La Liga 2024/25 matchday 2 predicted lineups

After an opening weekend that saw every team, with the exception of newly promoted Espanyol, score at least one goal, there’s plenty to look forward to in Spain over the next few days. Atleti host Girona in a top four showdown from last season in perhaps the pick of the fixtures. Here are our LaLiga predicted lineups for matchday 2.

LaLiga predicted lineups – Matchday 2

Friday 23rd August 2024

19:00 – Celta Vigo vs Valencia

Williot Swedberg came off the bench to help inspire a Celta comeback win last time out. He has more goals (6) in LaLiga than he does starts (4), but could be rewarded with a role from the off here. Vicente Guaita is also available again following injury, but it’s not totally clear whether he’ll start the game with Ivan Villar hoping to keep his place for at least another match.

Celta Vigo predicted lineup: Guaita – Mingueza, Dominguez, Jailson, Manquillo – Swedberg, Damian, Beltran, Alvarez – Douvikas, Aspas (4-4-2)

Despite the transfer speculation, both Giorgi Mamardashvili and Javi Guerra started on the opening weekend. Mamardashvili is close to joining Liverpool, but is expected to stay at Valencia on loan this season where he’ll almost certainly be the number one. Sergi Canos, Jose Gaya and Fran Perez are still injured and will miss this game.

Valencia predicted lineup: Mamardashvili – Jesus Vazquez, Yarek, Mosquera, Correia – Almeida, Pepelu, Guerra, Diego Lopez – Mir, Duro (4-4-2)

21:30 – Sevilla vs Villarreal

Garcia Pimienta’s reign as Sevilla boss started with a 2-2 draw at his old club Las Palmas. He has more options available this weekend, including summer arrival Saul who is back from a ban and should be a key figure in midfield for the Andalusians this term. Loic Bade was a surprise exclusion in Gran Canaria, but could return in central defence for this one. There’s competition for places in a number of positions though, so it may be a while before we see anything like an established starting lineup at Sevilla.

Sevilla predicted lineup: Nyland – Pedrosa, Gudelj, Bade, Juanlu – Agoume, Saul, Sow – Lukebakio, Romero, Ocampos (4-3-3)

It was a promising start for Villarreal who gave a good account of themselves in the 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid despite some key departures this summer. Diego Conde had a tough night in goal and may ultimately lose his place to new €12m addition Luis Junior, although the Brazilian may not be thrown straight in just yet. Despite playing at both the Euros and the Olympics, Alex Baena still started on matchday one and should keep his place while there’s real competition up top now with Gerard Moreno, Arnaut Danjuma, Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe all strong options.

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

Saturday 24th August 2024

17:00 – Osasuna vs Mallorca

It was a disappointing home draw against Leganes for Vicente Moreno in his first match as Osasuna boss and it may be a slightly awkward occasion for him here with his popular predecessor Jagoba Arrasate making a swift return to El Sadar in the opposite dugout. Changes are possible with summer signing Bryan Zaragoza and midfielder Jon Moncayola perhaps in with the best chance of coming in.

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

Arrasate started life as Mallorca boss with an encouraging draw against Real Madrid. He looks keen to play with forward thinking wingers who will provide lots of service for target man Vedat Muriqi who headed home the equaliser against Los Blancos. It could be an unchanged eleven on Saturday with Dominik Greif expected to continue in goal having seemingly won a tight race with Leo Roman to be the starting keeper.

Mallorca predicted lineup: Greif – Mojica, Raillo, Valjent, Maffeo – Mascarell, Darder, Samu Costa – Dani Rodriguez, Muriqi, Asano (4-3-3)

19:00 – Barcelona vs Athletic Club

Barca won at Valencia on matchday one, with their eleven featuring three players under the age of 18. Youngsters Marc Casado and Marc Bernal formed the central midfield and could keep their places here, although Pedri may be considered fit enough to start. With Mikayil Faye and Ilkay Gundogan expected to complete moves away, the Catalans may be in a position to register Dani Olmo in time to feature in this match, although officially at least they claim his lack of fitness was the reason for his exclusion at Mestalla.

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

Barca target Nico Williams is expected to line up in the opposition starting eleven, having featured only off the bench in Athletic’s opening game. Fellow Euro 2024 participant Dani Vivian is also likely to come into the side in defence in what could be the only other change. That’s unless Julen Agirrezabala can shake off an injury in time to feature in goal.

Athletic Club predicted lineup: Padilla – Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, Gorosabel – Prados, Vesga – Nico Williams, Sancet, Iñaki Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)

21:30 – Espanyol vs Real Sociedad

These are worrying times already for Espanyol. They were beaten by fellow new boys Real Valladolid on matchday one and haven’t done the kind of business which inspires any belief that they are going to avoid a serious relegation struggle. It’s not totally clear what their structure is going to be this season, but a 3-5-2 looks likely here with Javi Puado and new addition Alejo Vediz the most likely strike pairing.

Espanyol predicted lineup: Joan Garcia – Cabrera, Calero, El Hilali – Romero, Kral, Gragera, Lozano, Tejero – Puado, Veliz (3-5-2)

Real Sociedad were also matchday one losers, but they should be bolstered by the return to the starting eleven of Martin Zubimendi. Mikel Merino looks to be heading to Arsenal though, the second major departure of the summer after fellow Spain international Robin Le Normand. They are hoping to have Igor Zubelida fit for this one, so it should be a stronger eleven than the one that lost to Rayo, with new signings Sergio Gomez and Luka Sucic also pushing for starts.

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

21:30 – Getafe vs Rayo Vallecano

Getafe had no strikers available on matchday one, so they played Christantus Uche, a midfielder who scored precisely 0 goals last season in the third tier for Ceuta, up front in Bilbao. The 21-year-old was one of the stories of the opening week as he delivered the goods in an unfamiliar role with a debut goal as Pepe Bordalas’ side grabbed a point at San Mames. With Borja Mayoral still an injury concern, they could potentially go with the same eleven this weekend.

