Barcelona and Real Madrid continue their battle atop La Liga with the Blaugrana gaining ground in Matchweek 12. While Barcelona won in dramatic fashion on Saturday at Valencia thanks to a stoppage-time Robert Lewandowski strike, Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw with Girona, reducing the gap at the top to just one point.
It looks like it will be a two-horse race again this season after Atletico Madrid lost their third match of the campaign at Cadiz on a 99th minute strike by Ruben Sobrino to add insult to injury after their midweek Champions League elimination.Â
Los Colchoneros remained in third on the goals scored tiebreaker despite Real Betis drawing level on points and goal differential with a road victory over Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, Villarreal fell to defeat at Athletic Bilbao in their first match without manager Unai Emery, who departed the Yellow Submarine for Aston Villa.
In the bottom half of the table, in addition to Almeria’s home win and the wild victory by Cadiz over Atletico, Sevilla lost its first home match under new manager Jorge Sampaoli since he rejoined the club. Sevilla are currently in the bottom three with the derby against Real Betis up next.Â
It’s not looking good for last-place Elche, who remain the only winless side after losing against Getafe for their fourth loss in six home matches and eighth in 12 overall.
MORE: Updated La Liga top scorers for the 2022/23 season
La Liga table, standings 2022/23
Updated as of Monday, October 31.
| Pos | Team | Points | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Real Madrid | 32 | 12 | 29 | +19 | @ RAY, Nov. 7 |
| 2. | Barcelona | 31 | 12 | 29 | +25 | vs. ALM, Nov. 5 |
| 3. | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 12 | 20 | +8 | vs. ESP, Nov. 6 |
| 4. | Real Betis | 23 | 12 | 16 | +8 | vs. SEV, Nov. 6 |
| 5. | Real Sociedad | 22 | 12 | 16 | +1 | vs. VAL, Nov. 6 |
| 6. | Athletic Bilbao | 21 | 12 | 20 | +8 | @ GIR, Nov. 4 |
| 7. | Osasuna | 20 | 12 | 13 | +2 | @ CEL, Nov. 5 |
| 8. | Villarreal | 18 | 12 | 14 | +6 | vs. MAL, Nov. 6 |
| 9. | Rayo Vallecano | 18 | 12 | 17 | +3 | vs. RMA, Nov. 7 |
| 10. | Valencia | 15 | 12 | 18 | +4 | @ RSO, Nov. 6 |
| 11. | Real Valladolid | 14 | 12 | 11 | -6 | vs. ELC, Nov. 5 |
| 12. | Mallorca | 13 | 12 | 10 | -3 | @ VIL, Nov. 6 |
| 13. | Almeria | 13 | 12 | 15 | -5 | @ BAR, Nov. 5 |
| 14. | Getafe | 13 | 12 | 12 | -7 | vs. CAD, Nov. 5 |
| 15. | Espanyol | 11 | 12 | 15 | -5 | @ ATM, Nov. 6 |
| 16. | Celta Vigo | 11 | 12 | 13 | -11 | vs. OSA, Nov. 5 |
| 17. | Girona | 10 | 12 | 16 | -4 | @ ELC, Nov. 8 |
| 18. | Sevilla | 10 | 12 | 11 | -8 | @ BET, Nov. 6 |
| 19. | Cadiz | 10 | 12 | 8 | -16 | @ GET, Nov. 5 |
| 20. | Elche | 4 | 12 | 8 | -19 | @ VALL, Nov. 5 |
La Liga title race
It’s going to be one of those seasons in La Liga with only two teams vying for the title again: It’s Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. Madrid leads by a point, but the gap narrowed after Madrid was held by Girona on Sunday.
Barcelona, consequently, can retake the lead temporarily on Saturday if they can top Almeria, potentially putting more pressure on Los Blancos, who are in action at Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Atletico Madrid’s loss at Cadiz in Matchweek 12 feels like it was enough to knock them out of contention.
| Pos | Team | Points | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Real Madrid | 32 | 12 | 29 | +19 | @ RAY, Nov. 7 |
| 2. | Barcelona | 31 | 12 | 29 | +25 | vs. ALM, Nov. 5 |
| 3. | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 12 | 20 | +8 | vs. ESP, Nov. 6 |
| 4. | Real Betis | 23 | 12 | 16 | +8 | vs. SEV, Nov. 6 |
MORE: When is the next El Clasico? Fixture schedule & results for Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
La Liga European places
La Liga earns four direct places to the UEFA Champions League group stage (they go to the top four finishers), and the usual big-budget names of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid will challenge for three of them. The other teams that could have a say in the race are Villarreal, Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad.
