Fans of the Spanish top-flight need not wait for the weekend as the latest round kicks off on Friday with Girona's showdown against Valladolid. However, the country's top dogs Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid will take to the field on Saturday and Sunday, with two in particular facing interesting encounters.
The excitement does not stop there as there will be one game on Monday: Almeria vs Osasuna. Here's everything you need to know about Matchweek 5 in La Liga.
League standings ahead of Matchweek 5 in La Liga
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 32 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 70 | 22 | +48 | 81 | WWWWW | |
| 2 | Barcelona | 32 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 70 | LWWWW | |
| 3 | Girona | 32 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 67 | 40 | +27 | 68 | WLWLW | |
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 32 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 61 | LWWLL | |
| 5 | Athletic Club | 32 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 58 | DDLWW | |
| 6 | Real Sociedad | 32 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 51 | DDWWW | |
| 7 | Real Betis | 32 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 48 | WWLLL | |
| 8 | Valencia | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 47 | LWWDL | |
| 9 | Villarreal | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 42 | WDLWW | |
| 10 | Getafe | 32 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 44 | -6 | 40 | DDLWL | |
| 11 | Osasuna | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 37 | 46 | -9 | 39 | LLWLL | |
| 12 | Sevilla | 32 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 37 | WWWLD | |
| 13 | Las Palmas | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 37 | LLLLL | |
| 14 | Deportivo Alavés | 32 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 35 | WLLLW | |
| 15 | Rayo Vallecano | 32 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 27 | 39 | -12 | 34 | WDDWL | |
| 16 | Mallorca | 32 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 31 | LLDWL | |
| 17 | Celta de Vigo | 32 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 37 | 47 | -10 | 31 | WLDWL | |
| 18 | Cádiz | 32 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 22 | 45 | -23 | 25 | LLWLW | |
| 19 | Granada | 32 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 33 | 61 | -28 | 18 | DWLLL | |
| 20 | Almería | 32 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 64 | -33 | 14 | LDLWD |
Top games to watch in Matchweek 5 in La Liga
Cadiz vs Barcelona
Barcelona resume their La Liga push this weekend, with the Catalan giants set to hit the road in the latest round. Xavi's men enter this clash on the back of lovely form, having kicked off their UEFA Champions League campaign with a brilliant 5-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen, with marquee summer signing Robert Lewandowski netting a hat-trick. In fact, this was Barcelona's fourth straight win in a row – discounting the 3-3 draw in the friendly against Man City – since their opening day stalemate at home to Rayo Vallecano.
Meanwhile, Cadiz find themselves in an all-too-familiar position: the relegation zone. The hosts are already in the danger area, having narrowly missed out on the drop last season. With four defeats out of four, Los Piratas fear for the worse and have even joked on social media about their odds of beating Barcelona. Nonetheless, bigger surprises have happened before.
Atletico vs Celta Vigo
After their 1-1 draw away to Real Sociedad last weekend, will Simeone's men suffer another slip-up in Matchweek 5? This is the question every Atletico Madrid fan is wondering as they prepare to host Celta Vigo. While Los Rojiblancos are in seventh while the visitors enter this tie in eighth, the two Spanish outfits are level on seven points each, boasting two wins, a draw, and a defeat to their names.
However, the Madrid giants secured a confidence-boosting result during the midweek that could play its part in this fixture. The Spanish giants hosted Porto in the opening game of their UEFA Champions League campaign, with Antoine Griezmann winning them the game in the 1th minute of stoppage time. Atletico will now aim to make it back-to-back victories.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca
Barcelona and Atletico weren't the only Spanish giants who kicked off their European campaign with victory as Real Madrid returned home after a successful trip to Celtic on Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League. Los Blancos beat the Scottish giants 3-0 to get their title defense off to a perfect start, but the focus now shifts to their domestic title defense as Ancelotti's men prepare to host Mallorca on Sunday. While the Merengues have conceded four goals so far, the third-worst defense in the top 10 currently, they are the only team with a perfect record and will look to maintain this record for another week.
As for the visitors, they have lost only once so far this season, with that sole defeat coming at home to Copa del Rey champions Real Betis. Unfortunately, they have drawn in two of their other three outings and thus find themselves in 11th. Mallorca have lost their last six encounters with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and will thus need an inch-perfect performance in order to come away from Madrid with a positive result.
Who's out for Matchweek 5 in La Liga?
Barcelona: Fully-fit squad
Real Madrid: Karim Benzema and Alvaro Odriozola (doubtful)
Atletico: Nahuel Molina (suspended); Matheus Cunha, Stefan Savic, and Sergio Reguilon (doubtful)
Sevilla: Jesus Corona (injured)
Villarreal: Alberto Moreno (injured); Juan Foyth and Arnaut Danjuma (doubtful)
Real Sociedad: Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Merquelanz (injured); Diego Rico (doubtful)
