La Liga (Spanish League) Prediction Thread 2025/26

[Volgastallion]

.. many might agree if Xabi were fired. But I do not. Remember, after the loss to Celta Vigo and then Man City in the UCL, the players supported Xabi. They mentioned it in interviews, that the players are with Xabi. Firing Xabi right now would only add to the problems. It's not even a year yet, and he is still in a good process.

The support is only because they are in front of camera, what do you expect them to say “ let’s get his ass fired ?”  .. I mean we all know not all the players are really in support of Xabi decision since he arrived at Realmadrid.

I’m not in support of  him getting fired though, because the problem is actually coming from the players themselves which is why he chooses not to play some at times, you could see the number of injured players already.. Yet, the club or fans won’t really buy that they just want some progress and if he doesn’t, sooner than later he will be fired

I just saw yesterday game of Celta against Bologna, i cant believe how Celta won against Real Madrid, they are really bad, Bologna dominates them in the whole game even being in away condition, so this gives us a clue of how bad is the actual situation on Real Madrid team.

I dont know what Xabi can do but he needs to fix this asap.

[Mihaylovic]

People are complaining about real madrid squad too much. i am also one of them to be honest . But there’s a treasure sitting on the bench there. The players we say should leave have transfer fees in the 80 90 million euro range. What a luxury man...

[Iranus]

Carlo Ancelotti's success with Real Madrid can't be quantified and hence having someone who can soonest replace him wouldn't have being easy as some of us had expected when Xabi Alonso first took sail. And I think the timing for Ancelotti leaving Real Madrid wasn't a wrong one and it was Ancelotti's decision to move for other bigger challenge and not that Real Madrid actually wanted to let him go. Xabi Alonso isn't a bad coach by his coaching history but just that the Madrid job is above his rank and he hasn't really being able to have a better management of the situation smoothly.

We have seen Leverkusen's performance in the last two seasons. A weak team like Leverkusen has dominated the bundesliga. They went the whole season unbeaten and won the title, it was possible because of Alonso. This Leverkusen squad was made by Alonso and he was successful. This Madrid squad was made by ancelotti. This squad is also very mstrong, no doubt about it. But  the main problem is that Alonso is not  able to use his strategy properly with this squad. At the same time, madrid's performance has become  unstable due to injury problems. Alonso should be given enough time and freedom to buy players . Then Alonso will be able to strengthen the Madrid team.

[stompix]

~

Have you ever seen more dramatic price changes when there is a game between strong teams and the next game is for one of those teams against an underdog? It seems to me that bookmakers simply don’t care what happened in the Champions League, even if Real had won 7-0 or, on the contrary, lost 7-0 and received 5 red cards, the odds would not have changed. If I remember correctly, the biggest shift in odds that I saw was something like from 2.1 to 1.9, but this was not a game against an underdog, but a game between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

A 5 points change is not uncommon, Manchester eased 7 points from 1.9 to 1.83 from Monday to Wednesday or their match with Crystal after they beat Real Madrid so one would have expected at least the same since Madrid was not only beaten but it added more stress for the next game with two new player uncertainties..and.....they finally listened:



14 points or 0.14 from the 8th of December when I first posted it...
But the real question is...why didn't I play on the exchange for this!!!!!!!

[verdinio]

I think Alonso had to go through this stage. For me, I can compare it to how Sloth came to Liverpool, and at first Liverpool played very well because for a long time we continued to see the results of Klopp?s work, who had built the team. The same thing is happening at Real Madrid, Ancelotti built a very good team, and after Alonso arrived, for some time he could still rely on the results that remained after Ancelotti, but now he has to build his own team, and now we will see the Real Madrid that Alonso is building. I do not want to rush to conclusions, but I think Alonso will not be able to cope with Real Madrid, and he will be fired soon.

At the beginning there is always a bit of uncertainty, but with time you really see who is capable and suitable to manage a big club and Real Madrid is a great club made up of champions both on and off the pitch, and these are things that need to be managed very well and if you are not capable then you get lost

[eightdots]

I think Alonso had to go through this stage. For me, I can compare it to how Sloth came to Liverpool, and at first Liverpool played very well because for a long time we continued to see the results of Klopp?s work, who had built the team. The same thing is happening at Real Madrid, Ancelotti built a very good team, and after Alonso arrived, for some time he could still rely on the results that remained after Ancelotti, but now he has to build his own team, and now we will see the Real Madrid that Alonso is building. I do not want to rush to conclusions, but I think Alonso will not be able to cope with Real Madrid, and he will be fired soon.

