LA LIGA PREVIEW: Barcelona to strengthen grip on first
Barcelona are still alive in all three remaining competitions although their defence of the Champions League was made a little harder when they drew La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals on Friday. They will have to dust themselves done and refocus their attentions on a potential banana-skin match against high-flyers Villarreal on Sunday.
Villarreal are winless through their last three in the league, having previously been unbeaten in 14 La Liga matches. They were able to navigate past Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday, however, further strengthening Spain’s coefficient.
It doesn’t, however, get much harder than facing Barcelona. Luis Enrique’s side are 38 matches unbeaten in all competitions (32 wins, six draws) and Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar has combined to score 106 goals this season.
Barcelona’s attacking trident are still expected to flourish this weekend but they may be forced to perform at their best when they face up against a Villarreal side who have conceded the second fewest amount of goals at home in La Liga this season (8). You’d still fancy Barcelona to re-establish their eight point lead at the top, with Atletico Madrid expected to have no problems in overcoming basement side Sporting Gijon in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Real Madrid’s position in La Liga doesn’t read well for Florentino Perez. They are third and 12 points adrift of Barcelona, which could be 15 if Barcelona beat Villarreal a few hours before they host Sevilla in Sunday’s final match of the weekend. For all of Madrid’s faults this season, they should be capable of fending off a Sevilla outfit, who are bizarrely still waiting for their first win away from home in the league this season. Only Barcelona (43) have picked up more points on home soul than Sevilla (39), but they drop to 16th when solely considering away form in La Liga (9).
Which game are you looking forward to most in La Liga this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
