2023/24 LaLiga Matchday 8 Preview & Predicted Lineups

The midweek action rolls straight into the weekend with some cracking games over the next few days. Barcelona have a rare Friday night outing against Sevilla. It’s 1st vs 2nd at Montilivi in a top of the table showdown between surprise leaders Girona and Real Madrid. It’s also Basque derby weekend with Real Sociedad hosting Athletic Club. Here’s our full 2023/24 LaLiga matchday 8 preview, complete with predicted lineups for every team and the best fantasy football picks.

LaLiga Matchday 8 Preview & Predicted Lineups

Friday 29th September 2023

21:00 – Barcelona vs Sevilla

Barcelona kick things off on Friday night as they entertain a Sevilla side that has found a bit of form after a slow start to the season. Xavi took a risk by resting Robert Lewandowski in midweek and it didn’t really pay off with his team held to a 2-2 draw with youngster Fermi Lopez netting the leveller. The Polish striker is sure to return on Friday for Barcelona who are short on options for midfield rotation with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong injured. Sevilla are expected to rotate once more with Champions League action to come next Tuesday.

Predicted Home Lineup: Ter Stegen – Balde, Christensen, Kounde, Roberto – Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi – Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha (4-3-3)

Predicted Away Lineup: Nyland – Pedrosa, Ramos, Bade, Navas – Fernando, Sow – Lukebakio, Rakitic, Suso – Mir (4-2-3-1)

Saturday 30th September 2023

14:00 – Getafe vs Villarreal

Getafe took a bruising point from their trip to Bilbao and will fancy their chances here against a struggling Villarreal side. Jose Bordalas’ team continue to cause problems from set pieces and crosses into the penalty area with Juanmi Latasa enjoying the service and that could cause issues for the visitors who look weak in defence and in goal. Gerard Moreno remains a doubt for Pacheta’s team after he missed the midweek home defeat against Girona.

Predicted Home Lineup: Soria – Rico, Alderete, Mitrovic, Damian Suarez – Alena, Djene, Maksimovic, Carmona – Mayoral, Latasa (4-4-2)

Predicted Away Lineup: Jorgensen – Moreno, Mandi, Gabbia, Foyth – Terrats, Parejo – Baena, Trigueros, Yeremi Pino – Sorloth (4-2-3-1)

16:15 – Rayo Vallecano vs Mallorca

Mallorca came close to upsetting the champions on Tuesday night in one of their best performances of what has been a slightly disappointing season to date. Cyle Larin missed another good chance to continue his slow start to life in Palma though and they travel to Vallecas without Pablo Maffeo who saw red against Barca. Rayo are likely to recall Raul de Tomas and Isi Palazon to their eleven after they were rested in midweek against Cadiz.

Predicted Home Lineup: Dimitrievski – Espino, Aridane, Lejeune, Balliu – Valentin, Unai Lopez – Alvaro Garcia, Kike Perez, Isi Palazon – De Tomas (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Rajkovic – Copete, Valjent, Nastacic – Costa, Morlanes, Samu, Giovanni – Darder – Prats, Muriqi (3-4-1-2)

18:30 – Girona vs Real Madrid

It’s 1st vs 2nd at Montilivi and it’s Girona who have the advantage after a stunning start to the season from Michel’s team. Win here and they’d really start to feel like a team who means business and they’ve every chance with Real Madrid struggling with defensive injuries that will see David Alaba miss this game. Vini Junior did return in midweek off the bench as Los Blancos beat Las Palmas and should start this match but it’s unclear who his strike partner will be with Rodrygo not enjoying his best spell of form.

Predicted Home Lineup: Gazzaniga – Blind, Eric Garcia, David Lopez, Arnau Martinez – Herrera, Aleix Garcia – Savio, Ivan Martin, Tsygankov – Dovbyk (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Kepa – Mendy, Nacho, Rudiger, Carvajal – Kroos, Tchouameni, Valverde – Bellingham – Vini Junior, Rodrygo (4-3-1-2)

21:00 – Real Sociedad vs Athletic Club

The Basque derby rounds off a super Saturday evening in LaLiga. Real Sociedad made wholesale changes in midweek, totally resting the likes of Take Kubo and Robin Le Normand but still somehow won at Valencia despite only having two shots in the whole game. It’ll be a much stronger eleven this weekend as they face an Athletic side that will be missing Oihan Sancet who saw red against Getafe in midweek. Nico Williams could be fit enough to get some minutes for the away team, but he’s highly unlikely to start.

Predicted Home Lineup: Remiro – Tierney, Le Normand, Zubeldia, Traore – Merino, Zubimendi, Brais Mendez – Barrenetxea, Oyarzabal, Kubo (4-3-3)

Predicted Away Lineup: Simon – Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, De Marcos – Dani Garcia, Vesga – Berenguer, Muniain, Iñaki Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)

Sunday 1st October 2023

14:00 – Almeria vs Granada

Reports suggested Vicente Moreno had been fired by Almeria following their 5-1 humiliation at Sevilla on Tuesday but there has not been official confirmation which only adds to the uncertainty at La Liga’s bottom club. Paco Lopez may get a bit more time at Granada but his team are only 2 points better off and this is a big pressure game for the league’s bottom two sides. Both have been very poor defensively so far this term which suggests we should get plenty of chances and a few goals in this game.