At the beginning there is always a bit of uncertainty, but with time you really see who is capable and suitable to manage a big club and Real Madrid is a great club made up of champions both on and off the pitch, and these are things that need to be managed very well and if you are not capable then you get lost

Alonso should be given a little more time and the freedom to do what he wants. Perhaps he will bring a few players to the team and be able to better implement his vision on the pitch. Being the manager of a club like Real Madrid isn't easy. Managing so many star players and giving them all a chance on the pitch is no easy task.

Big players mean big problems. A manager needs time to adapt to and manage a club with so many star players. I don't think Alonso's time at Real Madrid is over yet.

[martinom]

Of the various tactics Alonso has used, he should be able to evaluate which tactics have yielded the best results for the team so as not to be overwhelmed by constantly inventing new tactics in future matches. It's certainly fine for a coach to implement more tactics in a team like Real Madrid, but if we consider the difficulty of players adapting to these tactics, the coach should also return to the original tactics that are truly understood by the players within the team. I hope Alonso can resolve this issue as soon as possible before it's too late because the second half of the season will start early next year.

Real Madrid basically now only needs a good defense that makes it difficult for the opposing attackers to score very easily and find someone very physical who can keep players like Erling Haaland at bay, to name one, but i understand that you miss these players a lot and they are truly unobtainable

[Derekfunds]

.. many might agree if Xabi were fired. But I do not. Remember, after the loss to Celta Vigo and then Man City in the UCL, the players supported Xabi. They mentioned it in interviews, that the players are with Xabi. Firing Xabi right now would only add to the problems. It's not even a year yet, and he is still in a good process.

The support is only because they are in front of camera, what do you expect them to say “ let’s get his ass fired ?”  .. I mean we all know not all the players are really in support of Xabi decision since he arrived at Realmadrid.

I’m not in support of  him getting fired though, because the problem is actually coming from the players themselves which is why he chooses not to play some at times, you could see the number of injured players already.. Yet, the club or fans won’t really buy that they just want some progress and if he doesn’t, sooner than later he will be fired

I just saw yesterday game of Celta against Bologna, i cant believe how Celta won against Real Madrid, they are really bad, Bologna dominates them in the whole game even being in away condition, so this gives us a clue of how bad is the actual situation on Real Madrid team.

I dont know what Xabi can do but he needs to fix this asap.

That is not the right way to judge football or a team because the pressure you will play against Mr A may not be the same pressure you will play against Mr B. Real Madrid is a big team compare to Celta De Vigo and Celta De Vigo knew for sure that Real Madrid is bigger than them so all they did was to show their strength I mean all to ensure they humiliate Real Madrid and luckily it worked for them and that is how football is, unpredictable that's why people don't win most of the time. Actually Real Madrid was supposed to win by virtue of been a big team to them but that's not how it works all the time. Celta De Vigo and Bologna has almost same strength in terms of playing and when these teams are playing against each other most times it becomes hard to predict.

[1kodumtek7]

People are complaining about real madrid squad too much. i am also one of them to be honest . But there’s a treasure sitting on the bench there. The players we say should leave have transfer fees in the 80 90 million euro range. What a luxury man...

It is normal for them man. They are one of the biggest European teams in the end. I also get jealous of them but they are very rich! 

However I really don't know if Xabi Alonso will find a way to improve the form. I think he should continue to be supported by Real Madrid. It is early to sack a good manager like him.

He will need time for his plans to start working smoother. Until then I'm afraid they will need to make some sacrifices.

[SuperBitMan]

There is something I want to address when it comes to Real Madrid, Real Madrid fans has started to cause bigger problem for the club because of the comparison between mbappe and vinicius Junior, one thing we should understand is that these two players are good in their own way and in other for Real Madrid to start performing very well they need to work together so stop bringing this comparison that one is better than the other is bringing more harm to the team than good because one thing we should understand is that this players usually see all this online and it may enter them and cause some problem in the club so we should learn to speak good and stop comparing two players in a club, I believe this two players can still work together and both achieve a lot of things together or differently, I love this two players so much and I believe if vinicius Junior should start playing with all his mind happiness and joy Real Madrid will doing well.

