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When does La Liga restart and the season so far
One of Europe's biggest leagues, La Liga, gets their season back underway soon. Our article breaks down when they restart, and also the current state of play.
Spanish football will be reeling from an embarrassing early World Cup exit at the hands of Morocco, and fans will be desperate for the return of club football to turn their attentions away from the national team.
La Liga is finely poised and should provide the nation with a lot of excitement over the next six months, with the big two, Real Madrid and Barcelona set to slog it out for the title.
There have been 14 games played so far this season, meaning there are still 24 games to go.
When does La Liga restart?
The Spanish top flight gets back underway on the 29th of December.
There is a full gameweek of 10 matches from the 29th to the 31st, though the fixture cram is the same in Spain as everywhere else.
Immediately after the World Cup final on the 18th, Spanish sides play in the Copa del Rey from the 20th to the 22nd of December.
Only last season's winners Valencia and runners-up Real Betis, along with 2021/22 La Liga winners Real Madrid and runners-up Barcelona, don't feature in the Copa del Rey fixtures, with that quartet playing in the Spanish Super Cup in 2023.
Who do Real Madrid and Barcelona play first?
Reigning La Liga champions, and currently second placed, Real Madrid restart their campaign with a trip to mid-table Real Valladolid on Friday 30th December at 8.30pm UK time.
Los Blancos did win their final game before the season paused, but had slipped up in both prior games, drawing with Girona and losing to Rayo Vallecano, to hand the title race initiative to Barcelona.
Xavi's side lead the way after those slips ups, holding a two point advantage, but they have a tough game on the season restart, hosting Espanyol in the Derbi Barceloní on New Years Eve at 1pm UK time.
When is El Clasico?
We have already witnessed one El Clasico this season, with Real Madrid running out 3-1 winners at the Bernabeu.
The second is likely to be even higher in the stakes department, with the other meeting likely to go a long way to deciding who wins the La Liga title.
We don't have to wait too long for the big game, with Barcelona hosting Real Madrid at Camp Nou on the 19th of March.
What does the La Liga table look like?
Barcelona are currently top of the table, two points clear of rivals and reigning champions Real Madrid.
There is then a nine point gap back to Real Sociedad in third and a further two point gap to Sociedad's Basque rivals Athletic Club de Bilbao who make up the current Champions League places.
Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid are currently on the outside of the top four looking in, but only on goal difference, and it's the same for Real Betis who occupy sixth.
Osasuna (7th) and Rayo Vallecano (8th) were the surprise packages in the opening throws of the season, while rivals Villarreal (9th) and Valencia (10th) have underwhelmed so far and round up the top half.
At the other end of La Liga, Elche prop the league up and they have been dismal in 2022/23. They are yet to register a win in 14 attempts, collecting just four points.
Cadiz sit second bottom, and shockingly, Sevilla, a team who finished fourth in all of the last three seasons, occupy the third and final relegation place as the season is set to restart.
Those two are just one point from safety, with Celta Vigo (17th) and Espanyol (16th) hovering just above the drop zone, with Getafe (15th) three points clear and newly-promoted pair Almeria (14th) and Girona (13th) five points clear of trouble.
Who is the current La Liga top scorer?
Currently leading the way in the race to be the La Liga top scorer is Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski.
The Pole is in pole position to clinch the Pichichi, having netted 13 times in 14 league appearances in the first half of the season.
Karim Benzema is the current holder of the award, but injuries have made his season a stop-start one, with the Frenchman also having to withdraw from France's World Cup squad due to his injury issues.
He has scored five times in La Liga this season, though those five goals have come in just seven appearances.
Real Betis forward Broja Iglesias has eight goals to his name this season, as does Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi, while despite being in a relegation scrap with Celta Vigo, ex-Liverpool forward Iago Aspas has netted seven times alongside Espanyol's ex-Stoke striker Joselu.
Where can you watch La Liga?
La Liga can be watched on LaLiga TV in the UK, which can be accessed through additional costs on Sky Sports and Amazon Prime Video.
Games that can be watched on LaLiga TV across the first round of matches which are set to restart are as follows:
Thursday 29th December
- 18:15 GMT - Real Betis v Athletic Bilbao
- 20:30 GMT - Atletico Madrid v Elche
Friday 30th December
- 16:00 GMT - Getafe v Rayo Vallecano
- 18:15 GMT - Celta Vigo v Sevilla
- 18:15 GMT - Cadiz v Almeria
- 20:30 GMT - Real Valladolid v Real Madrid
Saturday 31st December
- 13:00 GMT - Barcelona v Espanyol
- 15:15 GMT - Real Sociedad v Osasuna
- 15:15 GMT - Villarreal v Valencia