Predicted Home Lineup: Maximiano – Akieme, Montes, Edgar, Chumi – Baba, Lopy – Embarba, Melero, Arribas – Luis Suarez (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Ferreira – Neva, Miquel, Torrente, Ricard – Villar, Gumbau – Bryan, Melendo, Callejon – Boye (4-4-2)

16:15 – Alaves vs Osasuna

Osasuna’s slightly unconvincing start to the season continued with a defeat on Thursday against Atletico Madrid with Chimy Avila’s red card compounding a miserable night. Their new signings haven’t really contributed much either yet and this is a big game for both sides with both on 7 points from 7 games. Home boss Luis Garcia must decide whether to keep faith with teenager Samu Omorodion who scored in the midweek draw in Vigo or recall Kike Garcia who was rested in that game.

Predicted Home Lineup: Sivera – Duarte, Abqar, Sedlar, Tenaglia – Benavidez, Guevara – Rioja, Blanco, Alkain – Omorodion (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Herrera – Mojica, David Garcia, Catena, Pena – Munoz, Moncayola – Ruben Garcia, Aimar Oroz, Kike Barja – Budimir (4-2-3-1)

21:00 – Real Betis vs Valencia

Real Betis and Valencia meet on Sunday. The hosts are struggling defensively with Marc Bartra’s injury compounding what was already a shortage of centre-backs. He’s nearing fitness at least now but they have a problem at the other end too with Willian Jose injured and Borja Iglesias out of form. Los Che should have got something from their clash with Real Sociedad in midweek and are expected to be without captain Jose Gaya here due to an injury.

Predicted Home Lineup: Bravo – Miranda, Riad, Pezzella, Bellerin – Guido Rodriguez, Roca – Abde Ez, Isco, Rodri – Ayoze Perez (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Mamardashvili – Cenk, Gabriel, Diakhaby, Mosquera – Pepelu, Guerra – Diego Lopez, Almeida, Fran Perez – Duro (4-2-3-1)

21:00 – Atletico Madrid vs Cadiz

Atletico Madrid have had a great week on the pitch with wins over Real Madrid and Osasuna but their selection issues are mounting and it’s going to take a big push for them to get through to the international break without any slip-ups. They could be without as many as 10 players here. The main shortage is up top with Memphis Depay and Angel Correa injured while Alvaro Morata is suspended. They should still get by though at home against a Cadiz side that is also likely to be missing a few important players.

Predicted Home Lineup: Oblak – Hermoso, Witsel, Gimenez – Lino, Saul, Koke, Llorente, Molina – Riquelme – Griezmann (3-5-1-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Ledesma – Javi Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Fali, Zaldua – Machis, Alcaraz, Kouame, Navarro – Ramos, Maxi Gomez (4-4-2)

Monday 2nd October 2023

21:00 – Las Palmas vs Celta Vigo

This is another big game at the bottom between two teams who have only won once. Las Palmas are boosted by the return of centre-back Mika Marmol who missed the defeat to Real Madrid. Celta meanwhile failed to register a shot on target in the draw with Alaves with their goal scored by an opposition player. Rafa Benitez resisted the urge to rotate his team in midweek but it was a flat performance and he will be forced into at least one change here with Luca de la Torre suspended.

Predicted Home Lineup: Valles – Cardona, Marmol, Alex Suarez, Araujo – Kirian Rodriguez, Loiodice, Perrone – Viera, Kaba, Munir (4-3-3)

Predicted Away Lineup: Villar – Aidoo, Nuñez, Starfelt – Ristic, Tapia, Beltran, Mingueza – Bamba, Aspas – Larsen (3-4-2-1)

LaLiga Matchday 8 Fantasy Football Picks

Sorare Cap Picks via @SorareLALIGA

Injuries present opportunities to a number of players with low L15 scores this weekend and one of the safest picks looks like Rodrigo Riquelme who could play just off Antoine Griezmann in attack for Atletico Madrid with an L15 of 30.

We’ve gone with five players with really low averages this week which could be good options in a Cap 220 team with Ivan Villar, Sergio Akieme and Florian Lejeune benefiting from favourable fixtures. Meanwhile Juanmi Latasa is in decent form and could exploit Villarreal’s problems in central defence for what is currently a surprisingly free-scoring Getafe team.

If you’re not on Sorare, sign up here to get a free Limited card after your 5th purchase on the primary market. You can also simply play for free by entering the LaLiga Amateur competition each week.

Full Team Stack: Oblak (51) | Gimenez (50) | Koke (48) | Llorente (51) | Griezmann (66)

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are the only two very clear favourites this weekend but rotation risks still make it tricky when it comes to picking five starters. Atleti’s significant injury problems at least narrow the options down and make that task a bit easier so they may be a better bet for anyone looking for a full LaLiga team stack.

The above lineup could easily be fitted into a Cap 270 team while you could potentially go down the Rodrigo Riquelme route and maybe make one other change to create a Cap 240 team that could score big if Atleti don’t concede and dominate the match as they’d still be expected to do against Cadiz.