Luis Suárez or Gerard Moreno, or from new signings Matheus Cunha and Arnaut Danjuma.
With fans in the stands cheering on Los Rojiblancos, this could be an epic night of LaLiga Santander football.
Watch LaLiga Santander live this weekend on beIN Sports channel.