La Liga's New Year traditions: Who thrives and who nosedives in January?
A deep dive into the curious patterns of La Liga teams' first matches of the year, revealing surprising stats and trends that define Spanish clubs' January form.
The Christmas break is over and La Liga action returns with all 20 teams kicking off their new calendar year. Historical patterns reveal fascinating trends about who typically starts the year with a bang and who tends to struggle in January.
Home advantage holds true
The first matchday of the year has historically produced 57% home wins - identical to this season’s overall home win percentage - while away victories (21%) run seven points higher than the current campaign average.
Among the statistical curiosities:
- Barcelona leads with the most January opening wins (56)
- Real Madrid tops the scoring charts with 213 goals in these fixtures
- Levante, Elche and Alavés have shocking away records - failing to win in 11, 10 and 9 respective January road trips
The big boys’ January form
Barcelona have started away from home for seven consecutive years with tight results - five one-goal victories and two draws (both against Espanyol). They’re currently nine games unbeaten in these fixtures.
Real Madrid fans have witnessed just one home defeat in 48 New Year opening matches - a 0-2 loss to Real Sociedad in 2018. Talk about consistency!
Atlético Madrid shows vulnerability on the road - of their 17 away defeats in these fixtures, 10 came while conceding 3-4 goals, including last year’s 4-3 thriller against Girona despite Morata’s hat-trick.
Mid-table mixed bags
Athletic Club haven’t lost an away January opener since 2015 (against Deportivo), building a solid run of 4 wins and 1 draw.
Betis have managed just one win in their last seven New Year kickoffs (plus one draw), with their sole victory coming against Rayo in Madrid (1-2 in 2023).
Celta won three straight between 2022-2024 - their best streak - before Rayo Vallecano ended it last year.
The strugglers’ stories
Getafe haven’t drawn any of their last 12 New Year openers - with 9 losses and 3 wins. That’s proper feast or famine, innit?
Elche have won just 4 of 24 January debuts, all at home with clean sheets. Their last such victory? 1985. They’re on a six-game winless run with three draws.
Levante have the most shocking away record - from 11 January road trips, they’ve managed just a single point (0-0 at Valencia in 2008), followed by eight consecutive defeats. Talk about having a ‘mare!
Mallorca have been proper goal-shy since 1992, scoring more than one goal just 4 times in 22 New Year openers, with only 2 goals across their last 7.
The Christmas pudding might be finished, but these stats show some teams still carry holiday hangovers while others hit January running. As we watch this weekend’s action unfold, these historical patterns might just give us a hint of what’s to come.