LaLiga 2024/25 matchday 3 predicted lineups

The Spanish top flight heads straight into its first midweek matchday of the campaign with nine games spread out between Monday and Thursday. Real Betis are in Conference League action, so their game against Getafe will be played at a later date. Here are our LaLiga predicted lineups for matchday 3.

LaLiga predicted lineups – Matchday 3

Monday 26th August 2024

21:30 – Villarreal vs Celta Vigo

After winning in Seville on Friday, it’s straight into Monday night action for Villarreal and Marcelino is expected to ring the changes. His squad now has real depth to it, so rotation could be a recurring theme this term, with even key players over the past few years such as Dani Parejo and Gerard Moreno now looking like they may come in and out. Both should return to the lineup against Celta, while Ayoze Perez is targeting a first start, after he scored the winner off the bench at the Sanchez-Pizjuan.

Villarreal predicted lineup: Conde – Cardona, Kambwala, Femenia – Ayoze, Parejo, Gueye, Yeremi – Danjuma, Gerard Moreno (4-4-2)

Claudio Giraldez opted to stick with Ivan Villar in goal on Friday, despite the availability of Vicente Guaita. After two victories, he could opt for a similar strategy here. Some rotation is expected elsewhere though, with Borja Iglesias and Jonathan Bamba strong candidates to rotate in to freshen up the attack. There may also be alterations in defence and midfield despite the strong start.

Celta Vigo predicted lineup: Villar – Starfelt, Jailson, Manquillo – Mingueza, Moriba, Beltran, Alvarez – Bamba, Aspas – Iglesias (3-4-2-1)

Tuesday 27th August 2024

19:00 – Mallorca vs Sevilla

Jagoba Arrasate suffered defeat on his return to El Sadar at the weekend, to take the shine off Mallorca’s promising draw against Real Madrid on matchday one. He tended to rotate his goalkeepers in midweek games when he was Osasuna boss, so a start for Leo Roman is very possible here. Cyle Larin and Antonio are perhaps the strongest options for rotation elsewhere while Jose Copete may get an opportunity in defence.

Mallorca predicted lineup: Roman – Mojica, Raillo, Copete, Maffeo – Antonio, Morlanes – Dani Rodriguez, Darder, Larin – Muriqi (4-2-3-1)

Sevilla are another team to have added real depth to their squad this summer. Whether they’ve brought in enough quality remains to be seen, but after one point from two games, new boss Garcia Pimienta is likely to make changes in Palma, one of which will be enforced by Lucas Ocampos’ injury. Isaac Romero has also been struggling with a minor issue, so we may see a first Sevilla start for Kelechi Iheanacho.

Sevilla predicted lineup: Nyland – Pedrosa, Gudelj, Bade, Navas – Agoume, Saul, Sow – Lukebakio, Iheanacho, Ejuke (4-3-3)

21:30 – Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona

Rayo have a good recent record in this fixture, which suggests they have every chance on Tuesday night in Vallecas. They’ve announced the surprise signing of James Rodriguez this week. The Colombian could make a huge difference to this team, but won’t feature in this match. It’s four points from two games so far for Rayo, but we could still see a few alterations here with Alvaro Garcia and Sergio Camello strong candidates to rotate in. Raul de Tomas and Andrei Ratiu are injury concerns again.

Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup: Cardenas – Chavarria, Mumin, Lejeune, Balliu – Valentin, Ciss – Alvaro Garcia, Unai Lopez, Isi Palazon – Camello (4-2-3-1)

Despite fresh sales, Barcelona still haven’t got Dani Olmo registered, and it remains unclear whether they’ll be able to do that in time for the trip to Vallecas. With five missing due to injury, Hansi Flick has limited senior options for rotation, but may recall Marc Casado to the eleven. Fermi Lopez looks likely to make his first start of the season, while Flick must also decide whether he feels Pedri is ready to start again having clocked up 90 minutes against Athletic on Saturday.

Barcelona predicted lineup: Ter Stegen – Balde, Martinez, Cubarsi, Kounde – Pedri, Casado – Raphinha, Fermin, Lamine Yamal – Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)

Wednesday 28th August 2024

19:00 – Real Valladolid vs Leganes

Real Valladolid beat Espanyol on matchday one and they host the other team that was promoted with them from the Segunda Division on matchday three. A number of players dropped to the bench for the trip to the Bernabeu on Saturday, most likely with this game in mind. The eleven here may simply revert back to the side that started and won the season opener.

Real Valladolid predicted lineup: Hein – Rosa, Javi Sanchez, Boyomo, Luis Perez – Moro, Kike Perez, Comert, Amallah, Amath – Sylla (4-5-1)

All’s good with Leganes right now with no injuries and four points already on the board on their return to the top flight. Borja Jimenez dropped wide players Juan Cruz and Enric Franquesa to the bench against Las Palmas, but both came off the bench to score and both may rotate back in for this game. Major alterations are not expected with Marko Dmitrovic potentially having to bide his time before he gets an opportunity in goal.

Leganes predicted lineup: Soriano – Javi Hernandez, Arambarri, Sergio, Rosier – Neyou, Brasanac, Cisse – Franquesa, Miguel, Juan Cruz

19:00 – Athletic Club vs Valencia

Athletic are still waiting for their first win of the new campaign after a weekend defeat in Barcelona. Nico Williams is a fitness concern, so Alex Berenguer may keep his place for this match. Julen Agirrezabala could also get the nod over Alex Padilla in goal, having been fit enough to make the bench in Barcelona.

