La Liga Fixtures 2016: Schedule, Live Stream and Week 30 Predictions
Barcelona's trip to Villarreal is the standout fixture among this week's La Liga games. The leaders are in rampant form, but the Yellow Submarine are a stout team with their own underrated quality up front.
Atletico Madrid will hope to put the pressure on Barca by moving to within five points of top spot the day before. As usual, Diego Simeone's side will count on talisman forward Antoine Griezmann when they visit Sporting Gijon.
Expect goals when Real Madrid host Sevilla to cap the week's fixtures, while Gary Neville and Valencia may struggle to avoid becoming mired in the relegation scrap.
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Here are the full fixtures for Week 30, along with schedule and streaming information and predictions:
| Date | Time (GMT / ET) | Match | Live Stream | Predictions |
| Friday, Mar. 18 | 7:30 p.m / 2:30 p.m. | Getafe vs. Eibar | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 1-2 |
| Saturday, Mar. 19 | 3 p.m. / 10 a.m. | Sporting Gijon vs. Atletico Madrid | beIN Sports Connect | 0-1 |
| Saturday, Mar. 19 | 5:15 p.m. / 12:15 p.m. | Granada vs. Rayo Vallecano | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 0-1 |
| Saturday, Mar. 19 | 5:15 p.m. / 12:15 p.m. | Real Sociedad vs. Las Palmas | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 2-1 |
| Saturday, Mar. 19 | 7:30 p.m. / 2:30 p.m. | Deportivo La Coruna vs. Levante | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 1-0 |
| Saturday, Mar. 19 | 9:05 p.m. / 4:05 p.m. | Real Betis vs. Malaga | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 1-1 |
| Sunday, Mar. 20 | 11 a.m. / 6 a.m. | Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 1-1 |
| Sunday, Mar. 20 | 3 p.m. / 10 a.m. | Villarreal vs. Barcelona | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 1-2 |
| Sunday, Mar. 20 | 5:15 p.m. / 12:15 p.m. | Valencia vs. Celta Vigo | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 2-2 |
| Sunday, Mar. 20 | 7:30 p.m. / 2:30 p.m. | Real Madrid vs. Sevilla | Sky Go / beIN Sports Connect | 3-2 |
Links: Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect.
Preview
A usually water-tight defence has deserted Villarreal in recent matches. The Yellow Submarine has been breached five times in the last two domestic games—league defeats to Las Palmas and Sevilla.
It's a trend that has to worry boss Marcelino with Barcelona's high-powered front three coming to town. Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will arrive at El Madrigal each having found the net during Barca's recent UEFA Champions League win over Premier League side Arsenal.
When Las Palmas captain David Garcia hit the winner at El Madrigal, he became "the first player to score against Villarreal goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in the league for 620 minutes," per Sky Sports.
But it was the 4-2 defeat to Sevilla that was really damaging for Marcelino's men. It reduced Villarreal's lead in the fourth and final Champions League spot to just five points.
It would take a brave person to bet on that lead not being reduced further still after the visit of the leaders. For once, Barca's charge to the title isn't all about Messi. This season, it's as much about Suarez.
Sky Sports and Daily Mail pundit Jamie Carragher told Spanish source Diario AS (h/t Pete Jenson of MailOnline) how the former Liverpool man now belongs in the top bracket of marquee players: "Suarez is the best striker in the world and I think he has now made it into the world’s best three with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo."
With all three of their strikers in prolific form, Barcelona are primed to take advantage of Villarreal's surprising recent frailty at the back.
But the Yellow Submarine may not rue any dropped points too much if Real Madrid beat Sevilla later in the day. A trip to the Santiago Bernabeu is always daunting, regardless of Los Blancos' relative inconsistency under head coach Zinedine Zidane.
Yet, like Barca, Madrid can rely on a talisman in attack. As good as Suarez has been, Ronaldo still tops La Liga's scoring charts with 27 goals, according to WhoScored.com.
Ronaldo is still Madrid's main menace, but the Portuguese powerhouse will be boosted by the potential return of French target man Karim Benzema.
The France international is now back in full training, per the club (h/t ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan), and Ronaldo is at his best when he has a link player who will do the grunt work.
Benzema's physical power, creative technique and flair make him the ideal foil for Real's free-scoring No. 7. Sevilla will struggle to corral this lethal combination.
The visitors' best answer will be to release the short-area pace and perceptive movement of Kevin Gameiro whenever they have the ball. He's often overlooked in Sevilla's success, but the versatile 28-year-old attacker's 21 goals in all competitions, per ESPN FC, are a testament to the French forward's value and influence.
Elsewhere, Atleti should maintain their faint title challenge with a typically narrow win over Sporting Gijon. Buoyed by reaching the Champions League quarter-final this week, manager Simeone's men will have enough to grind out another positive result.
Meanwhile, Neville's Valencia are still teetering too close to danger, something that may not change following the visit of an Athletic Club Bilbao squad dangerous on its day.
Sky Sports Spanish Football analyst Terry Gibson told La Liga Weekly Podcast (h/t Sky Sports' Oliver Yew) that Valencia could still be a part of the battle to avoid relegation. He also chided Neville's decision to leave Los Che for coaching duties with England during the forthcoming international break:
"I would be slightly concerned if I was a Valencia fan and Gary Neville made the decision to join up with England in the international break.
I know it was agreed beforehand and it's in a contract, that's fine if Valencia were 10 points better off and Gary had won another three, four or five games then there wouldn't be an issue.
"
Valencia seem set to continue struggling. At the other end of the table, Barca will take a step closer to the title, but it will be a hard-fought one.
