Gameweek 33 served up quite a few surprises as the La Liga title race saw major developments, courtesy of Barcelona’s failure to win at home against Atletico Madrid earlier this week.
The Catalan giants were pegged back to a 2-2 draw in their own den by Los Rojiblancos, which in turn allowed Real Madrid to take advantage in their game against Getafe, which they won by a 1-0 margin to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Surely now the league is Real Madrid’s to lose as they are on a six-game winning streak with a testing trip to Athletic Bilbao to come later in the week.
For Barcelona, every game is must-win now, starting with a tricky game against Villarreal on the road. That and many other enticing fixtures await us in gameweek 34 of La Liga. So, without further ado, let’s preview the upcoming set of fixtures this weekend.
Atletico Madrid vs Mallorca (Prediction: 2-0)
After their latest draw with Barca, Atletico Madrid remain in third place on La Liga standings, and they will hope to keep the momentum going against relegation-threatened Mallorca.
The visitors produced a major upset in midweek as they trounced Celta Vigo by 5-1, but Mallorca are still five points from safety. The game between these two sides should be an exciting affair, although we expect Atletico to win by a comfortable margin.
Celta Vigo vs Real Betis (Prediction: 1-1)
As a consequence of their latest setback on the road, Celta Vigo remain in 17th place, just one spot above relegation places. Next up for the Sky Blues is a home game against Real Betis, who have had their own fair share of struggles lately.
Los Verdiblancos were on the receiving end of a 0-2 reverse at the hands of Villarreal recently, a result that leaves them in 13th place on the table.
That being said, due to the recent inconsistent form of both these teams, we expect them to cancel each other out on Saturday evening.
Real Valladolid vs Alaves (Prediction: 1-0)
On the back of their most recent 0-0 draw with Levante, Real Valladolid occupy 14th place on the standings and are just a point and a spot above their opponents of gameweek 34, Alaves.
The visitors suffered their fourth straight defeat in midweek at the hands of Granada, and we expect a similar outcome against Valladolid, who have been in good form at their home.
Granada vs Valencia (Prediction: 1-0)
Valencia have won just one of their six fixtures since La Liga resumed after a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Los Che have subsequently fallen to 10th place on the standings, one spot below their adversaries of this week, Granada.
The two teams are tied on 46 points each, thanks to Granada’s recent 2-0 triumph over Alaves. With nothing more than pride to fight for, we expect an evenly contested affair in this game.
Athletic Club vs Real Madrid (Prediction: 1-1)
By the time Barcelona kick off their respective game against Villarreal, Real Madrid could already be seven points ahead, but they’ll have to overcome a stern test on Sunday evening in the form of Athletic Bilbao.
The San Mames is already a difficult place to visit, and add to that Real Madrid’s recent struggles to break down opposition teams – it’s a really tough game for the visitors.
The Basque club recently overcame Valencia by a 2-0 margin, and they’ve risen to eighth on the table. All things considered, this should be a treat to watch, even for the neutrals.
Espanyol vs Leganes (Prediction: 0-0)
The battle of two relegation-threatened clubs – 19th-placed Leganes will travel to play 20th-placed Espanyol in gameweek 34, in a match that could make or break the season for both these teams.
Only one point separates the two sides in contention here, and winning this match is of great importance as the La Liga status of Espanyol and Leganes are at stake.
Osasuna vs Getafe (Prediction: 1-1)
Osasuna are 11th in the standings, courtesy of their three wins on the trot, the most recent of which came against Eibar. Their rivals of this week, Getafe endured a narrow 0-1 defeat to Real Madrid, a result which leaves them sixth on the table.
These two teams will go head to head in gameweek 34 of La Liga, and given the recent form of the teams in contention, we expect a closely contested game.
Villarreal vs Barcelona (Prediction: 1-2)
The Catalan giants are walking a tight rope now, having played two consecutive draws in recent weeks, Barcelona’s title defence is in tatters.
All of their remaining games are must-win now, starting with their visit of the El Madrigal. Villarreal have risen to fifth place on the back of their recent wins over Valencia and Real Betis.
That being said, with their backs against the ball, we expect Barca to grind up a win now they are in desperate need of points to keep their La Liga title in sight.
Levante vs Real Sociedad (Prediction: 0-1)
Real Sociedad have fallen off the pace in recent weeks, but their latest 2-1 win over Espanyol helped them remain in seventh place on the table. Next up, they will travel to the Estadio Camilo Cano on Monday night to face Levante.
The hosts come into this game after playing out a 0-0 draw with Valladolid, and as a consequence, Levante are 12th on the standings. Taking recent form into consideration, we expect Real Sociedad to travel back home with all three points in their bag.
Sevilla vs Eibar (Prediction: 3-0)
Two teams on completely opposite spectrums of La Liga table, third-placed Sevilla will host 16th-placed Eibar at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Monday night, in the last fixture of this week’s round of matches.
The hosts defeated Leganes most recently, while Eibar suffered a 0-2 reverse at the hands of Osasuna.
That being said, we expect Sevilla to dispatch the visitors easily and keep the pressure on third-placed Atletico Madrid.
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