Getafe predicted lineup: Soria – Rico, Alderete, Djene, Iglesias – Abderdin, Arambarri, Milla – Sola, Uche, Perez (4-3-3)

After a surprise win at Real Sociedad, Rayo are also likely to field a similar eleven on Saturday in this derby clash in the Comunidad de Madrid. The most likely change is a return for Sergio Camello, who came off the bench to score in San Sebastian, in place of Randy Nteka up top.

Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup: Cardenas – Espino, Mumin, Lejeune, Balliu – Valentin, Unai Lopez – Embarba, Isi Palazon, De Frutos – Camello (4-2-3-1)

Sunday 25th August 2024

17:00 – Real Madrid vs Real Valladolid

Real Madrid ran out of steam a bit in Mallorca last Sunday, not that surprising given how many of their players missed the entirety of pre-season. They should be a bit sharper this weekend and Carlo Ancelotti will be forced into at least one change with Fran Garcia set to replace the suspended Ferland Mendy at left-back. That could be the only alteration, unless Ancelotti opts to turn to the creative influence of Luka Modric in midfield, a possibility in a game that the home team will be expected to dominate.

Real Madrid predicted lineup: Courtois – Garcia, Militao, Rudiger, Carvajal – Bellingham, Tchouameni, Valverde – Vini Jr, Mbappe, Rodrygo (4-3-3)

It was a great start for Real Valladolid as they put three points on the board by beating Espanyol. It’s likely to be a midfield five here in a game that should see them do a lot of defending, but in terms of personnel, it could potentially be the same eleven with Monday’s match winner Raul Moro operating on the left.

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

19:00 – Leganes vs Las Palmas

There was a good point for Leganes on the opening weekend in Pamplona and they’ll really be targeting a first win back in the top flight on Sunday. A Juan Soriano own goal at El Sadar didn’t help his chances of holding onto the number one jersey faced with strong competition from new signing Marko Dmitrovic. That may be a matter for another day though, with Borja Jimenez likely to be reluctant to make changes, following an encouraging start for his side.

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

Luis Carrion started his role as Las Palmas coach with a 2-2 draw against Sevilla. There were some positives to take from the game which saw last season’s number one Alvaro Valles take his place in the stands as he seeks to secure a move to Betis. Jasper Cillessen made his debut in goal while Oli McBurnie, Jaime Mata and Alex Muñoz did likewise with the new boss wasting no time in throwing the new signings in. It’s likely to be a similar eleven on matchday two, although Sandro may be preferred to Mata in the wide attacking role after his goal against Sevilla.

Las Palmas predicted lineup: Cillessen – Alex Muñoz, Marmol, Alex Suarez, Marvin Park – Kirian, Loiodice – Moleiro, Javier Muñoz, Sandro – McBurnie (4-2-3-1)

19:15 – Alaves vs Real Betis

Despite opening the scoring through Kike Garcia, Alaves let a winning position slip to lose their opening game in Vigo. Luis Garcia has a full squad to pick from this weekend and may opt for light changes with Manu Sanchez a strong candidate to make his debut at left-back. There’s also real competition in the wide attacking roles with Tomas Conechny, Carlos Vicente, Luka Romero and Stoichkov all options, following the sale of Luis Rioja to Valencia.

Alaves predicted lineup: Sivera – Manu Sanchez, Diarra, Abqar, Tenaglia – Guevara, Blanco – Conechny, Guridi, Vicente – Kike Garcia (4-2-3-1)

Betis won 2-0 in Europe on Thursday night, so some light rotation is certainly to be expected from that eleven. They are a bit short on options in attack though with Isco and Cedric Bakambu sidelined. Vitor Roque is expected to join from Barcelona on loan and could be the main striker, but his arrival may not come in time for him to feature here. Aitor Ruibal could be used as an emergency number nine again as a result.

Real Betis predicted lineup: Silva – Rodriguez, Bartra, Llorente, Sabaly – Roca, Carvalho – Juanmi, Fekir, Fornals – Ruibal (4-2-3-1)

21:30 – Atletico Madrid vs Girona

Atleti completed their fourth major summer signing this week with Conor Gallagher finally joining from Chelsea, with Joao Felix heading in the other direction. Gallagher may have to settle for a place on the bench on Sunday but fellow new arrivals Robin Le Normand and Julian Alvarez should start the game. There is more uncertainty about Alexander Sorloth who scored on his debut at Villarreal, but was still pulled off at the interval. Reports suggest he may not be included in the starting eleven on Sunday with talk of a 3-4-2-1 system. Axel Witsel may also be dropped after a poor showing at the Ceramica.

Atletico Madrid predicted lineup: Oblak – Le Normand, Gimenez, Azpilicueta – Lino, Barrios, Koke, Llorente – Griezmann, Riquelme – Alvarez (3-4-2-1)

Pre-season concerns about Girona looked more than valid for much of the game at Betis last week, but there was a glimmer of light as youngsters Gabriel Misehouy and Iker Almena came off the bench to combine brilliantly for the equaliser. They’ve now made nine signings this summer with Pau Lopez a competitive new option in goal, while Bojan Miovski has arrived from Aberdeen. It’s far from clear what Michel’s best eleven is at this point and we could see a fair bit of experimentation over the coming weeks. However, he may play it quite safe here and opt for some of his most experienced options in such a tough fixture.

Girona predicted lineup: Gazzaniga – Miguel Gutierrez, Blind, David Lopez, Arnau Martinez – Ivan Martin, Romeu, Herrera – Gil, Abel Ruiz, Portu (4-3-3)