Athletic Club predicted lineup: Agirrezabala – Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, Gorosabel – Prados, Herrera – Berenguer, Sancet, Iñaki Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)

These are slightly concerning times for Valencia who have lost their opening two fixtures, following on from a poor end to last season. Giorgi Mamardashvili has agreed a move to Liverpool but will be loaned back to Los Che and should still start this match. Luis Rioja looks likely to make his first start after moving from Alaves, while there could be one or two other changes with Hugo Guillamon potentially coming into the midfield.

Valencia predicted lineup: Mamardashvili – Jesus Vazquez, Yarek, Mosquera, Foulquier – Almeida, Pepelu, Guillamon – Rioja, Duro, Diego Lopez (4-3-3)

21:30 – Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol

Atleti put three past Girona on Sunday in an impressive display and they look to have a bit more quality on their sub’s bench than has been the case in recent years. That should lead to Diego Simeone rotating in midweek fixtures like this with Alexander Sorloth and Conor Gallagher both potentially coming in for their first starts at the Estadio Metropolitano after agreeing recent moves. Axel Witsel, Koke, Nahuel Molina and Reinildo are also strong options for rotation here, with Simeone keen to keep players fresh ahead of a tough weekend trip to Bilbao where they lost twice last term.

Atletico Madrid predicted lineup: Oblak – Reinildo, Le Normand, Witsel – Lino, Gallagher, Koke, Molina – Griezmann, Alvarez – Sorloth (3-4-2-1)

It’s played two, lost two for newly promoted Espanyol and they won’t be expected to get anything here. Coach Manolo Gonzalez may have one eye on the weekend when they host Rayo Vallecano in a key game at the RCDE Stadium that they could really do with winning. This is something of a free hit by comparison, and we may also see the visitors freshen things up with some rotation.

Espanyol predicted lineup: Joan Garcia – Gomez, Kumbulla, El Hilali – Olivan, Kral, Aguado, Tejero – Puado, Cardona – Veliz (3-4-2-1)

21:30 – Real Sociedad vs Alaves

Take Kubo came off the bench to score a fine winner at Espanyol at the weekend and should be rewarded with a start here. They have a number of injury concerns with Ander Barrenetxea, Aritz Elustondo, Jon Pacheco and Arsen Zakharyan all expected to miss this game. 18-year-old defeat Jon Martin could get a chance in defence as a result.

Real Sociedad predicted lineup: Remiro – Javi Lopez, Martin, Zubeldia, Traore – Turrientes, Zubimendi, Brais Mendez – Sergio Gomez, Oyarzabal, Kubo (4-3-3)

Alaves picked up a point at home to Betis at the weekend, despite a red card for the fit again Aleksandar Sedlar. He’s suspended here, but otherwise Luis Garcia should have a full squad to choose from. He’s a coach who is prone to rotation when the opportunity arises and we could see the likes of Luka Romero and Asier Villalibre come in here to try to spark some life into an attack that offered very little on Sunday.

Alaves predicted lineup: Sivera – Manu Sanchez, Diarra, Abqar, Novoa – Blanco, Benavidez – Carlos Martin, Guridi, Romero – Villalibre (4-2-3-1)

Thursday 29th August 2024

19:00 – Girona vs Osasuna

It was a difficult Sunday night in Madrid for Girona as they slipped to a 3-0 loss at the Estadio Metropolitano. Michel is expected to respond with changes and he could potentially hand full debuts to a number of his new signings that face the incredibly difficult task of living up to the high standards set by the likes of Savio and Artem Dovbyk last term. Bojan Miovski could potentially be preferred to Abel Ruiz up top, while Donny van de Beek is a fresh option in midfield. Record signing Yaser Asprilla should also be involved in the game, but may not start.

Girona predicted lineup: Gazzaniga – Miguel Gutierrez, Blind, Krejci, Arnau Martinez – Ivan Martin, Romeu, Van de Beek – Gil, Miovski, Tsygankov (4-3-3)

Osasuna got the better of their former boss on Saturday as Jagoba Arrasate’s Mallorca sunk to a 1-0 defeat at El Sadar. That was a real boost for Vicente Moreno as he bids to win over the Osasuna fanbase and he may opt for more continuity than some other La Liga bosses this midweek, with an unchanged eleven even a possibility given they’ve had four free days between the two matches.

Osasuna predicted lineup: Herrera – Bretones, Herrando, Catena, Areso – Torro, Moncayola – Bryan, Oroz, Ruben Garcia – Budimir (4-2-3-1)

21:30 – Las Palmas vs Real Madrid

Luis Carrion is chasing his first win as La Palmas boss and he’ll want a response here after a disappointing 2-1 defeat away to newly promoted Leganes. We could see a slightly more conservative midfield set-up given the calibre of the opposition which may see Alberto Moleiro drop out or shift out wide, although Sandro has scored in both matches so far and may keep his place on the left.

Las Palmas predicted lineup: Cillessen – Sinkgraven, Marmol, McKenna, Rozada – Kirian, Loiodice, Javier Muñoz – Sandro, McBurnie, Marvin (4-3-3)

Carlo Ancelotti has been pretty consistent with his selection so far this season, but we are likely to see changes in Gran Canaria on Thursday. Ferland Mendy returns from suspension and should start at left-back while Lucas Vazquez may come in on the opposite side. Luka Modric and Brahim Diaz may also rotate in. Endrick is also an option after his weekend goal if Ancelotti decides to give Kylian Mbappe a rest which is possible.

Real Madrid predicted lineup: Courtois – Mendy, Militao, Rudiger, Vazquez – Modric, Tchouameni, Valverde – Vini Jr, Mbappe, Brahim (4-3-3)