An exciting round of midweek matches is upon us in La Liga, with Barcelona ready to make Real Madrid's mistakes count and try to increase their lead atop of the league.
The Spanish top-flight witnessed Los Blancos' loss to Atlético in the Madrid Derby, which eventually saw Ancelotti's men drop to third in the standings after Girona and Barcelona's respective victories. Now, the Blaugrana side and their shocking neighbors will try to keep up the good form and extend their dominance in their upcoming games, which will not be anything like a walk in the park.
As for Real Madrid, Ancelotti's men are desperate to have Vinicius Jr back, and even if the player was out of the Derby due to a stomach illness, the Spanish capital side could benefit from his comeback on Wednesday.
Here is everything you need to know about Matchday 7 in La Liga.
Broadcast information for La Liga in the United States
Fans in the U.S. will be able to enjoy the entire weekend in La Liga via ESPN+, the premium streaming platform operated by ESPN. For those who like to watch games on TV, their main option to do so will be via ESPN Deportes, who will broadcast six of the ten games being played in the next three days. Have a look at where you can watch or stream content from this competition in our La Liga website for other countries.
La Liga standings ahead of Matchday 7
| Pos. | Squadra | PG | V | P | S | GF | GS | DR | Pt | Forma | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 33 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 22 | +49 | 84 | VVVVV | |
| 2 | Barcelona | 33 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 73 | VSVVV | |
| 3 | Girona | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 69 | 40 | +29 | 71 | VVSVS | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 33 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 64 | VSVVS | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 33 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 58 | SPPSV | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 33 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 51 | SPPVV | |
| 7 | Real Betis | 33 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 49 | PVVSS | |
| 8 | Valencia | 33 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 38 | -1 | 47 | SSVVP | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 55 | -1 | 45 | VVPSV | |
| 10 | Getafe | 33 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 43 | VPPSV | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 33 | 11 | 6 | 16 | 37 | 49 | -12 | 39 | SSSVS | |
| 12 | Deportivo Alavés | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 31 | 38 | -7 | 38 | VVSSS | |
| 13 | Sevilla | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 42 | 46 | -4 | 38 | PVVVS | |
| 14 | Las Palmas | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 37 | SSSSS | |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 42 | -15 | 34 | SVPPV | |
| 16 | Mallorca | 33 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 39 | -12 | 32 | PSSPV | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 37 | 50 | -13 | 31 | SVSPV | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 33 | 4 | 14 | 15 | 23 | 46 | -23 | 26 | PSSVS | |
| 19 | Granada | 33 | 4 | 9 | 20 | 36 | 61 | -25 | 21 | VPVSS | |
| 20 | Almería | 33 | 1 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 67 | -35 | 14 | SSPSV |
Top games to watch on Matchday 7 of La Liga
It will be quite an uneven match at Son Moix Stadium, with Mallorca battling to leave the lower end of the table and Barcelona thriving after their win last weekend. Barcelona enter this clash having won each and every one of their past eleven matches against the Vermilions, who have failed to score against the Catalan club in eight of those matches. To make things even worse for the hosts, coach Javier Aguirre has only beaten Barcelona in two of his previous 27 matches, hinting that Barcelona could continue with their unbeaten run in the league and maybe add a few goals to their record in the process.
It was a tough loss for Ancelotti's men against Atlético, but luckily for them, they will be able to redeem themselves in front of their supporters when they host Las Palmas. The away side will enter the Bernabeu fresh off their first win of the season, which came as a major ego boost for García Pimienta's side, but it will undoubtedly be a tough clash for Los Amarillos, who have never beaten Los Merengues when playing at the legendary venue located in Madrid. It seems a bit far-fetched at this point, but with Real Madrid's woes in front of goal, you can never be too sure about the away team's chances of success.
Diego Simeone's men make it to this game in high spirits following their Derby win, and to make it count even more, the club will face Osasuna in a match that could be tougher than initially expected. Los Rojillos have won two of their six games, and even if they have failed to beat Atlético since 2014, this version of the club, led by Jagoba Arrasate seems to have what it takes to end that woeful run. Los Colchoneros may benefit from the good form shown by their strikers, who bagged seven goals on their last away match against Rayo Vallecano.
Who's in and who's out
Here are the players listed as unavailable for this week's matches in La Liga.
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Arda Guler, Eder Militao (all injured); Vinicius Jr (doubtful).
Barcelona: Frenkie de Jong and Pedri (both injured).
Athletic Club: Nico Williams, Peru Nolaskoain (both injured).
Atletico Madrid: Vitolo (injured).
Valencia: Alberto Marí (injured).
