By OkayGoal 
After a wildly unpredictable matchday 30 served up not a single home victory, the Spanish top flight returns this weekend, with the top two both in action away to relegation-threatened sides. Elsewhere, Betis entertain Villarreal in a key game in the race for Champions League qualification. Here are our LaLiga predicted lineups for matchday 31.
LaLiga predicted lineups – Matchday 31
Friday 11th April 2025
21:00 – Valencia vs Sevilla
Valencia were in deep trouble when Carlos Corberan took charge in January, but they are on the brink of safety now, after a stunning win at the Bernabeu last weekend. That came despite the absences of three players due to suspension, but it’s still highly likely that Jose Luis Gaya and Luis Rioja will come straight back into the starting XI. Dimitri Foulquier was the third player to be banned last time out, but his return is more dependent on Corberan opting to switch to a back four for this fixture. It’s also unclear whether Umar Sadiq will keep his place ahead of Hugo Duro up top, with the latter netting the winner off the bench in Madrid.
Valencia predicted lineup: Mamardashvili – Gaya, Tarrega, Mosquera, Foulquier – Guerra, Barrenechea – D. Lopez, Almeida, Rioja – Sadiq (4-2-3-1)
Three straight defeats have seen Sevilla fade out of European contention. They’ll need to make changes in attack here, with Akor Adams and Ruben Vargas both picking up injuries. That should mean Isaac Romero returns up front, while Chidera Ejuke looks the most likely starter on the left flank. Saul Niguez was left on the bench again last weekend, suggesting the Atletico Madrid loanee is currently out of favour.
Sevilla predicted lineup: Nyland – Pedrosa, Salas, Bade, Carmona – Sow, Agoume, Lokonga – Ejuke, Romero, Lukebakio (4-3-3)
Saturday 12th April 2025
14:00 – Real Sociedad vs Mallorca
Real Sociedad are finally starting to deliver in the final third, after a really poor season on that front, with Mikel Oyarzabal in good form right now. Take Kubo is also likely to return to the starting XI, but they have some significant selection issues in defence heading into this game. Igor Zubeldia will definitely miss out through injury, while his usual central defensive partner Nayef Aguerd remains a major doubt too.
Real Sociedad predicted lineup: Remiro – J. Lopez, Martin, Elustondo, Aramburu – Marin, Zubimendi, Sucic – S. Gomez, Oyarzabal, Kubo (4-3-3)
The visitors have also suffered a major injury blow, with their scorer Vedat Muriqi ruled out of the trip to the Reale Arena. Takuma Asano has also picked up a knock making him doubtful for this game, while Manu Morlanes has been ruled out with a fresh injury, so we’re likely to see at least three changes from Jagoba Arrasate, with a switch to a back three possible.
Mallorca predicted lineup: Greif – Copete, Valjent, Raillo – Mojica, Mascarell, S. Costa, Maffeo – Darder, D. Rodriguez – Larin (3-4-2-1)
16:15 – Getafe vs Las Palmas
Getafe won 4-0 at Real Valladolid last weekend, with Ramon Terrats scoring his second brace in as many games. Pepe Bordalas is expecting to have a full squad available this weekend, so an unchanged lineup is certainly possible, with Borja Mayoral likely to be used off the bench yet again. Djene is pushing for a return at right-back though.
Getafe predicted lineup: Soria – Rico, Duarte, Alderete, Iglesias – Bernat, Arambarri, Milla, Terrats – Uche – Juanmi (4-4-1-1)
It was a nightmare weekend last time out for Las Palmas, with another defeat for Diego Martinez’s side coupled with victories for a number of their relegation rivals. Not a great deal has changed on the selection front ahead of this game, with Dinko Horkas set to continue in goal in the absence of Jasper Cillessen. We could see some changes though, as Martinez looks to stop the rot.
Las Palmas predicted lineup: Horkas – Marmol, McKenna, A. Suarez, Rozada – Bajcetic, Essugo, J. Muñoz – Moleiro, McBurnie, F. Silva (4-3-3)
18:30 – Celta Vigo vs Espanyol
Celta picked up a fine win at Mallorca last time out to really boost their chances of European qualification. As we’ve seen throughout the campaign though, that’s no guarantee that Claudio Giraldez will stick with exactly the same players here. The Celta boss should at least have the luxury of a full squad to pick from, with Borja Iglesias pushing for a recall up front.
