La Liga Table 2015: Top Storylines in the Standings Heading Down the Stretch

Absolutely everything is up for grabs in La Liga heading down the stretch. The title is undecided, Champions League places hang in the balance, and the relegation battle is littered with teams desperately trying to remain in La Liga next season. 

Let's break down each of these storylines heading down the stretch, along with taking a look at the La Liga table. 

Place	Team	G	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	33	26	3	4	91	19	72	81
2	Real Madrid	33	26	1	6	99	30	69	79
3	Atletico Madrid	33	22	6	5	64	26	38	72
4	Sevilla	33	20	6	7	60	37	23	66
5	Valencia	32	19	8	5	56	25	31	65
6	Villarreal	33	14	11	8	44	30	14	53
7	Malaga	33	13	8	12	36	39	-3	47
8	Athletic Bilbao	33	13	7	13	33	37	-4	46
9	Celta Vigo	33	11	9	13	39	38	1	42
10	Espanyol	33	11	9	13	39	42	-3	42
11	Rayo Vallecano	33	13	2	18	38	61	-23	41
12	Real Sociedad	33	9	12	12	36	43	-7	39
13	Getafe	33	10	6	17	28	46	-18	36
14	Elche	33	9	7	17	27	57	-30	34
15	Levante	33	8	8	17	31	60	-29	32
16	Eibar	33	8	7	18	28	46	-18	31
17	Almeria	33	8	7	18	29	52	-23	31
18	Deportivo La Coruna	33	6	11	16	29	52	-23	29
19	Granada	32	4	13	15	21	57	-36	25
20	Cordoba	33	3	11	19	21	52	-31	20

Two-Team Race for the Title

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Atletico Madrid crashed Barcelona and Real Madrid's title-exchange program last year, the first time since Valencia won the title in the 2003-04 season that one of Spain's two giants failed to top the league.  

Of course, Real Madrid had their Champions League conquest to keep their supporters happy.

Barring a miracle, however, Atletico Madrid isn't catching either team this season. They trail Barcelona by nine points and Real Madrid by seven with just five games remaining for each club. They could crash Barca's party by beating them on May 16, however, though that would potentially open the door for their hated rivals, Los Blancos, to swoop in and steal the title. 

Of course, Real Madrid's road to a title has its own fair share of potholes, with matches against Sevilla and Valencia yet to come. They also have to try to catch a Barcelona team that has really peaked and established the perfect identity for itself late in the season, per Guillem Balague of Sky Sports:

"

But at the end of that creative discussion between players and manager, I think it is the players that have won. Enrique tried a style that had direct football first and control second, but what we are seeing is control first and direct football when it is needed. It is a much more balanced use of those two alternatives.

Too much direct football went against some of the players they have - Andres Iniesta, for certain - and now we have a much more balanced Barcelona at the business end of the season.

"

Indeed, Barcelona appears to be a powerhouse once again. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, their South American buffet of attackers, have learned to play together, and the trio is arguably the most deadly set of forwards in the world. The midfield is once again a strength, while the defense—a question mark coming into the season—has allowed just 18 league goals on the season, the best mark in La Liga. 

They aren't about to take any games lightly, either. 

"All of our matches are finals now," Andres Iniesta told Ben Heyward of Goal.com.

Don't expect Barca to concede this title. 

The Final Champions League Spot

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

With Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid comfortably in the first three Champions League places, the battle for the final spot will come down to the wire between Sevilla and Valencia, the former a point ahead but the latter holding a game in hand. 

The key for each team might be how they each fare against Real Madrid. If either team can steal a point—or perhaps even three—from Los Blancos, that club will have a major leg up on the other. Valencia's game in hand is huge, however, and they'll slip past Sevilla to take the final Champions League spot.

Relegation

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Cordoba is going down. There's really no question about that. With just 20 points after 33 games, there is basically no hope of this club magically recovering. 

It gets interesting after that, however. Granada has just 25 points but has a game in hand on Deportivo de La Coruna, Almeria, Eibar and Levante, the teams they are chasing. Fixtures down the stretch against Valencia and Atletico Madrid will make it hard for them to escape relegation, however. 

Deportivo had better earn some points in their next few fixtures, because they'll face Barcelona on the final day of the season. Either that or they should perhaps hope Barca has already wrapped up the title by then. Otherwise, Deportivo will basically be going into the final week of the season knowing they aren't about to earn any more points. 

Almeria could be in real trouble, however. They may hold a two-point advantage over Deportivo for 17th place, but they have to run the gauntlet down the stretch against Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia in their final five games. That means they almost assuredly need to earn points against Celta Vigo and Malaga, which is no easy task. 

It isn't infeasible to suggest Almeria could earn no points down the stretch and find themselves relegated. 

The other team at 31 points, Eibar, also faces Valencia and Sevilla, however, making the relegation battle a very intriguing one.