La Liga Preview: Villarreal Planning To Wreck Barcelona's Title Hopes

Real Madrid vs Gijon

Real Madrid will be taking on Sporting Gijon after a mini scare that could have postponed the league matches by a week and which could have had disastrous consequences in the title race. Real trail Barcelona by five points at the moment.

José Mourinho has repeatedly said that they are in with a chance to win the title, the chances of which will evaporate if a break was introduced into the fixture list. The match against Tottenham will also be on the minds of Mourinho, which means that he is unlikely to risk a number of stars for this one given that Sporting have been terrible away from home this season.

With just one away victory all season, the chances of Sporting Gijon getting anything away from the Santiago Bernabeu look remote to say the least. Real Madrid are usually excellent at home and José Mourinho will be looking to rest a number of stars, but he will also be looking to avoid complacency at the same time. Cristiano Ronaldo's participation in the match looks to be a real doubt after he is yet to recover from the hamstring problem. Emmanuel Adebayor is expected to replace him.

Villarreal vs Barcelona

Barcelona are aiming to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the table and they will be facing one of their toughest tests against Villarreal, who have been excellent this season. Villarreal looked like pulling away a huge gap over Valencia, but that has been reduced to just head-to-head difference at the moment.

Hence, Villarreal will not be complacent at all, given the fact that their third position is under threat. Barcelona's position at the top of the table is also under threat from Real Madrid and Pep Guardiola will also have to deal with the Champions League quarterfinal match against Shakhtar Donetsk that is coming up.

The biggest worry for Barcelona, though, will be the absence of Xavi, who is suspended for the match. They will also not be having their captain Carlos Puyol back, who is yet to recover from the long-term injury. Lionel Messi seems to have survived an injury scare after being passed fit after a late fitness test. Villarreal striker Nilmar has recovered from his injury and will be taking part in the match, which is the good news for the Yellow Submarines.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores