Spanish football is back for the new year, with Rayo Vallecano hosting Getafe in the first LaLiga match of 2026. There’s also a big Catalan derby to look forward to this weekend.
Here are our LaLiga predicted lineups for matchday 18. All kick-off times are based on the local time in Spain. Players in bold are those considered to have the highest chance of starting (80% or more).
LaLiga predicted lineups – Matchday 18

Friday 2nd January 2026
21:00 – Rayo Vallecano vs Getafe
Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup
Batalla – Chavarria, Felipe, Lejeune, Ratiu – Valentin, U. Lopez – A. Garcia, Diaz, Palazon – Camello (4-2-3-1)
Getafe predicted lineup
Soria – Rico, Djene, Duarte, Iglesias, Femenia – Martin, Arambarri, Milla – Liso, Sancris (5-3-2)

Saturday 3rd January 2026
14:00 – Celta Vigo vs Valencia
Celta Vigo predicted lineup
Radu – Alonso, Starfelt, M. Fernandez – Mingueza, Moriba, Beltran, Rueda – Zaragoza, Swedberg – Iglesias (3-4-2-1)
Valencia predicted lineup
Agirrezabala – Gaya, Copete, Tarrega, Correia – Almeida, Pepelu, Guerra, Rioja – Beltran, Duro (4-4-2)
16:15 – Osasuna vs Athletic Club
Osasuna predicted lineup
Herrera – Galan, Catena, Herrando, Rosier – Moncayola, Torro – Ruben Garcia, Oroz, Muñoz – Budimir (4-2-3-1)
Athletic Club predicted lineup
Simon – Boiro, Vivian, Paredes, Gorosabel – Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta – N. Williams, Sancet, I. Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)
18:30 – Elche vs Villarreal
Elche predicted lineup
Peña – Bigas, Affengruber, Chust – Valera, Febas, Aguado, Nuñez, Josan – Mir, A. Rodriguez (3-5-2)
Villarreal predicted lineup
Junior – Cardona, Marin, Foyth, Mouriño – Moleiro, Comesaña, Parejo, Pepe – A. Perez, Mikautadze (4-4-2)
21:00 – Espanyol vs Barcelona
Espanyol predicted lineup
Dmitrovic – Romero, Cabrera, Calero, El Hilali – Lozano, Exposito, Gonzalez de Zarate – Milla, R. Fernandez, Dolan (4-3-3)
Barcelona predicted lineup
J. Garcia – Balde, Martin, Cubarsi, Kounde – Pedri, E. Garcia – Raphinha, Fermin, Yamal – Ferran (4-2-3-1)

Sunday 4th January 2026
14:00 – Sevilla vs Levante
Sevilla predicted lineup
Vlachodimos – Oso, Salas, Gudelj, Azpilicueta, Carmona – Agoume, Mendy, Sow – Alexis, Romero (5-3-2)
Levante predicted lineup
Ryan – Pampin, Moreno, De la Fuente, Toljan – Rey, Vencedor, Arriaga – P. Martinez, Romero, C. Alvarez (4-3-3)
16:15 – Real Madrid vs Real Betis
Real Madrid predicted lineup
Courtois – Carreras, Huijsen, Rudiger, Valverde – Guler, Tchouameni – Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo – G. Garcia (4-2-3-1)
Real Betis predicted lineup
Valles – Rodriguez, Natan, Bartra, Bellerin- Roca, Deossa – Ruibal, Fornals, Antony – C. Hernandez (4-2-3-1)
18:30 – Mallorca vs Girona
Mallorca predicted lineup
Roman – Mojica, Raillo, Valjent, Maffeo – S. Costa, Morlanes – Virgili, Darder, Joseph – Muriqi (4-2-3-1)
Girona predicted lineup
Gazzaniga – Moreno, Blind, Reis, Frances – Martin, Witsel, A. Martinez – Gil, Vanat, Tsygankov (4-3-3)
18:30 – Alaves vs Real Oviedo
Alaves predicted lineup
Sivera – Youssef, Pacheco, Tenaglia, Jonny – Ibañez, Blanco – Rebbach, D. Suarez, Vicente – T. Martinez (4-2-3-1)
Real Oviedo predicted lineup
Escandell – Alhassane, Bailly, Costas, Ahijado – Colombatto, Sibo – Chaira, Reina, Brekalo – Viñas (4-2-3-1)
21:00 – Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid
Real Sociedad predicted lineup
Remiro – Muñoz, Martin, Caleta-Car, Aramburu – Soler, Turrientes – Guedes, B. Mendez, Kubo – Oyarzabal (4-2-3-1)
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup
Oblak – Ruggeri, Hancko, Pubill, Llorente – Baena, Barrios, Koke, Simeone – Sorloth, Alvarez (4-4-2)
Mark Sochon is an experienced football writer and has been the editor of LaLigaExpert.com since 2018. Based in Madrid, he has been covering La Liga and Spanish football for more than a decade. Aside from writing most of the content here, he also covers La Liga and European competitions for Goal and Betfred, while his work has previously been published by the likes of the Guardian and World Soccer.
During his time in Spain, he has travelled up and down the country, attending matches in virtually every top-flight stadium. His areas of expertise include data-led match predictions and probability analysis, as well as Spanish football team news, with La Liga predicted lineups researched and published each week. | Follow Mark Sochon on X