La Liga September 18–20: Madrid Derby, Perfect Barcelona and a Tough Test for Real Sociedad

La Liga Matchweek 7 brings two major fixtures straight away. Atletico host Real Madrid after back-to-back big wins, while Barcelona take their perfect record to Sevilla. There is also a much tighter matchup at Mestalla, where the market sees very little between Valencia and Real Sociedad.

We take a closer look at the three biggest games, with two more worth watching.

888STARZ odds were recorded at the time of writing via current odds comparison data and may change before kick-off.

Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid — a derby shaped by very different momentum

The biggest game of the round.

Atletico have turned things around sharply after a difficult start to September. They beat Real Sociedad 3-0 and then swept Osasuna aside 4-0. Seven goals scored and none conceded across those two league matches.

Real Madrid sit second with 15 points, three behind Barcelona.

Their latest game against Elche was far more difficult than expected. Madrid gave up a 2-0 lead before eventually finding a 3-2 winner in stoppage time.

888STARZ odds:
Atletico Madrid — 3.74 | Draw — 3.94 | Real Madrid — 2.02

Real remain favourites, but a price above 2.00 fits the current context. Atletico come into the derby with much more momentum than they had a couple of weeks ago.

Sevilla vs Barcelona — 18 points from 18 and another test for the leaders

Barcelona still have not dropped a single point.

After six rounds, they have taken 18 from 18, and they also produced another attacking show in midweek with a 7-2 win over Racing.

Sevilla come into the game after a 1-0 away win against Deportivo, but the market is in no doubt about which side it expects to take the points.

888STARZ odds:
Sevilla — 13.30 | Draw — 7.80 | Barcelona — 1.23

Barcelona at 1.23 are one of the shortest-priced favourites of the European weekend.

That makes the main question slightly different: can Sevilla even slow down an attack that has just scored seven?

Valencia vs Real Sociedad — almost no favourite at all

A completely different market at Mestalla.

The prices are almost identical, making this one of the hardest games of the round to read.

Real Sociedad arrive after a difficult week. They lost 3-0 to Atletico before falling 2-1 to Bournemouth in the Europa League.

Valencia have not been especially consistent either, so home advantage has not created much separation in the market.

888STARZ odds:
Valencia — 2.79 | Draw — 3.53 | Real Sociedad — 2.67

There is only 0.12 between the two win prices. Across the whole round, this is one of the most balanced fixtures on the board.

Two More Matches Worth Watching

Villarreal vs Levante

Villarreal have a good opportunity to respond after their 3-1 defeat to Malaga in the previous round.

888STARZ: 1.61 | 4.57 | 5.65

The market is firmly behind the home side. Dropping points here would already feel like a significant setback for Villarreal.

Athletic Club vs Alaves

A Basque matchup where the market clearly prefers the hosts.

888STARZ: 1.70 | 4.07 | 5.55

The recent form does not make it quite as straightforward as the odds suggest, though, with both sides producing mixed results over the last few weeks.

All La Liga Matchweek 7 Fixtures

The biggest storyline is obviously in Madrid. Real cannot afford to let Barcelona pull further away, while Atletico finally come into the derby with real momentum after two dominant wins.

At the same time, Barcelona will try to preserve their perfect 18-point start, while Real Sociedad need to stop a difficult run in one of the league’s toughest away environments.

Those are the three storylines worth revisiting once the round is over.