2023/24 LaLiga Matchday 9 Preview & Predicted Lineups

It’s the final weekend before the latest international break and we have Real Madrid, Barcelona and Girona all hoping to go into it in 1st place. The standout fixture is 4th vs 5th though with Atletico Madrid hosting Real Sociedad after both recorded midweek Champions League wins. Here’s our full 2023/24 LaLiga matchday 9 preview, complete with predicted lineups for every team and the best fantasy football picks.

There are also details of this weekend’s LaLiga special weekly fantasy tournament on Sorare with a chance to win tickets to El Clasico and LaLiga jerseys. Sign up to Sorare to get involved.

LaLiga Matchday 9 Preview & Predicted Lineups

Friday 7th October 2023

21:00 – Athletic Club vs Almeria

Managerless Almeria are in disarray, blowing a three goal lead last weekend to stay winless and rock bottom and to top it off Luis Suarez, who scored all their goals against Granada last time out, is now out injured for the foreseeable future. They have a host of other problems here as they look towards appointing Veljko Paunovic as their new boss. Athletic were on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline in the Basque derby last weekend but will certainly fancy their chances of bouncing back here.

Predicted Home Lineup: Simon – Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, De Marcos – Dani Garcia, Herrera – Berenguer, Sancet, Nico Williams – Iñaki Williams (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Maximiano – Akieme, Kaiky, Chumi, Pozo – Edgar, Lopy – Ramazani, Melero, Arribas – Kone (4-2-3-1)

Saturday 8th October 2023

14:00 – Cadiz vs Girona

Girona’s stunning start was brought to a sudden halt by Real Madrid but they’ll briefly at least return to the top with victory here. They’ve been hit with an injury blow with Victor Tsygankov out until November but should still take confidence into this game against Cadiz who have gone 4 without a win since their own impressive start.

Predicted Home Lineup: Ledesma – Javi Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Fali, Iza Carcelen – Machis, Alcaraz, Escalante, Alejo – Ramos, Maxi Gomez (4-4-2)

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

16:15 – Real Madrid vs Osasuna

Real Madrid have had a great week with two impressive road wins but Carlo Ancelotti has selection headaches here which could potentially force Dani Carvajal to play in central defence if David Alaba cannot recover in time. The Italian must also decide whether to recall Joselu up top or stick with the misfiring Rodrygo. They’ll expect a test against mid-table Osasuna who have Chimy Avila back from his latest ban.

Predicted Home Lineup: Kepa – Camavinga, Rudiger, Carvajal, Vazquez – Kroos, Tchouameni, Valverde – Bellingham – Vini Junior, Joselu (4-3-1-2)

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

18:30 – Mallorca vs Valencia

This has the makings of an even game with Mallorca and Valencia looking like they are operating on a similar kind of level. The hosts are likely to persist with Muriqi and Prats up top which should mean another bench outing for Cyle Larin. Valencia are still missing key man and captain Jose Gaya and will be hoping for a response after a really poor 3-0 loss at Betis last weekend.

Predicted Home Lineup: Rajkovic – Lato, Valjent, Nastacic, Giovanni – Samu, Darder, Antonio – Dani Rodriguez – Prats, Muriqi (4-3-1-2)

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

21:00 – Sevilla vs Rayo Vallecano

Sevilla have come through the other side of their early season storm and are looking a bit more like the team that went all the way in the Europa League again last term. Dodi Lukebakio has emerged as a real threat on their left flank and they were seconds away from a Champions League away win against PSV in midweek. Rayo Vallecano can be a threat on their day and they’ve recovered pretty well from their 7-0 mauling at the hands of Atleti a few weeks back. Even with a new boss, it remains unclear whether Raul De Tomas or Sergio Camello is their main striker.

Predicted Home Lineup: Nyland – Acuna, Ramos, Bade, Juanlu – Rakitic, Sow – Lukebakio, Suso, Ocampos – En Nesyri (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Dimitrievski – Espino, Aridane, Lejeune, Balliu – Valentin, Ciss – Alvaro Garcia, Kike Perez, Isi Palazon – Camello (4-2-3-1)

Sunday 8th October 2023

14:00 – Villarreal vs Las Palmas

Villarreal picked up a morale boosting win over Rennes on Thursday after a brilliant performance from Filip Jorgensen earned them a point at Getafe last weekend. They could do with backing that up here as they’re in danger of falling well adrift of the European places. Alex Baena starts a two game ban while Gerard Moreno is expected to be available despite playing no part in Europe. They face a Las Palmas side that is yet to score away but did stage a dramatic late fightback to beat Celta on Monday.

