Girona vs Atletico Madrid and the La Liga tickets to buy in January
After a two-week Christmas hiatus, La Liga will resume this month with a series of top-quality matches, including tickets for Atletico Madrid’s visit to Estadio Municipal de Montilivi to face the league’s surprise team, Girona on Wednesday, January 3rd.
Girona has been the surprise package of La Liga this season, with their free-flowing brand of football earning them several plaudits and a place in La Liga’s top two. Míchel Sánchez’s side come into the new year sitting behind only Real Madrid at the top of the league, having taken 45 points from their first 18 games.
They missed the opportunity to go top of the table in their last game as they held to a 1-1 draw with Real Betis. Yet, that draw extended their unbeaten run to 12 games (W10, D2), a record even Barcelona cannot boast of. Therefore, their goal for 2024 will be to hit the ground running again on their first game against Atletico Madrid.
However, they face a stubborn Atletico side they have struggled to defeat. Since 2017, Girona and Atletico Madrid have met eight times in all competitions, but the hosts have zero wins from those encounters, with Atletico winning three in that period (D5).
Those three wins all came in their last three meetings, so Diego Simeone’s side will be looking to make it four on the bounce against Girona. However, on paper, the hosts are the favourites for a win here, given that Atletico’s form has been patchy recently, with one loss, one draw and one win in their last three.
That said, the game between Girona and Atletico is one of the many intriguing battles in La Liga this month. If you want to buy La Liga match tickets, we have previewed some of the games.
Sevilla vs Athletic Club
Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao will battle for maximum points when they meet at Sevilla’s Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
2023 was a year of mixed results for Sevilla as they won their seventh Europa League title in 2023 but struggled to find a manager that will improve their domestic form. They have witnessed the reign of five managers this year, yet still outside the top half of the league.
They presently sit in 15th position in La Liga, having won just three times in the league this season. One of those wins came in Quique Sánchez Flores’ first game at the club, with the Spanish coach, who became their third coach this season, leading Sevilla to a 3-0 away success against fellow strugglers Granada. That result ended a 10-match winless La Liga run but was not enough to inspire Sevilla to continuous wins, as they lost their next game to Atletico de Madrid.
They will look to bounce back here, especially as the visit from Bilbao is Quique Sánchez Flores’ first home game. Winning here will extend Sevilla's unbeaten run in this fixture to five games, with the hosts unbeaten in the last four head-to-head meetings (W3, D1).
However, winning could be tough as Athletic Club has been solid recently. The visitors are currently on a run of eight games without defeat in La Liga, making them the third-best team in the league over the last ten games. They currently sit in fifth position in La Liga and will be desperate to push for the top four with a win.
Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad
This fixture will be one of the most mouthwatering clashes of La Liga in January, with both Basque clubs fighting for a place in Europe this season.
Both sides ended 2023 separated by four points and one place. So it is hoped that by the time they meet in mid-January, they will still be within the top-four shot, making this tie even more intriguing. But regardless of both teams' form when they meet, this fixture will certainly be fun to watch as Bilbao vs Real Sociedad is one of the fiercest and most entertaining and fiercest derbies in Spanish football.
Cadiz vs Valencia
Cadiz and Valencia will meet in Round 20 at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.
Sergio Gonzalez's side are fighting to avoid relegation, while Valencia are fighting to break into the fight for a top-six finish. Things are slightly looking up for the hosts, who start 2024 sitting outside the red line courtesy of a run of five games without defeat (D5).
But given that all five games ended in a draw, Sergio Gonzalez, whose side have become notorious for ill-discipline should be worried. Perhaps their lack of cutting edge in attack explains their aggression, as Cadiz scored just 14 goals after the first 18 rounds–the joint fewest in the league.
Meanwhile, Valencia, who ended 2023 sitting in tenth position, will be desperate to push for a place in the top six in 2024. But with just one win in their last five games of 2023, Los Che are not a team in form. But winning here would at least bring Valencia level on the head-to-head count, with Cadiz the better team in this fixture, having won three of the last eight league meetings between both sides (D3, L2).
Real Betis vs Barcelona
Barcelona will travel to Seville on January 21st, 2024 to face Real Betis in a must-win game for the Catalan club.
Real Betis are one of the group of four clubs behind the current top four sides fighting for a spot in the top six of La Liga. However, Manuel Pellegrini’s side ended 2023 in patchy form, having drawn four out of their last five league games of the calendar year (D4), to leave them in seventh position, ten points behind Barcelona in fourth.
Their major issue this season is seeing off games, with the ten draws they have this season the most in the league. Seven of those draws came in their last ten league games (W3), so this could be another draw except that this fixture has witnessed too few draws in the past.
In the last 26 meetings between both sides, there have been just four draws, with Barcelona winning 20 times, while Real Betis have just two wins. As such, Barca are the favourites to win here.
The Catalan side ended 2023 on a winning note, as they beat Almería 3-2, ending a run of three games without a win in all competitions (D1, L2). With pressure mounting on coach Xavi Hernandez after a poor first half of the season that has seen them drop points in seven games to trail league leaders Real Madrid by seven points, this game could be a must-win for Barcelona if they want to remain in the title race by March.
Real Madrid vs Almeria
La Liga leaders Real Madrid will host Almería on Sunday, 21st January 2024, in the 21st Round of the La Liga season.
Real Madrid entered the new year sitting at the top of the La Liga table after collecting 45 points in their opening 18 games (W14, D3, L1). Led by the mercurial Jude Bellingham, who sits on top of La Liga’s scoring charts despite predominantly plying his trade in midfield, Los Blancos are in a prime position to snatch the title from Barcelona this term.
Their impressive season has been founded on a sturdy defence that has conceded just eleven times in the league this season. They're also good in attack, with the 39 goals they've scored in the league after 18 games only bettered by Girona.
Moreover, hosting Almería shouldn't cause any fear for Carlo Ancelotti’s men as they are unbeaten against their visitors. Both sides have previously met 13 times, and Real Madrid has won on 11 occasions. Therefore, the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against Almería, who will travel to the capital in dire form, having not won any of their opening 18 league games.
Although it is possible they could have finally secured a win by the time they visit Madrid, Gaizka Garitano’s side were defensively the worst team of the 2023 La Liga table, conceding a whopping 84 goals in 41 games in the year. Such a record puts them at the mercy of Madrid, who have averaged 4.23 goals in this fixture.
