By OkayGoal 
Spanish football is back for the new year, with Rayo Vallecano hosting Getafe in the first LaLiga match of 2026. There’s also a big Catalan derby to look forward to this weekend.
Here are our LaLiga predicted lineups for matchday 18. All kick-off times are based on the local time in Spain. Players in bold are those considered to have the highest chance of starting (80% or more).
LaLiga predicted lineups – Matchday 18
Friday 2nd January 2026
21:00 – Rayo Vallecano vs Getafe
Rayo Vallecano predicted lineup
Batalla – Chavarria, Felipe, Lejeune, Ratiu – Valentin, U. Lopez – A. Garcia, Diaz, Palazon – Camello (4-2-3-1)
Getafe predicted lineup
Soria – Rico, Djene, Duarte, Iglesias, Femenia – Martin, Arambarri, Milla – Liso, Sancris (5-3-2)
Saturday 3rd January 2026
14:00 – Celta Vigo vs Valencia
Celta Vigo predicted lineup
Radu – Alonso, Starfelt, M. Fernandez – Mingueza, Moriba, Beltran, Rueda – Zaragoza, Swedberg – Iglesias (3-4-2-1)
Valencia predicted lineup
Agirrezabala – Gaya, Copete, Tarrega, Correia – Almeida, Pepelu, Guerra, Rioja – Beltran, Duro (4-4-2)
16:15 – Osasuna vs Athletic Club
Osasuna predicted lineup
Herrera – Galan, Catena, Herrando, Rosier – Moncayola, Torro – Ruben Garcia, Oroz, Muñoz – Budimir (4-2-3-1)
Athletic Club predicted lineup
Simon – Boiro, Vivian, Paredes, Gorosabel – Jauregizar, Ruiz de Galarreta – N. Williams, Sancet, I. Williams – Guruzeta (4-2-3-1)
18:30 – Elche vs Villarreal
Elche predicted lineup
Peña – Bigas, Affengruber, Chust – Valera, Febas, Aguado, Nuñez, Josan – Mir, A. Rodriguez (3-5-2)
Villarreal predicted lineup
Junior – Cardona, Marin, Foyth, Mouriño – Moleiro, Comesaña, Parejo, Pepe – A. Perez, Mikautadze (4-4-2)
21:00 – Espanyol vs Barcelona
Espanyol predicted lineup
Dmitrovic – Romero, Cabrera, Calero, El Hilali – Lozano, Exposito, Gonzalez de Zarate – Milla, R. Fernandez, Dolan (4-3-3)
Barcelona predicted lineup
J. Garcia – Balde, Martin, Cubarsi, Kounde – Pedri, E. Garcia – Raphinha, Fermin, Yamal – Ferran (4-2-3-1)
Sunday 4th January 2026
14:00 – Sevilla vs Levante
Sevilla predicted lineup
Vlachodimos – Oso, Salas, Gudelj, Azpilicueta, Carmona – Agoume, Mendy, Sow – Alexis, Romero (5-3-2)
Levante predicted lineup
Ryan – Pampin, Moreno, De la Fuente, Toljan – Rey, Vencedor, Arriaga – P. Martinez, Romero, C. Alvarez (4-3-3)
16:15 – Real Madrid vs Real Betis
Real Madrid predicted lineup
Courtois – Carreras, Huijsen, Rudiger, Valverde – Guler, Tchouameni – Vinicius, Bellingham, Rodrygo – G. Garcia (4-2-3-1)
Real Betis predicted lineup
Valles – Rodriguez, Natan, Bartra, Bellerin- Roca, Deossa – Ruibal, Fornals, Antony – C. Hernandez (4-2-3-1)
18:30 – Mallorca vs Girona
Mallorca predicted lineup
Roman – Mojica, Raillo, Valjent, Maffeo – S. Costa, Morlanes – Virgili, Darder, Joseph – Muriqi (4-2-3-1)
Girona predicted lineup
Gazzaniga – Moreno, Blind, Reis, Frances – Martin, Witsel, A. Martinez – Gil, Vanat, Tsygankov (4-3-3)
18:30 – Alaves vs Real Oviedo
Alaves predicted lineup
Sivera – Youssef, Pacheco, Tenaglia, Jonny – Ibañez, Blanco – Rebbach, D. Suarez, Vicente – T. Martinez (4-2-3-1)
Real Oviedo predicted lineup
Escandell – Alhassane, Bailly, Costas, Ahijado – Colombatto, Sibo – Chaira, Reina, Brekalo – Viñas (4-2-3-1)
21:00 – Real Sociedad vs Atletico Madrid
Real Sociedad predicted lineup
Remiro – Muñoz, Martin, Caleta-Car, Aramburu – Soler, Turrientes – Guedes, B. Mendez, Kubo – Oyarzabal (4-2-3-1)
Atletico Madrid predicted lineup
Oblak – Ruggeri, Hancko, Pubill, Llorente – Baena, Barrios, Koke, Simeone – Sorloth, Alvarez (4-4-2)
Mark is a freelance football writer based in Madrid, and the editor of LaLigaExpert.com. He has been covering LaLiga and European football since 2014.