LaLiga Matchday 4 Preview: All Eyes On Umar Sadiq On A Blockbuster Saturday

 

Matchday 4 of the 2022/23 LaLiga Santander is one that football fans around the world won’t want to miss.

There are several huge clashes taking place on Saturday afternoon and evening, as the six teams who finished inside the top six last term face off against each other.

For Nigerians and followers of LaLiga Santander, all eyes will be at the San Sebastián where Nigerian international forward, Umar Sadiq is expected to make his debut for Real Sociedad after his deadline day switch from fellow LaLiga side, Almeria.

Sixth-placed Real Sociedad host third-placed Atlético de Madrid with Sadiq hoping to mark his debut with a goal. If he scores, it will be his third in four LaLiga games after scoring twice in three games for Almeria.

Champions Real Madrid welcome last season’s fifth-placed side Real Betis to the Bernabéu while fourth-placed Sevilla FC play at home to runners-up FC Barcelona.

Super Saturday then begins with a historic game, as RCD Mallorca take on Girona FC, with this the first ever time these clubs are meeting in the top division of Spanish football.

Fireworks
Then, fireworks can be expected on this blockbuster Saturday, starting with Real Madrid vs Real Betis, a duel between the only two sides who still have 100 percent records going into Matchday 4.

They can’t both keep up their winning runs, so it’ll be fascinating to watch these sides go head to head, led by the two oldest coaches of the competition in Carlo Ancelotti and Manuel Pellegrini.

Next up is Real Sociedad vs Atlético de Madrid and the home fans are excited to see make his debut.

For the capital city side, this is another difficult away trip, but they’ll be full of confidence after Antoine Griezmann’s goal saw them grind out a 0-1 victory at another of LaLiga Santander’s most atmospheric stadiums, Mestalla, on Monday.

Then comes Sevilla FC vs FC Barcelona, which is always one of the most entertaining fixtures of any LaLiga Santander season.

Sevilla FC may have had a frustrating start to the new campaign and they remain winless, but they always make it tough for Barça, who have won on just two of their past seven visits to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.

Jules Koundé
This will also be a big night for Jules Koundé as he returns to the stadium he called home last season.

Four fixtures follow on Sunday, the first of which sees CA Osasuna take on Rayo Vallecano.

Both these teams will be looking to get back on track after suffering their first defeats of the season last weekend. Next, Athletic Bilbao host RCD Espanyol, with Ernesto Valverde taking on one of his former clubs and with the Bilbao crowd excited to see Ander Herrera make a re-debut for Los Leones.

Villarreal CF then have their first ‘home’ game of the season, taking on Elche CF at Levante UD’s Estadi Ciutat de València, their temporary home ground while work is carried out on their own stadium.

The final match of Sunday is also taking place in the city of Valencia, as Valencia CF face Getafe CF at Mestalla, a match that is always packed full of passion.

The 10th and final fixture of the matchday then comes on Monday, as two of the newly promoted sides battle for what could be precious points come the end of the season.

It’s Real Valladolid vs UD Almería and, after these two clubs finished level on points at the top of LaLiga SmartBank last season, this next meeting should be a very evenly matched one and a fun way to conclude Matchday 4.