LaLiga matchday 24 preview & predicted lineups

Real Madrid vs Girona takes centre stage this weekend, a top of the table clash that will give us a good indicator as to whether or not we’re going to get a real title race. Elsewhere, Atleti visit Sevilla, Barca are at home to Granada while Athletic Club visit rock bottom Almeria. Here’s our full 2023/24 LaLiga matchday 24 preview with predicted lineups for all 20 clubs and win probabilities for every game.

LaLiga matchday 24 preview – Predicted lineups

Friday 9th February 2024

21:00 – Cadiz vs Real Betis

0-0 and 0-0. That’s the story of Cadiz so far under Mauricio Pellegrino. They’ve added Juanmi to try to bring a bit more goal threat and he may even start against his parent club here for Cadiz who have no new injuries.

It’s all change at Betis in an attacking sense with Borja Iglesias also departing in January. Isco has picked up an injury which will rule him out for a month which is a massive blow for Manuel Pellegrini who may hand a full debut to Pablo Fornals whose paperwork has finally been completed allowing him to join from West Ham.

Possible Lineups

Cadiz: Ledesma – Pires, Chust, Fali, Iza – Escalante, Alcaraz – Juanmi, Navarro, Alejo – Ramos (4-2-3-1)

Real Betis: Rui Silva – Miranda, Riad, Pezzella, Bellerin – Roca, Cardoso – Assane, Fekir, Fornals – Willian Jose (4-2-3-1)

Saturday 10th February 2024

14:00 – Alaves vs Villarreal

Alaves lost 3-1 to Barcelona last weekend but we shouldn’t see many changes to that eleven although Abdel Abqar may regain his place in central defence following his AFCON involvement.

Villarreal have looked a bit more convincing in recent weeks. They have Dani Parejo fit again but the veteran midfielder may face a battle to get his place back in this side while Goncalo Guedes is pushing for a start over Alexander Sorloth as the second striker alongside Gerard Moreno.

Possible Lineups

Alaves: Sivera – Javi Lopez, Abqar, Marin, Tenaglia – Blanco, Guevara – Sola, Guridi, Rioja – Omorodion (4-2-3-1)

Villarreal: Jorgensen – Moreno, Cuenca, Albiol, Femenia – Baena, Coquelin, Comesana, Akhomach – Guedes, Gerard Moreno (4-4-2)

16:15 – Real Sociedad vs Osasuna

Real Sociedad played in the Copa del Rey Semi-Finals on Tuesday and they travel to Paris for a huge Champions League game this coming week. That means rotation is very likely here from Imanol and with plenty of injuries to his depth players, we could see a number of younger players start.

Osasuna meanwhile come into this following a 3-0 home loss to Celta. Jagoba Arrasate may well consider changes but it wasn’t quite as bad as the scoreline suggested so he’s unlikely to press the panic button. Jose Arnaiz is the only expected injury absentee for the visitors.

Possible Lineups

Real Sociedad: Remiro – Galan, Pacheco, Zubeldia, Aramburu – Turrientes, Zubimendi, Olasagasti – Barrenetxea, Silva, Zakharyan (4-3-3)

Osasuna: Herrera – Cruz, David Garcia, Catena – Mojica, Oroz, Muñoz, Moi Gomez, Areso – Raul Garcia, Budimir (3-5-2)

18:30 – Real Madrid vs Girona

This is the top two showdown and Real Madrid head into it with a central defensive selection crisis. David Alaba and Eder Militao are out long-term and with Nacho and Antonio Rudiger both carrying knocks, it’s possible they could be without their four main centre-back options. Aurelien Tchouameni returns from a ban and looks certain to start as one of the central defenders here with Los Blancos hopeful Rudiger will recover. Vinicius Junior is expected to be fit despite breaking down in the warm-up last weekend having initially been named in the starting eleven.

Girona have problems of their own though. Boss Michel serves a touchline ban while Daley Blind and Yangel Herrera picked up very untimely bookings last weekend ensuring they’ll miss this game. Juanpe and Arnau Martinez appear to be fighting for a place in central defence but the good news for the Catalans is that striker Artem Dovbyk has shaken off an injury and should start.

Possible Lineups

Real Madrid: Lunin – Mendy, Tchouameni, Rudiger, Carvajal – Kroos, Camavinga, Valverde – Bellingham – Vinicius, Rodrygo (4-3-1-2)

Girona: Gazzaniga – Miguel, Eric Garcia, Juanpe, Couto – Aleix Garcia, Ivan Martin – Savio, Portu, Tsygankov – Dovbyk (4-2-3-1)

21:00 – Las Palmas vs Valencia

Las Palmas feel like one of the most settled teams in the league and the main decision here for Garcia Pimienta is whether or not to immediately recall Julian Araujo at right back after a lengthy four game ban.

Valencia have lost Diego Lopez to injury with Fran Perez likely to fill in. They also have a pretty settled team right now with five wins in their last six matches.