Predicted Home Lineup: Jorgensen – Pedraza, Gabbia, Albiol, Femenia – Capoue, Parejo – Baena, Gerard Moreno, Yeremi Pino – Sorloth (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Valles – Cardona, Marmol, Alex Suarez, Lemos – Kirian Rodriguez, Loiodice, Munoz – Viera, Kaba, Munir (4-3-3)

16:15 – Atletico Madrid vs Real Sociedad

This is the standout fixture with two Champions League participants meeting. Atletico Madrid still have a host of injury problems with the participation of five players uncertain at this stage. Real Sociedad are in much better shape selection wise with a clear best XI starting to emerge with Mikel Oyarzabal looking the most likely striker while Take Kubo continues to excel on the right flank. This should be a high quality game between two good sides.

Predicted Home Lineup: Oblak – Hermoso, Witsel, Azpilicueta – Lino, De Paul, Koke, Llorente, Molina – Griezmann, Morata (3-5-2)

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

18:30 – Alaves vs Real Betis

Despite losing their last two in Vitoria, Alaves have been competing well at home and they are capable of asking questions of Betis here. The home team will have to cope without the suspended Antonio Blanco while the visitors are still missing key man Nabil Fekir, although Isco’s form raises questions about how Fekir will fit into the side when he’s available. The man of the moment for Betis is 18 year old Assane Diao who has scored in each of their last 3 games.

Predicted Home Lineup: Sivera – Duarte, Marin, Sedlar, Gorosabel – Guridi, Guevara – Rioja, Hagi, Sola – Kike Garcia (4-2-3-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Bravo – Miranda, Bartra, Pezzella, Bellerin – Guido Rodriguez, Roca – Ayoze Perez, Isco, Assane – Willian Jose (4-2-3-1)

18:30 – Celta Vigo vs Getafe

It’s just 5 points from 8 games now for Rafa Benitez’s Celta which makes this a massive fixture heading into the international break. Benitez dropped Iago Aspas last time out and with no goals since March, there are now serious doubts about the 36 year old Celta legend’s place in this team. Getafe continue to scrap and pick up points but Jose Bordalas still feels like another coach who is trying to find his best eleven, particularly in terms of attacking options.

Predicted Home Lineup: Villar – Aidoo, Nuñez, Starfelt – Manu Sanchez, De La Torre, Beltran, Mingueza – Bamba, Douvikas – Larsen (3-4-2-1)

Predicted Away Lineup: Soria – Rico, Gaston, Mitrovic, Damian Suarez – Arambarri, Djene, Maksimovic – Greenwood, Mayoral, Alena (4-3-3)

21:00 – Granada vs Barcelona

Granada and Barcelona round off the weekend at Los Carmenes. The hosts are leaking goals all over the place but the away team’s chances of capitalising are hampered by the absence of Robert Lewandowski who went off injured at Porto in midweek. Ferran Torres came off the bench to net the winner in that particular game and should certainly start here.

Predicted Home Lineup: Ferreira – Neva, Miquel, Torrente, Rubio, Ricard – Villar, Gumbau, Sergio Ruiz – Uzuni, Boye (5-3-2)

Predicted Away Lineup: Ter Stegen – Balde, Christensen, Kounde, Cancelo – Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi – Felix, Ferran, Lamine Yamal (4-3-3)

LaLiga Matchday 9 Fantasy Football Picks

Sorare Cap Picks via @SorareLALIGA

You can find two almost certain starters at Real Madrid this week with very low L15 averages and Vini Junior is surely a must draft if you’re playing LaLiga Amateur at a cost of the minimum 40.

Elsewhere Dani Parejo should be on set pieces with Alex Baena suspended and should score well against newly promoted Las Palmas. Ivan Villar also stands out with an L15 of 38 up against Getafe at home, although there’s a small chance he could lose his place at some point which is something to consider.

El Clasico Special Weekly – Who are the safest and cheapest picks?

If you’re playing the El Clasico Special, you’ll need 2023/24 cards from the big two in LaLiga to enter. It’s not too late to buy them, but you may need to pay over the market rate at this late stage with the top prizes of VIP tickets to Barcelona-Real Madrid obviously very attractive.

At Real Madrid, the safest picks that are also somewhat affordable look like Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal. There’s also a chance that both Lucas Vazquez and Joselu start if you’re prepared to take a punt, but they’d both fall into the risky pick category.

Over at Barcelona, Oriol Romeu is perhaps the standout “cheap” option who should start the game. Ferran Torres also looks certain to play in Robert Lewandowski’s absence while injuries also mean rotation options are limited in midfield which should see Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan also keep their places.

Full Team Stack: Ter Stegen (55) – Cancelo (54) – Gundogan (61) – Felix (55) – Ferran Torres (47)

Even without Lewandowski, if there’s one team that could run riot this weekend it’s probably Barcelona against a poor Granada defence that has let in 21 in 8 games so far this term, the joint worst record in the league.

An attacking stack of Gundogan, Felix and Ferran may be the way to go while Joao Cancelo is also likely to offer a real decisive threat having seemingly forged his way into Barcelona’s best lineup.