The March international break is coming up, but before that there is a big weekend of LALIGA EA SPORTS action. Matchday 28 promises to be a thrilling one, especially because four of the teams currently inside the top five will be facing off amongst each other, with Villarreal CF vs Real Madrid on Saturday and Atlético de Madrid vs FC Barcelona on Sunday.
The weekend’s action starts at the bottom of the table, with UD Las Palmas vs Deportivo Alavés, a meeting of two teams inside the relegation zone. Although these two clubs are currently in the drop zone, they both still have a good chance of surviving so this Friday night game is a very important one in the relegation battle.
Real Valladolid, who are bottom and the other club in the relegation zone, host the first game of Saturday’s action, when RC Celta play at the Estadio José Zorrilla. If they are to pull off a great escape, Los Blanquivioletas need wins urgently.
RCD Mallorca vs RCD Espanyol is the next game of the day, a match between two teams that have been drawing a lot in recent weeks. It should, therefore, be a competitive duel at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix.
Then, at 18:30 CET on Saturday, there is a huge match at the top of the table as defending champions Real Madrid visit Villarreal CF at the Estadio de la Cerámica, a stadium where they haven’t won in the league since 2017. With this year’s title race proving to be so tight, Real Madrid will hope to reverse that trend and take all three points this time around.
The last game on Saturday sees Girona FC take on Valencia CF at the Estadi Montilivi. Girona FC will hope that the support of their own fans can inspire them to victory, having failed to win any of their past five league games. Valencia CF, on the other hand, are in great form and winter signing Umar Sadiq is scoring the goals that have led them out of the relegation zone.
There is an action-packed Sunday, with five fixtures taking place on one day. Real Betis, the only team along with FC Barcelona to have won their past four matches, pay a visit to CD Leganés in the first game of the day, and Los Verdiblancos will look to repeat their victory over Los Pepineros from earlier in the season.
Sunday brings up an intriguing clash between two of the most historic clubs in Spanish football history, as Sevilla FC and Athletic Club meet in the Andalusian capital. The Basques actually have a good recent record at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, having won three times, drawn twice and lost twice on their past seven visits, so Ernesto Valverde’s men will hope to achieve another victory this weekend.
At 18:30 CET, there are two simultaneous fixtures taking place: Rayo Vallecano vs Real Sociedad and CA Osasuna vs Getafe CF. These two matches feature four teams currently in mid-table, all of them between eighth and 14th, and they all still harbour hopes of qualifying for European competition next season.
The final match of the weekend and the final game before the international break is a huge one, a blockbuster clash between Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona in Spain’s capital. Not only is this a huge game in the title race, but it should also be a very entertaining one, given that Atleti and Barça have already played out two thrillers so far this season. There was a 2-1 comeback win for Atlético de Madrid back in Matchday 18 and also a 4-4 draw in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final. With so many world-class players involved, such as Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski, Julián Álvarez, Raphinha, Alexander Sørloth and Lamine Yamal, goals should be expected.
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SOURCE: LALIGA CONTENTHUB
