La Liga’s blistering return to our screens continues over the coming weekend, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both facing tough away tests. There’s also a huge game at the foot of the table.
Table toppers Barcelona will be looking to strengthen their grip on the title but face a difficult trip to Andalucía to face Sevilla on Friday night. The Catalans secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Leganes last time out, which took them up to 64 points but Real Madrid are not far behind. There’s just a two point gap between the teams following Real’s impressive 3-0 home win over Valencia on Thursday night.
Since the restart Sevilla have comfortably dispatched city rivals Real Betis 2-0 and laboured to a 1-1 draw with Levante. Despite that draw, however, they still sit in third place and are on track for Champions League football. The situation is still very tight behind them though, with just five points separating them in third and Villareal in seventh place.
Real’s difficult away game meanwhile comes at Real Sociedad, who, just like Sevilla are embroiled in the hunt for Champion’s League football. Their entertaining brand of football coming up against the superstars of Real Madrid should make for a fascinating encounter. Despite such a difficult start to the campaign Real know they’re in with a great chance of snatching the title back from Barcelona. With nine games to go however, they can’t afford any slip ups.
Two other teams involved in the race for Champion’s League football are Atletico Madrid and Getafe. They both have very winnable looking home fixtures this weekend. Diego Simeone’s side host 14th placed Real Vallodolid, who look like they’ve almost amassed enough points to avoid a relegation battle this season.
Atleti currently, however, are the lowest scorers of the top eight sides with just 37 goals. This lack of potency in attack means that home games against stubborn mid-table sides can become very frustrating for Diego Simeone’s men. This means an early goal could be vital. They found their shooting boots last time out by beating Osasuna 5-0 away from home. Getafe’s presentable fixture meanwhile is against 16th placed Eibar, who are only three points above the drop zone.
There’s a proper relegation six-pointer on Friday, as 18th placed Mallorca host bottom side Leganes. Mallorca currently have 25 points, while Leganes sit on 23. There’s a risk for Leganes that they could soon see themselves cut a drift, but a win on Friday would breathe new life into their campaign.
Here is the full fixture list:
Friday 19th June:
Granada vs Villareal 18:30 BST
Mallorca vs Leganes 18:30 BST
Sevilla vs Barcelona 21:00 BST
Saturday 20th June:
RCD Espanyol vs Levante 13:00 BST
Athletic Bilbao vs Real Betis 16:00 BST
Getafe vs Eibar 18:30 BST
Atletico Madrid vs Real Valladolid 21:00 BST
Sunday 21st June:
Celta Vigo vs Deportivo Alaves 13:00 BST
Valencia vs Osasuna 18:30 BST
Real Sociedad vs Real Madrid 21:00 BST
