LaLiga is back! Can Real Madrid beat leaders Barcelona to title?

After winter break, LaLiga is back! Okay, it was only an 11-day hibernation, but with Christmas and New Year celebrations going on in between, we thought it would be good to tell you about it before we restart the 2025-26 season.

defending champion barcelona Spain’s “Christmas champions” were heading into the break with a four-point lead at the top of the table despite losing first place classico The season ended with a 2–1 win against their arch-rivals in October.

despite this Transforming your stadium into a winter wonderland During the festive period, the Bernabéu has never been a happier place for people real MadridThere was constant speculation over coach Xabi Alonso’s job security due to disappointing results and performances in the weeks following the win over Barça. But as long as they have a star striker kilian mbappe In some of the best form of his career, he will be hoping to revive his season.

, How Alonso’s Real Madrid debut compared to Mourinho, Ancelotti, Zidane
, Hunter’s mid-season decisions: Barça are ahead, but is there a title race?
, Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Hollande, Kane? Who was the top goal scorer of 2025?

Atletico Madrid And Villarreal As the season approaches the halfway point, the top four are out, and no team should miss out on a top two finish before the campaign ends.

So, what is there to look forward to in the remainder of the LaLiga season? Let ESPN reporters Sam Marsden and Alex Kirkland bring you up to speed. And remember, you can Stream every game live on ESPN+ (US only),

Title race: Can Madrid overtake Christmas leader Barca?

In current form it is going to be very difficult. Barça have taken a four-point lead and, crucially, have seen key players such as Rafinha And Pedri Returning from injuries in recent weeks. Hansi Flick’s side made it eight consecutive wins in LaLiga against Villarreal before the winter break, and it is hard to see Barca dropping enough points for Madrid to catch them.

If they do, it will be because of their defense. No one in the top seven has conceded more goals than Barça, but when they have Raphinha, Lamin Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, marcus rashford And ferran torres As an attacking option, it rarely matters.

Of course, injuries and, to a certain extent, what happens in the Champions League and copa del rey How many matches both teams play in March and where their priorities lie could also play a role.

Madrid knows well how quickly things can change. their classico The win over Barca in October left them five points clear at the time, but things have not been straightforward since. Alonso’s future is constantly under scrutiny – even if they win games – and this creates an atmosphere around the club that is not always entirely helpful.

Despite this, in Mbappé, who has 18 league goals this season, they have the league’s outstanding player so far this season and a team full of quality that can beat most teams in the league. If they can get back into gear, there’s no reason why they can’t put some real pressure on Barca. , Sam Marsden

Race for Europe: Is Villarreal now Spain’s third best team?

not yet. Let’s not get carried away! It is Atletico Madrid who sit third after the Christmas break and after finishing in the top three in 12 of the last 13 seasons, they have more than earned this title. You need to be able to make a strong case for eliminating Marcelino García Toral’s team.

There are some arguments in Villarreal’s favor, so let’s list them: They are two points behind Atletico and have two games in hand, the first of which will be played against Alaves next week, while Atletico is away to the Supercopa. So far, Villarreal has won the same number of games (11) and lost the same number of games (3) as Atletico. They have conceded the fewest goals in LaLiga (15 compared to Atlético’s 16), albeit from fewer games, and their goals conceded per game is 0.9, which matches Real Madrid and Atlético, and is better than Barcelona’s 1.1.

It is in attack where Villarreal struggles to compete with the best. They have scored 31 goals (compared to Barça’s 51, Madrid’s 36 and Atlético’s 33) and their expected goals are even lower, at 27.15 (compared to Atlético’s 29.63). Villarreal’s top scorer in LaLiga Alberto Moleiro (6) Tajon Buchanan (5) and gerard moreno (4). In the Champions League, they have only one point from six matches (equal to bottom of the table). carat almaty) and they were knocked out by a weak, second-tier Racing Granada team in the Copa del Rey last month.

And let’s look at Villarreal’s results against the LaLiga big three: they lost 2-0 at Atlético in September, 3-1 at Real Madrid in October and 2-0 at Barcelona in December. When they come up against the best, they fall behind. But they are much better than the rest. So no, Villarreal is not the third best team in Spain. Right now, they are fourth best. Let’s check back at the end of the season. otherwise, espanyol Look to be strong, surprise candidates for fifth – which would be a remarkable achievement for coach Manolo Gonzalez – with a lead of five points. real daughters sixth, who in turn are five points ahead Celta Vigo And athletic club— Alex kirkland

Accusation: Will girona, Valencia Beat drop again?

Verona were playing Champions League football this time last year, and Valencia have always been considered too big to beat, but both are in a battle to retain their LaLiga status into 2026.

Verona have looked okay at times, such as when drawing with Real Madrid, but have been very inconsistent. The Catalans are getting closer to signing Manchester City‘S Claudio Echeverri However, on loan, and hopefully this will bring more quality in attack, where they have only managed 15 goals in 17 matches this season.