Celta Vigo predicted lineup: Guaita – Alonso, Starfelt, J. Rodriguez – Mingueza, Moriba, Beltran, Carreira – Alfon, Aspas – Iglesias (3-4-2-1)
Things are a bit more predictable from an Espanyol perspective, with a brilliant 4-0 win at Rayo Vallecano last time out likely to mean we’ll see few changes from Manolo Gonzalez. He did spring a slight surprise by opting to start with Edu Exposito and Antoniu Roca in Vallecas though, with Alex Kral and Jofre Carreras the players to miss out. It’s possible we may see Kral return for a bit more protection in midfield in this game.
Espanyol predicted lineup: J. Garcia – Romero, Cabrera, Kumbulla, El Hilali – Gonzalez de Zarate, Lozano, Kral – Puado, R. Fernandez, Roca (4-3-3)
21:00 – Leganes vs Barcelona
Leganes stunned Barca with a 1-0 victory earlier in the season, and they could really use a repeat result on Saturday with Los Pepineros back in the relegation zone. Borja Jimenez has a full squad to pick from, with the exception of long-term absentees Borna Barisic and Enric Franquesa. He may opt for an extra midfielder in this game to try to counter the visiting team’s likely dominance in that area.
Leganes predicted lineup: Dmitrovic – Saenz, Tapia, Sergio – J. Hernandez, O. Rodriguez, Neyou, Cisse, Rosier – Raba, Cruz (3-5-2)
With a 4-0 advantage on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, Hansi Flick is in a slightly better position to go strong in this game than he might have been expecting. He could decide to rotate in-form Ferran Torres back in for Robert Lewandowski, although the former’s pace may be useful on the break in Germany in three days, so it could be that LaLiga’s top scorer starts this game and is rested in Dortmund. Some defensive rotation does look likely here though, while Gavi and Eric Garcia are fresh options in midfield. Overall, it’s certainly one of the most unpredictable Barca lineups of the season, given the quick turnaround in Europe.
Barcelona predicted lineup: Szczesny – Martin, Cubarsi, Araujo, Kounde – Pedri, E. Garcia – Raphinha, Gavi, Yamal – Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)
Sunday 13th April 2025
14:00 – Osasuna vs Girona
Osasuna’s poor form continued with two more dropped points at Butarque on Monday, with Dani Raba’s 87th minute penalty denying them an overdue victory. Despite their struggles, Vicente Moreno remains surprisingly loyal to his regulars, with little sign of any fringe players breaking into this side, with the main uncertainty being on the left flank where Juan Cruz and Abel Bretones are fighting for one place. Winger Bryan Zaragoza is expected to again be their only absentee on Sunday.
Osasuna predicted lineup: Herrera – Herrando, Boyomo, Catena – Bretones, Torro, Moncayola, Areso – Oroz, Ruben Garcia – Budimir (3-4-2-1)
Things aren’t going any better for Girona who have also plummeted towards the relegation scrap, following a 3rd place finish last year. Michel’s side should have enough to stay in the league, but their attacking problems were summed up by just one of their 16 shots hitting the target in the defeat to Alaves last time out. The Girona boss dropped Viktor Tsygankov for that game, but the Ukraine international may return here, with some changes in attack likely. Arnau Martinez is in a similar position having also dropped to the bench against Alaves. Ivan Martin is an injury doubt, while Abel Ruiz and Bojan Miovski look to be fighting for one place up front.
Girona predicted lineup: Gazzaniga – M. Gutierrez, Blind, Krejci, Frances – Herrera, Arthur – Danjuma, Van de Beek, Tsygankov – Ruiz (4-2-3-1)
16:15 – Alaves vs Real Madrid
There are three suspensions for Alaves to deal with this weekend, with goalkeeper Antonio Sivera unavailable, along with Jon Guridi and Tomas Conechny. That’s perhaps a good omen given Valencia were in exactly the same predicament against Real Madrid last weekend, but still came away with a victory. It’s unclear whether Chacho Coudet will opt for Adrian or Jesus Owono in goal for this game. Carles Aleña may come into the midfield given the suspension of Guridi, but Coudet may look to keep other changes to a minimum where possible following an excellent victory at Girona last time out.
