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All you need to know about a derby-packed weekend as the El Gran and Madrid derbies herald an interesting match day 13 in the LaLiga.
One of the fiercest and most passionate fixtures in world football highlights the latest match day in LaLiga this weekend.
The first El Gran Derbi of the season will see fierce rivals Real Betis and Sevilla FC resume their special rivalry in the Andalusian capital on Sunday night, in a match that always lives up to the billing.
Also, there is another interesting derby, this time, in the capital city on Monday night when Rayo Vallecano welcome defending champions Real Madrid to the Vallecas.
Friday Night Football
The first match of the match day takes place at the Estadi Montilivi, where Catalans, Girona FC will look to build on last weekend’s impressive draw at the Bernabéu when Athletic Club comes visiting.
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Even though Girona drew with league leaders Real Madrid last weekend, they haven’t won any of their last seven games and will be hoping to put an end to that terrible run against Los Leones.
Relegation dog race
Saturday starts with some key and intriguing clashes between teams whose primary objective for the 2022/23 season is to avoid relegation as Getafe CF takes on Cádiz CF while Real Valladolid hosts Elche CF.
In the first fixture, both sides arrive on a high after securing victories last weekend, whereas the Pucela and Franjiverdes suffered losses.
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Elche CF, however, remains winless and will hope to secure that much-needed first victory in Valladolid.
RC Celta vs CA Osasuna follows and the Galician side hope to emerge from their recent slump in front of their fans. They have lost four and drawn one of their past five, but RC Celta has won
this fixture in each of the past two years and will hope for a third home win over the Navarre team in a row this Saturday.
Gerard Pique's final game
On Saturday night, it will be the end of an era for one of the most successful defenders in Spanish history as FC Barcelona returns to action hoping to temporarily go top of the standings if they defeat UD Almería at Camp Nou.
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Barcelona defender, Gerard Pique announced a shock retirement from football on Thursday evening and will play his last game against the newly promoted outfit.
Xavi’s side will be looking to give the Barce legend the best farewell with a solid performance and win against Almeria in what will see them extend their unbeaten run at Camp Nou to six games.
The Culers have won five home league games in a row without conceding a single goal, while UD Almería has lost five away league games in a row, scoring just twice in that run.
Atlético de Madrid kicks off proceedings on Sunday looking to bounce back from a poor run of results when they host RCD Espanyol at the Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano.
When these teams met last season, Atleti triumphed 2-1 both times and the winning goal came after 98 minutes of play on both occasions.
So, this weekend there could be another stoppage-time drama, which has been a recurring theme in Atleti’s recent games.
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A fascinating battle between Real Sociedad and Valencia CF follows as two sides with the third and fourth-most possession go head-to-head.
It’ll be interesting to see which outfit can take control of the ball on Sunday afternoon in this contest that could have a big say on European qualification.
Samu Chukwueze's Yellows
Villarreal CF plays the last of their home games at the Estadi Ciutat de València, which has been their temporary home while work is carried out on their own Estadio de la Cerámica.
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They and new coach Quique Setién will want to bid farewell to the ground with a victory when they take on RCD Mallorca.
Super Sunday
El Gran Derbi
On Sunday night, it’s one of the year's biggest games in LaLiga as Real Betis face Sevilla in El Gran Derbi at the Estadio Benito Villamarín. This is always a footballing spectacle and it will be once again, even though these two teams are at different ends of the LaLiga Santander table.
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With talents such as Nabil Fekir, Sergio Canales and Borja Iglesias in the home side’s ranks, with others such as Ivan Rakitić, Erik Lamela and Papu Gómez in the away squad and two iconic homegrown
captains in Joaquín and Jesús Navas, this has all the ingredients to be a thriller.
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Monday Night Football
Real Madrid plays in the Monday night game of Matchday 13 but will make the short trip to the Vallecas neighbourhood of Spain’s capital to take on Rayo Vallecano.
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This encounter won’t be an easy one for Los Blancos as Andoni Iraola’s Rayo side is a very well-organised abd drilled unit and undefeated in four matches.
They have players like Sergio Camello, Isi Palazón and Radamel Falcao who will shoot on sight. So, Thibaut Courtois and his defence will have to be alert in this capital city clash.
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