Meanwhile, Valencia looked to be slipping under Carlos Corberán last season; Yet, a year later, they are on the verge of another demotion battle. Like Verona, they have struggled to score, having managed only 16 in their 17 matches, and are without a win in four. Look at their team and it is night and day from the Valencia sides of the past that would compete for European football each season.

However, whether any of them will be out may depend on the teams above them. bottom two real oviedo And levante Look doomed, which means there may only be one spot left. In that sense, any of elche ninth place with 22 points, just below real sociedad With 17 points in 16th, there could still be a threat.

With 15 and 16 points respectively, Verona and Valencia are still close behind. choice of mallorca And Alaves look particularly attractive. These are not panic stations yet. , S.M

Kylian Mbappe’s injury is ‘not good news’ for Real Madrid’s schedule

Gabe Marcotti has spoken about Kylian Mbappe’s recent knee injury which will rule him out for at least three weeks for Real Madrid.

Top scorer: can anyone catch Mbappé?

Eighteen goals in as many league games so far this season is a fantastic return for Mbappé. also with France The striker’s knee sprain was announced on Wednesday, it looks like he has a sprain pichichi Received award as LaLiga top scorer.

Ferran Torres, who has secured his place as Barcelona’s first-choice center forward (with 1,086 LaLiga minutes compared to Lewandowski’s 668), has 11 goals. of mallorca Vedat Muriki There are nine. Lewandowski has eight and Atletico have eight Julian Alvarez Is one of four players (along with Raphinha, Yamal and Betis) kucho hernandez) with seven. But after a promising start to the season, Álvarez has scored only once in 11 league games. Would you really support him or anyone else to capture Mbappé?

Mbappé not only has the most goals in LaLiga; He has the most non-penalty goals (13), highest non-penalty xG (11, versus Ferrán’s 8.5), most shots (82, versus Lamine’s 59), and most shots on goal (33, versus Ferrán’s 22). And he has scored 18 goals for an often underperforming Real Madrid team that is often unable to score big even when it wins (Madrid has won four league games by 3+ goals). If Madrid improve even modestly, their goalscoring rate should increase. And if it does, there’s only one pichichi Candidate worth talking about. , kirkland

What else to see?

Real Sociedad is a team to keep an eye on in the second half of the season. The Basque side have appointed American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who previously coached in Germany vfb stuttgart And TSG HoffenheimTo steady the ship after Sergio Francisco was dismissed while his side were just two points above the drop zone.

Francisco inherited a team that had begun to wane after great success in recent years under Imanol Alguacil, but given the talent at their disposal they should still have performed better. Matarazzo’s job is to get the best from choice Takefusa Kubo, mikel oyarzabal And bryce mendez And help the team move up the table. It will be interesting to see what he can achieve in San Sebastian. , S.M

There are two mid-table teams worth focusing on, and only one point separates them: Athletic Club and Elche. Athletic finished fourth last season, equaling Villarreal’s 70-point tally to qualify for the Champions League. But it’s all been downhill since then. Only two teams – relegation candidates Real Oviedo and Levante – have suffered more defeats than Athletic’s nine defeats this season. The number of goals he has scored, 16, places him 14th in the table. And even their goals against tally (24), usually an athletic strength, puts them in 13th place. Creating athletic opportunities. His xG is 24.54, which is seventh best in the division, and he has taken 238 shots, which puts him fourth. But they are not scoring goals. top scorer nico williams And robert navarro There are three each, and not a single center forward.

As far as keeping an eye on Elche, don’t take our word for it – listen to coach Eder Sarabia. “Do you think we are in one of the best moments in the history of Elche? I think so,” he told journalists last month. And it’s hard to argue with that. their 4-0 win rayo vallecano The run-up to Christmas was the icing on the cake of an incredible year which saw them win promotion and have looked absolutely at home in the First Division since. Only Barcelona and Real Madrid have more possession (57.8% on average) or a higher pass completion rate (86.9%), a figure that increases in the final third (Elche’s 87.5% compared to Barcelona’s 86.3%). Elche is one of the best, most exciting teams to watch in LaLiga. So keep an eye on them. , kirkland

title predictions

Momentum can change quickly in LaLiga, as we saw after Madrid classico win in October, but I think Barça will have enough to win back-to-back titles under Flick. Despite injuries and perhaps without the stellar performances they did last season, they are still in a better position than this time last year and lead the table by four points. If everyone remains fit then it will be his own loss. , S.M

Real Madrid could perform better in the second half of the season under Alonso, but there are no signs of that happening so far. And even if Alonso is replaced, there is no guarantee that the team’s results will improve. So, I’d be backing Barca, with a four-point lead at Christmas and an established, all-round more solid (if imperfect) style of play, to win this. , AK