La Liga Fixtures 2014 Week 8: Schedule, Live Stream Info, Picks and Key Players

Barcelona lead the early running in La Liga, two points clear at the top of the table from Valencia, per Sky Sports.

The Catalan giants have scored an impressive 19 goals in their opening matches of the season, as they look to wrestle the title back away from the capital city.

The Camp Nou team now face a comfortable home match with Eibar as they look to extend their lead.

Champions Atletico Madrid will be hoping to bounce back from their last match where they lost 3-1 to Valencia. The La Liga holders now face a tricky tie against Espanyol, who are unbeaten in the league, in four.

Alberto Saiz/Associated Press

Real Madrid will be looking to make short work of Levante, who currently sit just outside the relegation zone.

Here is the schedule for this week's matches and live-stream information for each game:

Date	Time (BST/ET)	Fixture	Live Stream	Prediction
October 17	8 p.m./3 p.m.	Granada v Rayo Vallecano	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	2-1
October 18	3 p.m./10 a.m.	Levante v Real Madrid	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	0-4
October 18	5 p.m./noon	Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo	beIN Sports Connect	1-2
October 18	7 p.m./2 p.m.	Barcelona v Eibar	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	5-1
October 18	9 p.m./4 p.m.	Cordoba v Malaga	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	1-2
October 19	11 a.m./6 a.m.	Atletico Madrid v Espanyol	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	2-1
October 19	4 p.m./11 a.m.	Deportivo La Coruna v Valencia	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	1-3
October 19	6 p.m./1 p.m.	Elche v Sevilla	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	0-2
October 19	8 p.m./3 p.m.	Villarreal v Almeria	beIN Sports Connect	1-1
October 20	7.45 p.m./2.45 p.m.	Real Sociedad v Getafe	Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect	0-0

Stream links: Sky Go (UK), beIN Sports Connect (US).

Key Players

Mario Mandzukic

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Atletico Madrid's recent big-name purchase will be seeking to have a strong impact in his first season in La Liga.

Mario Mandzukic is a player who comes with a big reputation after his spell with Bayern Munich but he is following in the footsteps of some great Atleti strikers, such as Radamel Falcao, Sergio Aguero, Fernando Torres, and most recently, Diego Costa.

And the 28-year-old has started life in the capital well, scoring four times in nine appearances, per Squawka.

However, the champions lost their last outing in La Liga and are now playing catch up—already trailing Barca by five points at this very early stage.

Mandzukic is a classical striker with power and physicality but there are question marks over whether he can replace Costa, who terrorised Spanish defences last season.

If he can do this, Diego Simeone's team will challenge once again. But after losing a host of star names over the summer, Atletico will be pushed to repeat last season's heroics.

Lionel Messi

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

It is business as usual for the Argentina magician as he starts his personal campaign to bring the championship back to Barcelona.

And once again, Lionel Messi has found his goalscoring touch—though many will say he never lost it.

The 27-year-old already has six goals from his seven La Liga games, per Squawka, as the Camp Nou team make all the running. He has also created 25 chances in those games, showing that his all-round approach is as good as ever.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Messi is the key for Luis Enrique's team this season, and as Cristiano Ronaldo has shone for Real Madrid despite minor injury, Messi must now recapture his most electric form.

Barcelona director Andoni Zubizarreta recently commented on the player's continued influence and his partnership with Neymar, per Joe Wright of Goal.com:

"

Players evolve and Leo isn't just a goalscorer. He understands the game, he is involved in more phases of play. Goals will always be there but that won't be all.

Leo plays more inside and Neymar goes into space and that can unsettle teams, but also there are others like Pedro and Munir El Haddadi. Our rivals will analyse us and we're always changing—the top teams always do. Last year was difficult for them both with injuries. Now there is more consistency.

"

Barca take on Eibar on Saturday in a game that should be a procession for Messi and company.

It is vital that Barcelona make short work of this kind of opponents this season so they can focus their energies to stay ahead of the two teams from the capital city.

Messi is still the best in the world, and now he must prove he can dominate Spain, once more.