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La Liga Predictions - 12 September 2026, Matchday 5

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 11 Sep 2026

Simon Lewis 11 Sep 2026

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Alaves to keep the wins rolling away to Racing Santander.
Osasuna to win but Espanyol to get on the score sheet.
Ath Bilbao to beat Elche with a clean sheet.
Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano to both find the back of the net.

Expired

Deportivo Alaves have kept two clean sheets in four matches in La Liga (Getty Images).

Racing Santander vs Alaves

Alaves are unbeaten from the start of pre-season and have picked up six wins and two draws in their eight matches. They are second in La Liga and have kept two clean sheets this season in the league.

Racing have four points from their four matches but have been competitive this season. They have scored six goals and their two league defeats have each been by just one goal, so a Deportivo win with both teams to score is a good bet and offers a tasty payout at odds of 4.75.

Osasuna vs Espanyol

Osasuna were looking good after three matches with seven points in the bag, but a 5-2 away loss to Alaves in their last match will have shaken them. I’m backing them to bounce back with a win against an Espanyol side that has lost their last two matches on the road.

Espanyol have just one win in their last eight matches, losing three of their last five matches. They’re playing attacking football and have scored 20 goals in their last 10 matches and have scored in each of their last 14 matches, so an Osasuna win with both teams to score looks a good option.

Athletic Bilbao vs Elche

Elche are second from the bottom of La Liga after a miserable start to their season. After drawing their opener against Deportivo de A Coruña they lost 5-0 to Barcelona at home before back-to-back 3-2 defeats.

Athletic Bilbao faced two tough opening matches, losing 3-1 to Sevilla before going down 2-0 to Barcelona. They powered back with a 2-0 win over Celta Vigo and 3-0 over Atletico Madrid and I’m backing their defence to shut Elche out.

Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano

Real are close to unbeatable at home and have won four of their five matches this season. They have won three of their La Liga matches by a 10-2 aggregate score, but they went down 1-0 away to Betis in their last La Liga match.

Rayo Vallecano had run L-L-D-L, with the last match in that string being a 5-2 away hammering by Barcelona. They picked up an excellent 3-2 home win against Racing Santander in their last match, so they will feel full of confidence and have nothing to lose against Real Madrid.

They’ve scored in each of their last four matches, scoring seven and conceding 10, half of which were against Barcelona, but the fact that they netted twice against Barca gives me confidence that they will score against Real. In their last five matches against Real they have twice lost 2-1 away from home but drew the other three matches, including a 3-3 home draw.

A point out is a real possibility in this match for Rayo, but a goal feels like a strong bet with a reasonable payout.

Verdict

Spanish La Liga

I’m backing a win for Alaves as well as a both teams to score win for Osasuna and a win to nil for Athletic Bilbao.

I’d love to back a draw between Real Madrid and Rayo Vallecano as the odds are compelling and Real have shown they are vulnerable, but a both teams to score bet feels more realistic.

Real Madrid Goals

Both Teams To Score

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Ath Bilbao Win

Win To Nil

@2,30 - 1 Unit

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Alaves Win

Result

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Osasuna Win

Both Teams To Score

@4,50 - 1 Unit

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.