Barcelona, Real Madrid and the Rest of This Weekend's Predicted Winners in Spain

The top of La Liga became much more interesting this week. So, Saturday's action will see Real Madrid and Barcelona look to chase and keep the league lead respectively.

At least five teams are pummeling each other for the Champions' League spots not earmarked for the top two. Seven can conceivably aspire to Europa adventures. There's plenty to play for in Spain this weekend.

Here's what's in the cards.:

Mallorca vs. Barcelona

No matter what Pep Guardiola says, Barcelona smell blood in the water at the top of the table. Lionel Messi has 17 goals in the last seven matches and he's not going to slow his pace now that Real Madrid has let a little light slip between them and the championship.

Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano are suspended, so Barcelona will field a make-shift defense. But then again, they almost always do. Look for Mallorca to have chances, but for Barcelona to finish more of theirs.

Prediction: 3-1 Barcelona

Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad

Mourinho is out. Sergio Ramos is out. Mesut Ozil is out. Add to that Madrid sneaked out of their first meeting with Sociedad with a 1-0 win and what do you get? Well, you likely still get a dominant win for the league leaders.

If they faced a better team (or even a worse team in better form) this weekend, Los Blancos would be in trouble; especially when they've spent the past week dwelling on referee decisions from the past rather than games still to be played. But, Sociedad are in a poor form themselves and aren't going to bust out of it on the road in the Bernabeu.

Prediction: 2-0 Real Madrid

Getafe vs. Valencia

Last time we saw Valencia, they were getting their noses bloodied at home by a relegation-bound Real Zaragoza, who were playing a man down from early-on. With a mere three points keeping them in third place, Valencia are in no mood to go from bad to worse against Getafe.

The simply facts are that Getafe don't score goals and Valencia don't concede many themselves. It's a recipe that adds up to no upset being on the cards.

Prediction: 1-0 Valencia

Real Zaragoza vs. Atletico Madrid

Zaragoza have consistently been the worst performing team in La Liga by some distance. Just because the Sun picked a random day in March to shine on this dog's ass doesn't change that fact.

Zaragoza has scored 24 goals this season. Atletico forward Radamel Falcao has scored 19 all by himself. It's not out of the question that the player could overtake the team by season's end. He will definitely close the gap tomorrow.

Prediction: 3-0 Atletico Madrid

Espanyol vs. Malaga

Malaga are on a roll lately. They took points off Madrid and followed that up with a 4-2 whipping of a Rayo Vallecano side that plays no defense whatsoever.

Espanyol scores a respectable amount of goals without any one player distinguishing themselves for special attention. That will play to their advantage as a weak Malaga defense has no one to key on.

Prediction: 1-1

Levante vs. Osasuna

Four points separate Levante and Osasuna in the table. That's the difference between a shot at Champions' League football and missing out on Europe entirely. This match has serious consequences.

When Levante started the season by going ten matches without a defeat, everyone scratched their heads and wondered what was going on. When they followed that up by losing three in a row, people assumed that everything returned to normal and promptly stop thinking about them. But, here we are nearing the end of the season and Levante are threatening to represent Spain in the Champions' League.

Who am I to go against fate? At their best, Levante scores a goal and defends. I'll go with that for Sunday.

Prediction: 1-0 Levante

Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sporting

At the same time that Marcelo Bielsa's team were busy writing their names in the world's imagination in the Europa League, they were dropping their last three in La Liga.

Fortunately, Sporting are horrific. That didn't help Athletic the first time around when they only managed a 1-1 draw. But, I'm going to say there's some of that European fairy dust still kicking around the San Mames' dressing room.

Prediction: 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

Rayo Vallecano vs. Villareal

Can the Yellow Submarine finally get their season on-track after Marcos Senna beat them to the draw with Madrid? I wouldn't bet on it long term, and for this week, I wouldn't even bet on it short term.

Malaga followed-up their stunning finish against Madrid with another win. But Malaga is considerably better than this Villareal side. I see them slumping after the emotional spike midweek.

Prediction: 2-1 Rayo Vallecano

Real Betis vs. Racing Santander

Few teams give up more goals in La Liga than Betis. Fortunately for home fans, Racing is one of those.

Ruben Castro has a habit of knocking in winners. He'll never find a less resistant opponent than he's got lined up for Sunday.

Prediction: 1-0 Real Betis

Granada vs. Sevilla

A month ago, when Valencia coach Unai Emery said he thought Sevilla would mount a late push and challenge for European places, I found myself nodding in agreement. Since then, they haven't exactly lit the world on fire managing just one point from their last five games.

Both teams struggle mightily to score. Maybe, that's why they've been bumped to play on Monday all by themselves. It will allow everyone else to avoid the ugliness.

Prediction: 0-0

I'll be back to gloat over or carefully avoid discussing the results on Tuesday. If I make you money this weekend, make sure to set some aside for me.

If you lose, make sure you remember that all picks are for entertainment purposes and for the love of God, please don't sue me.

Happy La Liga viewing.