Storylines to Follow in La Liga This Weekend: A Title-Deciding Clasico?
La Liga has taken a backseat to European action during the week, but the top flight in Spain has a massive few days ahead of it once the weekend rolls around.
Central to everybody's viewing plans will be El Clasico, the Camp Nou matchup between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two title challengers are both chasing a domestic and continental double for the season.
As such a vital match, it naturally takes quite a significant portion of our attention as we bring you our storylines to watch in La Liga, but we've still taken a look at the most important of the rest of the games and what they mean for the league too.
El Clasico Pt.1: Barcelona Only Know to Play One Way
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Rayo Vallecano or Rotherham United, Roma or Real Madrid, Barcelona's only ambitions for any 90-minute game are to get the ball down, control the possession and look to attack. That's their best form of defence and has brought success over a long period, so why change?
They won't. Barcelona will look to dominate the game and create chances for the front three with fast and intricate play once they're around the edge of the box.
Movement will be key to evading what will likely be a well-organised defence, while the midfield will recycle fast and look to provide support in the build-up play. It will not be their first requirement to play incisive through balls.
A win for Barcelona brings with it a four-point lead at the top with 10 games to go.
El Clasico Pt. 2: Real Madrid MUST Go for the Win
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Real Madrid know they won't see as much of the ball as their rivals, but that doesn't mean they can't do just as much damage with the possession they do have.
Lightning pace on the counter-attack will be key, so the set-up from manager Carlo Ancelotti has to reflect that. We already know BBC—Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo—will all start—it's just a matter of whether they play as a three in attack or a two-pronged front line with Bale on one wing. The latter is almost certainly the smarter plan, forcing Barcelona to sit an extra man a little deeper. The former depends on how tactically strict Ancelotti is with Ronaldo, who'd need to stick wide and provide an outlet in a 4-3-3.
Fast balls out of defence and into space and quick support from the second line of attack will be key to the current European champions taking points from the game. They will at some point have to come out of their organised ranks if the game is tight; a draw leaves them chasing top spot, so it must be in Ancelotti's mind to have a plan to win the game.
Victory takes them back to the top, two points above Barcelona.
El Clasico Pt. 3: Selection Dilemmas
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It's not just tactics but personnel that will decide the outcome of the fixture.
Barca need to decide on a central-defensive partner for Gerard Pique. That could be influenced by Sergio Busquets' fitness, as Javier Mascherano will play holding midfield if Sergio does not recover. That leaves a straight fight between Marc Bartra and Jeremy Mathieu to play with Pique—and it should be the Spaniard.
Bartra has been excellent in his last few starts for the team—uncompromising, stepping out of the back line well, playing forward-thinking passes and covering behind his team-mates intelligently. His game has stepped up a lot this year, and he deserves the chance to play in a bigger game.
The front three—Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez—are obviously going to start, so Luis Enrique must decide two from four of Ivan Rakitic, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Rafinha to play ahead of Mascherano in the middle.
For Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos' timely return means a back four is easy to select, with Pepe getting the nod over Raphael Varane at present due to Real's sticky patch and the need for experience. Iker Casillas will return in goal—for good or ill—and the one key question for Ancelotti is the alignment of his midfield.
Isco will play, but will it be left side in a 4-4-2 or centrally in a 4-3-3? Then, there is Toni Kroos, who was left out last time, and recent injury returnee Luka Modric. All three could start with BBC in attack.
Part 3 of the Battle Between Villarreal vs. Sevilla
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For the third time in four matches, Sevilla and Villarreal will do battle against each other—this time in La Liga after a two-legged Europa League affair.
The Andalusian side surprised Villarreal by attacking in the away leg and came out with a 3-1 victory. With the second leg to be held Thursday night, one of these sides will only be playing for fifth place over the rest of the season, while the other may have half an eye on keeping players fit for European action. The assumption must be that Sevilla will see the tie out.
The gap between them, Sevilla fifth and Villarreal sixth, is three points at present. A win for Sevilla will put them totally in the driving seat for the higher-placed finish, but can they win twice at El Madrigal in the space of two weeks?
Relegation Clash of the Weekend: Granada vs. Eibar
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Down at the bottom, a single point here or there can make all the difference—but wins are in scarce supply right now, and beating relegation rivals can have a huge impact.
Just five points separates 14th from 19th, and those two sides play on Saturday knowing that they, and everybody between them, are in a crazy relegation fight. Eibar's away form this season is actually better than Granada's home form, but recent runs are more pertinent—and Eibar have lost eight on the spin. Granada have won one and drawn one in their last five, which is not exactly brilliant form but enough to keep them in touch with the teams above the dotted line.
Elsewhere, Elche, Almeria and Cordoba face probable defeats against Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad respectively, so the opportunity for others to take advantage is enormous.
Levante, who will be at home to Celta Vigo, must surely feel they have a chance to claim points on Saturday.
Basque Sides' Late Surge
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Finally, the quick mention in the last slide for the two bigger Basque teams in the league is worth focusing on again. Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad have good chances to pick up three more points next time out.
Athletic have been massively improved over the second half of the season, and they are up into eighth place after four successive victories and have a Copa del Rey final to look forward to. Real Sociedad, while not quite on that level of improvement, have seen three wins in the last four propel them into the top half and are looking a more rounded outfit now, not merely one capable of defending well and resisting defeat.
Athletic play Almeria (16th) and La Real face Cordoba (20th) in two eminently winnable games.