[Just Say]

Valencia is having terrible attack and their defense is also just because of this looking like they are going to suffer badly in this game and then in this season. For their survive in upcoming round, mostly top teams have easy games just because of these, teams will be staying on their spots for another round because they can win their games without any big threat.

Atletico Madrid needs to win to try to get to the top, given that the championship seems quite balanced to me, I would also see Atletico doing well in the final race and if they commit themselves they can do it without any problems because the level has dropped a lot and they could take advantage of it to win

The match should be easy for Atletico Madrid because Valencia is not a strong team. They have been losing regularly in this tournament. They have won only 3 matches out of 15 so far and it is a disappointing performance. Atletico Madrid did not start the tournament well but managed to improve their points by winning several matches. But they have fallen behind after losing to Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao in the last two matches. But I believe they have a high chance of winning against Valencia in the next match. There is still a chance to improve themselves and surpass the top team.

The upcoming match between Atletico Madrid and Valencia will undoubtedly be easier and less interesting, but you should not forget that this mighty Atletico team was defeated very hard by Athletic Club in the previous match. In fact, none of their efforts were successful in that match but then when Madrid faced PSV, this team won the competition completely.
So maybe Julian Alvarez's team will be able to play with a lot of freshness in the upcoming match because the relatively weak Valencia will never be able to give a hard time in this match, that's what my previous experience with this team says. Madrid has already given us unexpected results in two consecutive matches in the Spanish league, as a result of which this team has now fallen to fourth place, but Villarreal is playing much more maturely than them.

[Sarah Azhari]

Ancelotti was actually a successful manager during his time at Real Madrid. I think they made a mistake by letting him go. Because he already knew the team's structure and how to communicate with each player. Vinicius was noticeably more effective under him. However, while the change of manager might have seemed good at first, the consecutive unsuccessful results have now created a bad impression for Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti's success with Real Madrid can't be quantified and hence having someone who can soonest replace him wouldn't have being easy as some of us had expected when Xabi Alonso first took sail. And I think the timing for Ancelotti leaving Real Madrid wasn't a wrong one and it was Ancelotti's decision to move for other bigger challenge and not that Real Madrid actually wanted to let him go. Xabi Alonso isn't a bad coach by his coaching history but just that the Madrid job is above his rank and he hasn't really being able to have a better management of the situation smoothly.

Real Madrid completely skipped a crucial step when they fired Carlo Ancelotti. He was a manager who truly understood the team, the players' personalities, and it was clear how Vinicius developed like crazy under him. Vini came back to life under Ancelotti. When Xabi Alonso arrived, it initially looked as if Real Madrid were entering a bright new era, but a string of poor results threw everything into disarray. Real Madrid seemed to have lost their way, and now it seems that recruiting Xabi Alonso was a major misstep. Sometimes stability is more important than experimentation, and Ancelotti is precisely the man who has brought stability to the team.

[Mihaylovic]

People are complaining about real madrid squad too much. i am also one of them to be honest . But there’s a treasure sitting on the bench there. The players we say should leave have transfer fees in the 80 90 million euro range. What a luxury man...

It is normal for them man. They are one of the biggest European teams in the end. I also get jealous of them but they are very rich! 

However I really don't know if Xabi Alonso will find a way to improve the form. I think he should continue to be supported by Real Madrid. It is early to sack a good manager like him.

He will need time for his plans to start working smoother. Until then I'm afraid they will need to make some sacrifices.

agreed. and most of real madrid fans believe that Perez is not letting Xabi Alonso to build the team as he want because of PR purposes. And there are rumors that some players don't respect to Xabi Alonso. It is really hard for Xabi Alonso to find a way exactly.

[el kaka22]

Xabi is getting thrown under the bus, but majority of the problems are not because of him. I understand there are times when he makes some bad decisions there is no doubt about that, but the reality is that most of the injuries are the reason why they are bad. If they had no injured players all season long, they would have been easily in top 3 of UCL with the teams they faced, and would be leading the league right now.

What can a manager do when he has over half of his defenders injured? There isn't really anything he can do to make this change. Of course there are issues with subs and timings, and Vini seems like he is not at himself at the moment, but aside from that majority of the issues are because of injury list they have.

[GiftedMAN]

Xabi is getting thrown under the bus, but majority of the problems are not because of him. I understand there are times when he makes some bad decisions there is no doubt about that, but the reality is that most of the injuries are the reason why they are bad. If they had no injured players all season long, they would have been easily in top 3 of UCL with the teams they faced, and would be leading the league right now.

