Celta to take Barca all the way at Balaidos
If there’s one ground where Barcelona don’t often get things their own way, it’s Balaidos, and it’s against Celta Vigo where the Catalans head to on Tuesday.
The Galicians have been a real thorn in the side of the Blaugrana in the recent past, though Ernesto Valverde has yet to lose to them this season. Two draws and a win is the current balance, but Celta, with an in-form Iago Aspas as the driving force, will take Barca all the way in this one.
Manage to leave Vigo unscathed, and then an unbeaten league campaign is very much on the cards.
Valverde knows that a win here will mean Barcelona are only four points from their seventh title in 10 years, and on that basis, it’s unlikely he’ll rotate, even though the Copa de Rey final is just days away.
Aspas, Hugo Mallo, Daniel Wass and Pione Sisto always enjoy the battle and they’ll be up for the fight again with a Europa League place at stake. Juan Carlos Unzue knows the Barca way like the back of his hand, so Messi and Co. certainly won’t have it all their own way.
More rotation for Zidane with an eye on Bayern
Real Madrid looked a little lacklustre against Malaga, but we can expect more of the same against an Athletic Club side that have flattered to deceive for long periods this season.
Zinedine Zidane and his men only have eyes for a third consecutive Champions League win, so with Bayern next up – Real don’t play this weekend – the French coach will utilise his full squad.
Achraf, Dani Ceballos, Theo Hernandez and Borja Mayoral will all get significant time on the pitch, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the course of the season, none of that quartet are good enough for Los Blancos.
How Ceballos in particular must be regretting not moving to Barcelona where he would’ve been given a starting spot to hold down from the beginning.
Kuko Ziganda’s side could drop a place to 15th without a positive result at the Santiago Bernabeu, so the pressure really is on the likes of Inaki Williams, Aritz Aduriz and Markel Susaeta to deliver.
A devastating home loss to Depor last time out will have done nothing for their confidence, so don’t be expecting miracles.
Griezmann returns to haunt his old employers
Though he might be plying his trade at the Camp Nou next season, Antoine Griezmann has a duty to sign off from his time at Atletico Madrid in the best possible way.
The Frenchman has been back amongst the goals of late, but will miss the input of his injured colleague, Diego Costa. The Spaniard has played the role of target man wonderfully well, allowing Griezmann to shine.
Real Sociedad have had a topsy-turvy season, but a 5-0 victory over high-flying Girona in their last home game, shows that they may have turned the corner under new coach Imanol Alguacil.
Though their attacking players – Mikel Oyarzabal, Willian Jose and Adnan Januzaj et al – are playing with a fluency not seen at the Anoeta for a while, their Achilles heel is in defence.
Diego Llorente and Raul Navas have been poor on many occasions and with non-existent cover from David Zurutuza, Griezmann is going to have a field day in those central areas.
Jan Oblak has only conceded 15 in La Liga so far this season, and it’s unlikely that will change during this match.
Valencia to bounce back against Getafe
Though the 2-1 loss to Barcelona will have hurt Valencia, they showed enough in that match to have won the game had the stars aligned differently.
There were two or three occasions where the Blaugrana were authors of their own downfall, but Los Che just couldn’t take advantage.
Geoffrey Kondogbia was immense in midfield and Rodrigo a livewire up front. If the latter is aiming for a place in Julen Lopetegui’s Spain World Cup squad, he’s certainly going about it the right way, and against a sluggish Getafe defence, he’ll likely be the match winner.
Marcelino has worked wonders with his side, but Jose Bordalas deserves credit for the job he’s done at Getafe.
The Madrid-based side have tailed off a little and 10th in the table is probably fair.
Though they’ll get no change from Valencia here, especially with Mathieu Flamini missing after his red card against Espanyol, they’ll still have five games left to push for a Europa League place, which is something well within their grasp at this point if they can pick themselves up for the run in.
Depor edge close to safety
Just when Depor looked dead and buried, the footballing gods held out an olive branch.
No win in 15, but now two wins in two, including a remarkable three points away at Athletic Club.
Clarence Seedorf will be accentuating the positives because a win over a much-changed Sevilla, who have one eye on the Copa del Rey final, and a Malaga win against Levante, will mean that Depor will only be two points from safety.
That was unrealistic even just a couple of weeks ago, but now Seedorf’s side have a bit of momentum, and importantly, belief. They also have Adrian Lopez who has scored four goals in his last two outings.
For Vincenzo Montella, this is just the type of fixture his team can do without. Depor will be fighting tooth and nail for every ball and won’t hold back in any challenges.
A side that has aspirations of toppling Barca in Madrid on Saturday, could’ve done with a much easier ride.
That said, his major players will be rested for the coach can’t afford to have any 11th hour injuries.
