LaLiga matchday 35 preview & predicted lineups

The title has been won by Real Madrid, but there are still plenty of other issues to sort out in the Spanish top flight heading into the weekend action. Here’s our full 2023/24 LaLiga matchday 35 preview with predicted lineups for all 20 clubs and win probabilities for every game.

LaLiga matchday 35 preview – Predicted lineups

Friday 10th May 2024

21:00 – Alaves vs Girona

Alaves are flying right now with three straight wins to nil and that run has come after Luis Garcia dropped some of his key men like Samu Omorodion and Luis Rioja. Omorodion is suspended this weekend so Kike Garcia is likely to continue up top with no fresh injury concerns. There is going to be a change in goal though with Jesus Owono confirmed as the starter for the final four matchdays by the Alaves boss who is likely to use these games to experiment a bit, so we could see other surprise selections.

Girona secured Champions League qualification with a fine comeback win over Barcelona last weekend with Portu coming off the bench to score twice. That surely pushes him into contention for a start on Friday in Vitoria for Girona who have travelled to the Basque Country without Christian Stuani and Borja Garcia.

Possible Lineups

Alaves: Owono – Javi Lopez, Marin, Abqar, Tenaglia – Blanco, Benavidez, Guridi – Simeone, Kike Garcia, Vicente (4-3-3)

Girona: Gazzaniga – Miguel, Blind, Eric Garcia, Couto – Aleix Garcia, Herrera – Savio, Portu, Tysgankov – Dovbyk (4-2-3-1)

Saturday 11th May 2024

14:00 – Mallorca vs Las Palmas

This is a big game for Mallorca who are just one place above the relegation zone but with a significant six point advantage on Cadiz in 18th. They are expected to have a full squad to pick from but their poor form means there’s only really a handful of players who are guaranteed a starting role with Javier Aguirre likely to be mulling over changes.

Las Palmas are in freefall with seven straight defeats. They’re not going down but there are big questions about how they address these shortcomings in the summer. There is no great injury crisis to explain their demise and they may well have everyone fit this weekend, although left back Sergi Cardona is suspended which should guarantee a start for Daley Sinkgraven.

Possible Lineups

Mallorca: Rajkovic – Nastasic, Raillo, Valjent – Lato, Mascarell, Darder, Maffeo – Radonjic, Dani Rodriguez – Muriqi (3-4-2-1)

Las Palmas: Valles – Sinkgraven, Marmol, Coco, Araujo – Kirian, Loiodice, Muñoz – Munir, Sandro, Moleiro (4-3-3)

16:15 – Villarreal vs Sevilla

Villarreal were rocked by an early red card for Santi Comesaña at Celta last weekend and they ended up losing that game to do damage to their European hopes. Comesaña serves a suspension on Saturday which should see Francis Coquelin start in midfield. Forward Gerard Moreno and left backs Alberto Moreno and Alfonso Pedraza are all injury doubts.

Sevilla’s selection issues are mounting again heading into a busy week for LaLiga clubs. They’re without the suspended Loic Bade this weekend while Erik Lamela, Nemanja Gudelj, Isaac Romero, Djibril Sow and Oliver Torres are out injured. Therefore Quique Sanchez Flores will need to make light changes despite Sevilla’s good form and a confident 3-0 win over Granada last time out.

Possible Lineups

Villarreal: Jorgensen – Moreno, Albiol, Mosquera, Femenia – Baena, Coquelin, Parejo, Ilias – Sorloth, Guedes (4-4-2)

Sevilla: Nyland – Acuña, Ramos, Salas – Ocampos, Soumare, Agoume, Navas – Suso, Lukebakio – En-Nesyri (3-4-2-1)

18:30 – Granada vs Real Madrid

Granada could be relegated this weekend even if they beat Real Madrid which looks doubtful to say the least. They have won their last two at Los Carmenes though so Jose Ramon Sandoval should largely keep faith with the players that performed well in those matches, although he’s missing Miguel Angel Rubio to suspension on Saturday and has doubts over Raul Torrente and Antonio Puertas.

Carlo Ancelotti is expected to ring the changes again for Real Madrid three days on from the Bayern match and another night of high Champions League drama at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos are the champions of Spain after Barca’s defeat last weekend as well as their own 3-0 win over Cadiz and we are likely to see a similar kind of eleven to that match, although it’s possible he may go with one or two more regulars this weekend with league rather than Champions League action to come next midweek.

Possible Lineups

Granada: Batalla – Neva, Miquel, Ricard, Mendez – Jozwiak, Sergio Ruiz, Gumbau, Pellistri – Uzuni, Boye (4-4-2)

Real Madrid: Courtois – Fran Garcia, Militao, Rudiger, Vazquez – Modric, Camavinga, Ceballos – Brahim – Joselu, Guler (4-3-1-2)

21:00 – Athletic Club vs Osasuna

Athletic Club have some significant selection issues on Saturday night after both centre backs saw red at Getafe last Friday in a game they miraculously still won 2-0 despite facing 34 attempts on goal. Dani Vivian should be fit enough to return to take one of the central defensive positions with Beñat Prados perhaps filling in alongside him. They are also missing three regulars to injury with Gorka Guruzeta, Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta and Oihan Sancet currently sidelined which will serve up opportunities for a few fringe players.

Osasuna have lost their last four games, but there’s some slightly better news with top scorer Ante Budimir getting closer to fitness. The Croatian has a small chance of playing a part in Bilbao but this game will come too soon for centre back David Garcia while Jon Moncayola is suspended.