What can a manager do when he has over half of his defenders injured? There isn't really anything he can do to make this change. Of course there are issues with subs and timings, and Vini seems like he is not at himself at the moment, but aside from that majority of the issues are because of injury list they have.

Why are most of you making excuses for Xabi Alonso and attributing Real Madrid's underperformance this season to the injuries of some of the first team players? I'm not doubting the fact that things could've been better of Alonso had a full squad to choose from but looking at the Real Madrid team you'll see that even with injury concerns, they still have a team with enough quality to beat any team in Europe. Paris Saint Germaine this season have had their injury concerns but they're still flying high in Europe and are just a point behind the French League leaders Lens.
I'm a big fan of Xabi Alonso but that shouldn't influence my judgement of how he's failed to maximise the talented squad at his disposal this season.

[bangjoe]

agreed. and most of real madrid fans believe that Perez is not letting Xabi Alonso to build the team as he want because of PR purposes. And there are rumors that some players don't respect to Xabi Alonso. It is really hard for Xabi Alonso to find a way exactly.

This is a serious problem and has been going on for a long time, disputes in the team and also players' support for the coach are also problems that are discussed by many people, I don't know what it was like from the start, but my guess is that Xabi tried to reposition the players owned by Real Madrid and some of them refused to be changed positions and this became tension in the team, maybe that is it, but that is just my guess, I can't confirm whether it is true or not as the spark of the problem in the rumors.

[GbitG]

.. many might agree if Xabi were fired. But I do not. Remember, after the loss to Celta Vigo and then Man City in the UCL, the players supported Xabi. They mentioned it in interviews, that the players are with Xabi. Firing Xabi right now would only add to the problems. It's not even a year yet, and he is still in a good process.

The support is only because they are in front of camera, what do you expect them to say “ let’s get his ass fired ?”  .. I mean we all know not all the players are really in support of Xabi decision since he arrived at Realmadrid.

I’m not in support of  him getting fired though, because the problem is actually coming from the players themselves which is why he chooses not to play some at times, you could see the number of injured players already.. Yet, the club or fans won’t really buy that they just want some progress and if he doesn’t, sooner than later he will be fired

Hahaha that's sounds good!!!
It obvious that every time players support and respect their team coach, whether his performance is good or not like in front of press they always pretend to happy with his current situation, but In fact they were not. So similarly right now every player smells frustrated under Xabi Alonso because from the beginning til now he didn't even make any good progress although his Real Madrid had a higher expectations form him....

Right now nothing has been published officially like we don't know wether Real Madrid is intending to keep him more or to sack him off. If Real Madrid sack him then who will be his replacement?

Zizo or Klopp

[LGD2Business]

Are they waiting to lose one more point to fire Xabi Alonso, or are they waiting to agree on a new coach? Who will replace him, Zidane or Klopp? I think Xabi Alonso hasn't been fired yet because they haven't decided on this. But it's now impossible for him to stay with the team. He can't get along with the players. They've lost this season, they won't win any trophies. The new coach who comes in must make transfers during the winter break. If Real Madrid loses another season because of this, it would be ridiculous.

[BIT-BENDER]

Are they waiting to lose one more point to fire Xabi Alonso, or are they waiting to agree on a new coach? Who will replace him, Zidane or Klopp? I think Xabi Alonso hasn't been fired yet because they haven't decided on this. But it's now impossible for him to stay with the team. He can't get along with the players. They've lost this season, they won't win any trophies. The new coach who comes in must make transfers during the winter break. If Real Madrid loses another season because of this, it would be ridiculous.

With the support that the real madrid showed Xabi Alonso after the match on Wednesday against Manchester City I believe that him and the players doesn't get along.
I think the problem is based on what they use to have at real madrid before Xabi Alonso came in as their coach. The players and the coach maybe finding it hard to connect because it takes time to unlearn what they knew and get in on Xabi Alonso's tactics.

[hyudien]

Sociedad vs Girona.

This is today La Liga opener. Bookmakers have given Sociedad odds of 1.84 and Girona odds of 4.50. It looks tempting for the home team, doesn't it? Girona usually struggles against teams on par with them so far, so perhaps taking a risk on Sociedad is worth it.
For now, my bet is on a Sociedad win and a BTTS. I'd like to observe the match first before taking either of these options.