Round 23 of the Spanish League: Match dates, results and match summaries | Football | Sports

LaLiga EA Sports continues with Round 23 of the tournament, which features on the calendar the Madrid derby. Real Madrid will host Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, in what will be the third meeting between the two teams in less than a month and the fourth throughout the season. So far, the confrontation has been favored between the two teams, with two victories in La Liga and the King's Cup, compared to one victory for Real Madrid in the Super Cup. On the other hand, Girona, which is still in the struggle for top spot, receives Real Sociedad in Montilivi, and Barcelona visits Deportivo Alaves in Mendizuruza.

Athletic – Mallorca (Friday 2 February, 9:00pm/Movistar)

Athletic Bilbao have managed to settle into fifth place in the table, six points behind Real Sociedad, but the Rojiblancos will try to move on, given the chance of reaching the Champions League places. On Friday, a team led by Ernesto Valverde faces Mallorca, which has accumulated four matches without a win in the league, despite its good performance in the Copa del Rey, a competition in which both teams reached the semi-finals.

Valencia – Almería (Saturday, February 3 at 2:00 pm/DAZN)

Valencia saw a run of four consecutive league victories end last Sunday at the Metropolitan Stadium. That's why Ruben Baraja's side will try to get back to winning ways when they host Almeria in the Mestalla on Saturday. The visitors are bottom of the standings and are yet to win this season, but their good performance at the Santiago Bernabéu two weeks ago has already shown that the Andalusian side can be very competitive in any area they appear in.

Granada – Las Palmas (Saturday, February 3 at 4:15 pm/Movistar)

Granada hosts Las Palmas in a clash between two teams that have recently been promoted, but face a different reality after the first half of the season. The Nasrids are in nineteenth place, six points behind the permanent positions, while the Canary Islands team is quietly in ninth place. Winning is important for the goals of both teams: for the locals, it means getting a little closer to continuity, while for the visitors it means returning to the struggle for European places, after losing to Real Madrid last week.

Alaves – Barcelona (Saturday, February 3, 6:30 pm/DAZN)

Deportivo Alaves take on a Barcelona side in Mendizorroza who have been badly affected by injuries this year. During the week, the Blaugrana played a postponed match from round 20, a match in which Ferran joined the injured list, which already included eight other players. Xavi Hernandez's team will have to find a way to overcome the losses and continue adding points at the top of the standings. For his part, Alaves will seek to take advantage of Barcelona's attrition, after a busy schedule in January, to continue to move away from the bottom of the table.

Girona – Real Sociedad (Saturday, February 3, 9:00 pm/Movistar)

Girona and Real Sociedad face each other in one of today's matches. The locals, who continue to compete at the top of the rankings, receive in Montelivi some txuri urdin who are not living their best moments, but who know how to compete. Girona will seek to keep pace with Real Madrid, while Real Madrid wants to prevent Betis, who is only two points behind them, from grabbing sixth place, which would allow them to qualify for European competitions.

Villarreal – Cádiz (Sunday, February 4, 2:00 pm/DAZN)

Villarreal revitalized their lead after the win in Montjuïc over Barcelona and Marcelino's men intend to maintain the good pace. For its part, Cadiz is in the relegation zone, but only one point behind in 17th place, so a win could mean leaving the bottom three places in the standings behind. Cadiz recently changed coaches and Mauricio Pellegrino made his debut on the bench in a draw against Athletic Bilbao, one of the strongest teams this season.

Osasuna-Celta (Sunday 4 February, 4:15pm/Movistar)

Celta, in need of points, visits Al-Sadr on Sunday to face Osasuna. The Galician team reaches seventeenth place and is only one point ahead of the relegation places, so victory becomes crucial to ensure that the day does not end in the red zone. It will not be easy because Osasuna is strong at home, having won the last three matches it played at home in the league.

Betis – Getafe (Sunday 4 February, 6:30pm/DAZN)

Betis hosts Getafe on Sunday at Benito Villamarin Stadium. The Verdiblancos continue to dream of European places and a win over the Azulones could bring them closer to that. For their part, the team led by Jose Bordalas, who is in mid-table, intends to continue achieving positive results, which will allow them to go through the rest of the season with ease. Last year, the Azulans struggled to survive until the end of the tournament.

Real Madrid – Atletico Madrid (Sunday, February 4, 9:00 pm/Movistar)

Today's match will be held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. This is the third duel between the two in less than a month and the fourth in the entire season. The first time they met, in La Liga, the Rojiblancos beat the Whites at the Metropolitano. After that, Real Madrid beat Atlético in the semi-finals of the Super Cup, and finally, two weeks ago, the Royal team beat the Merengues again, now in the Copa del Rey.

Rayo Vallecano – Sevilla (Monday, February 5, 9:00pm/DAZN, GolPlay)

In round 23, the curtain falls on Rayo Vallecano's meeting with Seville, in a duel between two teams that last season aspired to European positions, but this year they are competing in the lower middle part of the classification. Vallecano have not won at home since September and Francisco Rodriguez's men will be looking to end this negative run. On the other hand, Sevilla has collected five matches without a win in the Spanish League, and needs a victory to move it further away from the relegation places, an area from which it is separated by only one point.

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