Possible Lineups

Las Palmas: Valles – Cardona, Marmol, Alex Suarez, Araujo – Kirian, Perrone, Munoz – Moleiro, Sandro, Munir (4-3-3)

Valencia: Mamardashvili – Gaya, Diakhaby, Mosquera, Foulquier – Guerra, Pepelu, Guillamon, Fran Perez – Duro, Yaremchuk (4-4-2)

Sunday 11th February 2024

14:00 – Getafe vs Celta Vigo

Just the one suspension for Getafe this weekend with Gaston Alvarez sidelined. They’re doing alright on the injury front, although central midfield is a bit of a problem area with Mauro Arambarri out long-term and new signing Ilaix Moriba joining with an injury. They’re hopeful Nemanja Maksimovic will be fit enough to start having missed the trip to Betis.

Rafa Benitez has chopped and changed in recent weeks in pursuit of the winning formula that has proven elusive for much of his Celta reign. He appeared to strike gold last week with a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 system firing them to victory in Pamplona. Iago Aspas was on the bench for that game and is unlikely to regain his place here with an unchanged eleven possible.

Possible Lineups

Getafe: Soria – Rico, Alderete, Djene, Iglesias – Mata, Milla, Maksimovic, Greenwood – Latasa, Mayoral (4-4-2)

Celta Vigo: Guaita – Dominguez, Nuñez, Jailson – Ristic, Beltran, Tapia, Manquillo – De La Torre, Larsen, Mingueza (3-4-3)

16:15 – Mallorca vs Rayo Vallecano

Mallorca were in cup action in midweek but they don’t play the return leg of their Semi-Final with Real Sociedad until later in the month so we’re unlikely to see much rotation on Sunday. With Cyle Larin suspended, Vedat Muriqi should start up front.

Rayo should be at full strength for the trip to Palma. The pressure is building on Francisco but there’s not huge depth to this squad so we’re unlikely to see huge changes from the 2-1 defeat to Sevilla on Monday, although it’s likely at least one of Oscar Trejo, Jorge De Frutos and Raul De Tomas will come in to freshen things up.

Possible Lineups

Mallorca: Rajkovic – Copete, Raillo, Valjent – Lato, Antonio, Samu, Morlanes, Giovanni – Dani Rodriguez – Muriqi (3-5-1-1)

Rayo Vallecano: Dimitrievski – Espino, Lejeune, Aridane, Balliu – Ciss, Valentin – Alvaro Garcia, Trejo, Isi Palazon – Camello (4-2-3-1)

18:30 – Sevilla vs Atletico Madrid

Quique Sanchez Flores wasted no time in putting AFCON returnee Youssef En-Nesyri back into the eleven and he was rewarded with a brace in Vallecas last time out as Sevilla won to ease their relegation concerns. They are boosted by the returns of Sergio Ramos and Suso this weekend too with both likely to start.

Atletico Madrid may mix things up a bit after losing the 1st Leg of their Copa del Rey Semi-Final against Athletic Club on Thursday. Alvaro Morata and Marcos Llorente should return to the eleven while Saul serves a suspension.

Possible Lineups

Sevilla: Nyland – Acuna, Ramos, Bade, Navas – Ocampos, Soumare, Sow, Suso – Romero, En-Nesyri (4-4-2)

Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Hermoso, Witsel, Savic – Lino, Koke, De Paul, Llorente, Molina – Griezmann, Morata (3-5-2)

21:00 – Barcelona vs Granada

Barcelona have finally had a midweek rest for the first time in 2024 which should allow them to approach this game feeling a bit fresher. They used Andreas Christensen as a holding midfielder at Alaves last weekend and Xavi could name the same eleven here. Marc-Andre ter Stegen is training again though, so the soon to be ex-Barca boss will need to decide whether he’s ready to return in goal in place of Iñaki Peña.

Granada are missing both Kamil Piatkowski and Gonzalo Villar to suspensions. Striker Lucas Boye is another big absentee and with Bryan Zaragoza no longer at the club, recently appointed Alexander Medina has a huge job on his hands, both in this match and for the remainder of the season.

Possible Lineups

Barcelona: Peña – Cancelo, Cubarsi, Araujo, Kounde – Gundogan, Christensen, De Jong – Pedri, Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal (4-3-3)

Granada: Batalla – Neva, Miquel, Bruno Mendez, Ricard – Gumbau, Ruiz, Hongla – Pellistri, Uzuni, Corbeanu (4-3-3)

Monday 12th February 2024

21:00 – Almeria vs Athletic Club

Almeria are still winless after losing again at Valencia last time out and they’ve an extra selection headache here with striker Leo Baptistao starting a two game ban. They have added free agent Jonathan Viera who could add some creativity and quality in midfield but he may not be ready to start this game having gone months without football after his abrupt departure from Las Palmas earlier in the campaign.

The Copa del Rey is now a big priority for Athletic Club who are in pole position to reach the Final after winning at the Estadio Metropolitano in the 1st Leg of their Semi-Final. Playing Monday should help them recover in time for this game, but they’re still likely to be without regulars Gorka Guruzeta and Nico Williams who have both picked up injuries.

Possible Lineups

Almeria: Maximiano – Centelles, Chumi, Montes, Pubill – Lopy, Robertone, Edgar – Embarba, Lozano, Arribas (4-3-3)

Athletic Club: Simon – Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, De Marcos – Vesga, Galarreta – Berenguer, Sancet, Iñaki Williams – Villalibre (4-2-3-1)