Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Barcelona's Title Defence Starts Here
This is it: the four-game run for Barcelona that will determine whether they win La Liga at the canter that has looked possible for a month or two now, or whether they are dragged back toward Atletico Madrid and the two-team fight goes to the wire.
The reigning holders of La Liga are away to Villarreal this weekend. It will be a big test for both sides, with the Yellow Submarine hoping to return to form and keep hold of fourth place, which will see them into next season's Champions League, a mighty step forward for the side if they manage it come May.
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After that, Luis Enrique's men face successive tough games against Real Madrid in El Clasico, away to Real Sociedad who have a habit of beating Barca and at home to Valencia, capable of being awful or fantastic on a week-to-week basis and who have already denied Barca three points once this term.
Add in the Champions League fixtures that the Blaugrana have to cope with in that run, home and away against Atletico Madrid, and it's not hard to see why we've tagged Barcelona's season as boiling down to this glut of matches.
"#Barca—next 5 fixtures:
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) March 18, 2016"
20 Mar—Villarreal
2 Apr—Real Madrid
5 Apr—Atletico
9 Apr—Real Sociedad
13 Apr—Atletico pic.twitter.com/KztzoSO8BS
Few would doubt that Barcelona have the depth and quality in their squad to win every match in that run if it came to it, but at the same time, almost all of those teams are playing for something big themselves. It's inevitable that somewhere along the way, mistakes will be made and goals will be conceded.
It might just be that one game or another has to be sacrificed with a few players rested. Barcelona have an effective eight-point gap at the top of La Liga, so one or two matches lost can be absorbed without too much worry.
Make no mistake, though, Atletico Madrid are the last side that Barcelona want hunting them down in La Liga...especially if they vanquish Los Rojiblancos in Europe in the meantime.
Jornada 30 (kick-off times per Soccerway)
Friday
Getafe vs. Eibar
Saturday
Sporting Gijon vs. Atletico Madrid
Real Sociedad vs. Las Palmas
Granada vs. Rayo Vallecano
Deportivo La Coruna vs. Levante
Real Betis vs. Malaga
Sunday
Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao
Villarreal vs. Barcelona
Valencia vs. Celta Vigo
Real Madrid vs. Sevilla
What to Watch Out for this Weekend
Part 1: La Roja call-ups keen to impress
Vicente del Bosque named his Spain squad for the upcoming international break on Friday and, per Marca, there were a couple of new names involved.
Aritz Aduriz got the expected call-up to replace Diego Costa in attack, testament to his 30-goal haul for the season, while Barcelona's Sergi Roberto—one of the names we championed in our call for changes to the squad—has also been honoured with a debut call-up.
However, the central-defensive changes didn't materialise, and back-ups Marc Bartra and Nacho are in again. It seems they have no need to play well, or indeed play, to make their way into the squad, so there will be little motivation on their part to force extra game time by top-quality performances, other than the normal wish to be involved at club level.
It's a disappointing decision from Del Bosque.
Another such oversight was the omission of Saul, left in the under-21 squad for their big game against Croatia; it must be hoped that he can still force his way into the Euros squad at the end of the season because he would bring an awful lot to the full squad, but for now, he has a job to finish with the younger selection.
As for Sergio Rico, third-choice goalkeeper again, he has the perfect chance to show he should get the nod to play for the seniors as he faces Real Madrid this weekend. He could barely ask for a more high-profile game just before the international break, to showcase his consistency and quality. For his sake, hopefully that—rather than the other side of his game, which can show his inexperience and the odd handling error—will be on display against Los Blancos.
Part 2: Athletic's Champions League-worthy run
Back to La Liga, four wins in a row have sent Athletic Club flying up the table and into sixth, one point behind Sevilla and six behind Villarreal.
With those two rivals facing Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, it could be a fantastic weekend for the Basque team. If they beat an inconsistent Espanyol on the road this weekend, they'll be in pole position to make the charge and steal fourth place. That would see them leapfrog Sevilla, who still haven't won away from home, and hunt down Villarreal, who could be looking at just three wins in 11 La Liga games after this Jornada.
Add in Athletic's progression in the Europa League, on away goals against Valencia, and it's easy to see why Ernesto Valverde's men are in such good form and full of confidence at present.
They have come from a long way back to show their present capacity to challenge for Europe, but this is the end game, the time of the season that matters most, and few have the mental capacity to force victory and resilience to setbacks that Athletic can boast.
Player to Watch: Casemiro, RMA
He is tactically vital, offensively better than he gets credit for, athletic, proactive and a complete workhorse.
Casemiro is arguably Real Madrid's most important squad member after Keylor Navas and Cristiano Ronaldo at either end of the pitch, yet has remained severely under-utilised for most of the season. A resumption of his patrolling duties of late in front of the back four has been key to Real taking a couple of extra points and remaining on the fringes of the title race, and he'll remain pivotal in the Champions League, too.
Against Sevilla, he'll be so important for Zinedine Zidane's team, with the away side keen on attacking down the flanks, so the Brazilian must be alert to cover in behind his full-backs, who will no doubt go raiding forward at will.
As long as, of course, he is selected to play again...
Game of the Weekend: Villarreal vs. Barcelona
This fixture has proved immensely entertaining over the past few seasons, with Villarreal in previous years possibly the closest to Barcelona-like that La Liga had to offer. This term, they have been slightly different; rather than good possession and trying to play around teams, Villarreal have also been fast on the counter-attack and fantastic in defence—they have the third-best defence in the league.
Barcelona, of course, have everything: a great tactical plan that they use to keep attacking opposition at bay, fantastic ball retention and a world class attack.
Put those two approaches together, add in some individuals who can break the lines of their opponents at will and the fact that both teams are aiming for huge success in their respective ways, and there's an awful lot riding on this game.
Goals are a guarantee, probably three or more over the 90 minutes, and although Barcelona will rightly be favourites, as they are in every game, Villarreal are one of the few domestic sides who could rival them enough to take points, especially at home.
Predictions and Tips
- Home wins for Getafe, Granada, Valencia
- Away wins for Atletico, Levante, Athletic, Barcelona
- Both teams to score in GRA-RAY, DEP-LEV, VIL-FCB, VAL-CEL, RMA-SEV