Alaves predicted lineup: Owono – M. Sanchez, Abqar, Mouriño, Tenaglia – Blanco – Aleña, Jordan, C. Vicente – C. Martin, Kike Garcia (4-1-3-2)
This match takes place five days on from Real Madrid’s collapse at the Emirates on Tuesday. Barring a miraculous comeback next week, and you can never truly write Los Blancos off in the Champions League, the league will soon be the only remaining focus for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. They are likely to go quite strong as a result here, with perhaps only a few changes from the team that lost in North London. Antonio Rudiger may be in line for a rest, while Fran Garcia and Lucas Vazquez should rotate in at full-back. Ferland Mendy remains sidelined, but Dani Ceballos is nearing fitness and has an outside chance of featuring.
Real Madrid predicted lineup: Courtois – F. Garcia, Asencio, Tchouameni, L. Vazquez – Camavinga, Valverde – Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo – Mbappe (4-2-3-1)
18:30 – Real Betis vs Villarreal
Betis were 2-0 winners in their Conference League quarter-final first leg against Jagiellonia Białystok on Thursday night. They’ve been in terrific form in LaLiga too, with some light rotation expected here following that game. This is a crunch match in the race for Champions League football though, so we should see Manuel Pellegrini go strong, although young winger Jesus Rodriguez is a fitness doubt after a bout of gastroenteritis. Cucho Hernandez will certainly return up top, given he is ineligible to play in Europe.
Real Betis predicted lineup: Adrian – Perraud, Bartra, Llorente, Ruibal – Altimira, Cardoso – Lo Celso, Isco, Antony – C. Hernandez (4-2-3-1)
Pape Gueye is suspended for Villarreal, after he became the fastest player to ever reach five red cards in LaLiga last time out. That should clarify who will start in central midfield for the visitors here. Major changes are not expected from the draw with Athletic, but Yeremy Pino may return on the right flank, given Tajon Buchanan is an injury concern.
Villarreal predicted lineup: Junior – Cardona, Costa, Foyth, Femenia – Baena, Parejo, Comesaña, Pino – Ayoze, Barry (4-4-2)
21:00 – Athletic Club vs Rayo Vallecano
Athletic have put a great emphasis on the importance of the Europa League all season, and they are expected to rest a number of players again here, before the second leg of their tie with Rangers. Ernesto Valverde will likely start with one or two of his key players, and introduce others after the interval. He should have a full squad to pick from, with the exception of the injured Yuri, so there is real depth that should allow the Athletic boss to rotate without severely weakening the side.
Athletic Club predicted lineup: Simon – Boiro, Paredes, Vivian, Gorosabel – Prados, Ruiz de Galarreta – Berenguer, U. Gomez, I. Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)
Iñigo Perez must decide how best to respond to the shock of a 4-0 home defeat against Espanyol, easily the lowest moment in his reign so far. The defence is a worry right now, but Abdul Mumin won’t be fit again before the end of the season. Pacha Espino or Pelayo Fernandez may be drafted in as an alternative to Aridane Hernandez for this game. Isi Palazon may also return in midfield. Raul De Tomas is seemingly fit and healthy again, and he could potentially get minutes off the bench once more.
Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup: Batalla – Chavarria, P. Fernandez, Lejeune, Ratiu – Ciss, Diaz – A. Garcia, Isi Palazon, De Frutos – Nteka (4-2-3-1)
Monday 14th April 2025
21:00 – Atletico Madrid vs Real Valladolid
After a last-gasp winner from Pablo Barrios at Sevilla, Atletico Madrid have a glimmer of hope in the title race again, although it’s not a great deal more than that. There should be little doubt about the outcome of this game, but they do have fitness doubts over Samuel Lino and Rodrigo De Paul, with Koke potentially in line for a rare start in midfield.
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup: Oblak – Galan, Lenglet, Gimenez, Llorente – Gallagher, Barrios, Koke, Simeone – Alvarez, Griezmann (4-4-2)
Things went from bad to worse for Real Valladolid last weekend, with a 4-0 defeat, and an angry confrontation between two of their own players on the substitutes bench. Mario Martin saw red in that game too, so there’ll be at least one change in midfield here. Andre Ferreira was preferred in goal to youngster Arnau Rafus which suggests he’s likely to continue between the sticks in the injury absence of number one Karl Hein.
Real Valladolid predicted lineup: Ferreira – Aznou, D. Torres, J. Sanchez, Candela – Juric, Nikitscher – Moro, Amallah, I. Sanchez – Sylla (4-2-3-1)