Those that come up short of a top-four Champions League place will have the consolation prize of a Europa League berth (5th place), or Conference League berth (6th place).Â
The Spanish Copa del Rey winner gets the other available Europa League ticket. But if the Copa del Rey champion happens to be a top-four La Liga team — thus earning a more lucrative Champions League berth — then that second Europa League berth would instead be transferred to the 6th-place team in the table. That would push the lone Conference League automatic berth down to the 7th-placed finisher.
| Pos | Team | Points | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Real Madrid | 32 | 12 | 29 | +19 | @ RAY, Nov. 7 |
| 2. | Barcelona | 31 | 12 | 29 | +25 | vs. ALM, Nov. 5 |
| 3. | Atletico Madrid | 23 | 12 | 20 | +8 | vs. ESP, Nov. 6 |
| 4. | Real Betis | 23 | 12 | 16 | +8 | vs. SEV, Nov. 6 |
| 5. | Real Sociedad | 22 | 12 | 16 | +1 | vs. VAL, Nov. 6 |
| 6. | Athletic Bilbao | 21 | 12 | 20 | +8 | @ GIR, Nov. 4 |
| 7. | Osasuna | 20 | 12 | 13 | +2 | @ CEL, Nov. 5 |
| 8. | Villarreal | 18 | 12 | 14 | +6 | vs. MAL, Nov. 6 |
| 9. | Rayo Vallecano | 18 | 12 | 17 | +3 | vs. RMA, Nov. 7 |
| 10. | Valencia | 15 | 12 | 18 | +4 | @ RSO, Nov. 6 |
La Liga relegation
It’s already shaping up to be a tight race to avoid the bottom three places and relegation to the second division at season’s end.
Promoted side Girona had sunk all the way to 19th, but a valuable road point against Real Madrid saw them momentarily nudge out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Similarly, Cadiz have worked their way out of what looked like a massive hole and now have a path to survival.
Bottom club Elche have the toughest road ahead, still looking for their first win and staring at a six-point gap from the teams above them.
Sevilla and Celta Vigo, two teams expected to challenge for European places, are surprisingly in the relegation mix, but they still have 26 matches to haul themselves out of the muck.
| Pos | Team | Points | Matches Played |
Goals Scored |
Goal Difference |
Next Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | Mallorca | 13 | 12 | 10 | -3 | @ VIL, Nov. 6 |
| 13. | Almeria | 13 | 12 | 15 | -5 | @ BAR, Nov. 5 |
| 14. | Getafe | 13 | 12 | 12 | -7 | vs. CAD, Nov. 5 |
| 15. | Espanyol | 11 | 12 | 15 | -5 | @ ATM, Nov. 6 |
| 16. | Celta Vigo | 11 | 12 | 13 | -11 | vs. OSA, Nov. 5 |
| 17. | Girona | 10 | 12 | 16 | -4 | @ ELC, Nov. 8 |
| 18. | Sevilla | 10 | 12 | 11 | -8 | @ BET, Nov. 6 |
| 19. | Cadiz | 10 | 12 | 8 | -16 | @ GET, Nov. 5 |
| 20. | Elche | 4 | 12 | 8 | -19 | @ VALL, Nov. 5 |
How to watch La Liga 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
| Â | UK | USA | Canada | Australia |
| TV channel | Premier Sports 1, LaLigaTV |
ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes |
TSN | — |
| Streaming | Premier Player HD, Amazon Prime Video |
ESPN+, fuboTV | TSN Go, TSN Direct, TSN app, TSN.ca |
Optus Sport |
UK: La Liga matches in the UK can be found on Premier Sports platforms, as well as LaLiga TV which is available on Amazon Prime.
USA: ESPN holds the broadcast rights to every La Liga match in the USA with both English- and Spanish-language streams available on ESPN+. ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes televise select matches, with all those channels streaming on fuboTV.
Canada: TSN carries La Liga in Canada with select matches televised on the TV network. The other matches are available to stream on TSN platforms.
Australia: Optus Sport is the home of La Liga matches for fans in Australia.