Possible Lineups

Athletic Club: Simon – Yuri, Vivian, Prados, De Marcos – Herrera, Vesga – Nico Williams, Unai Gomez, Berenguer – Iñaki Williams (4-2-3-1)

Osasuna: Herrera – Mojica, Herrando, Catena, Areso – Muñoz, Ibañez, Torro – Ruben Peña, Raul Garcia, Ruben Garcia (4-3-3)

Sunday 12th May 2024

14:00 – Cadiz vs Getafe

This is very much a “must win” affair for Cadiz who are six points from safety with only four games to play. They went with just one striker at Real Madrid last weekend but a return to their usual 4-4-2 is expected here, although it’s anyone’s guess which two of their four available forwards that Mauricio Pellegrino will pick. They continue to be hampered by injuries too with at least five players out here.

Getafe played well against Athletic and could have scored four or five last weekend on another day so Pepe Bordalas is unlikely to make major changes despite a 2-0 defeat. Ilaix Moriba was on international duty with Guinea U23 on Thursday and scored the goal that sealed their Olympics qualification so he may be rested.

Possible Lineups

Cadiz: Ledesma – Javi Hernandez, Chust, Fali, Zaldua – Alex Fernandez, Alcaraz, Escalante, Navarro – Ramos, Juanmi (4-4-2)

Getafe: Soria – Rico, Alderete, Djene, Carmona – Oscar Rodriguez, Milla, Aleña, Maksimovic, Greenwood – Mata (4-5-1)

16:15 – Atletico Madrid vs Celta Vigo

Atletico Madrid welcome back Antoine Griezmann from suspension this weekend but they may stick with the 3-4-2-1 system that delivered three points at Mallorca. The scorer of the only goal in that game was Rodrigo Riquelme who may keep his place on the left flank with Samuel Lino operating in a more advanced role. Alvaro Morata and Rodrigo De Paul may have to be content with a place on the bench again.

Celta took a big leap towards safety by beating Villarreal 3-2 last time out. With no fresh selection issues, Claudio Giraldez could opt to stick with the same players this weekend.

Possible Lineups

Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Hermoso, Gimenez, Witsel – Riquelme, Barrios, Koke, Llorente, – Correa, Lino – Griezmann (3-4-2-1)

Celta Vigo: Guaita – Jailson, Starfelt, Mingueza – Alvarez, Beltran, Rodriguez, Manquillo – Swedberg, Larsen, Aspas (3-4-3)

18:30 – Valencia vs Rayo Vallecano

Valencia’s European push has hit the wall and they really need to win this to remain in serious contention. They have a boost with Jose Luis Gaya nearing fitness again and he may even feature on Sunday while Giorgi Mamardashvili will return in goal following suspension.

27 attempts and 10 on target was the shot tally for Rayo against Almeria last time out but they couldn’t score and travel to Mestalla with work to do to secure safety. Radamel Falcao was a surprise starter against Almeria with Iñigo Perez finally losing patience with Raul De Tomas and Sergio Camello and any one of the three could start this game as the striker in a season of struggle in that department for the Madrid club.

Possible Lineups

Valencia: Mamardashvili – Foulquier, Yarek, Mosquera, Foulquier – Almeida, Guerra, Pepelu – Diego Lopez, Duro, Canos (4-3-3)

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

21:00 – Real Betis vs Almeria

Betis picked up a good win at Osasuna last time out to further their European ambitions. That came without the suspended Isco but the former Real Madrid man is still strongly expected to return, most likely in place of Nabil Fekir, in what may be the only change on Sunday.

Almeria picked up just a second win of the season in Vallecas last time out, but they have already had their relegation confirmed. Largie Ramazani and Cesar Montes are missing through suspension for the trip to Seville, but Lucas Robertone and Jonathan Viera are available again and may both return to the eleven despite the three points that came in their absence in Madrid.

Possible Lineups

Real Betis: Rui Silva – Miranda, Riad, Pezzella, Sabaly – Guido Rodriguez, Cardoso – Ayoze, Isco, Fornals – Willian Jose (4-2-3-1)

Almeria: Maximiano – Centelles, Chumi, Edgar, Pubill – Robertone, Peña – Embarba, Viera, Baptistao – Lozano  (4-2-3-1)

Monday 13th May 2024

21:00 – Barcelona vs Real Sociedad

Barcelona on the surface don’t have much to play for now, but 2nd place rather than 3rd would mean a trip to the Supercopa next year and the cash that goes with that so Xavi is still likely to field strong teams over the remaining games. There are no fresh selection issues for Barca but we may well see some changes from the Girona game with Pedri, Raphinha and Iñigo Martínez pushing for starts.

Real Sociedad are in a tight race for Europa League qualification but they have plenty of injuries with Igor Zubedlia out and Martin Zubimendi again a major doubt for this Monday’s game. Andre Silva started up front in the win over Las Palmas last time out, but we could see either Take Kubo or Ander Barrenetxea come in for this one.

Possible Lineups

Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Cancelo, Cubarsi, Araujo, Kounde – Pedri, Christensen, Gundogan – Raphinha, Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal (4-3-3)

Real Sociedad: Remiro – Galan, Le Normand, Pacheco, Traore – Turrientes, Merino, Brais Mendez – Barrenetxea, Oyarzabal, Becker (4-3-3)