La Liga Fixtures 2016: Schedule, Live Stream and Week 34 Predictions

Barcelona’s trip to Deportivo La Coruna could prove decisive in La Liga’s title race, with Luis Enrique's side enduring a mixed run of form toward the season closure. The Blaugrana take on a Deportivo side languishing in mid-table on Wednesday.

Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are also both vying for the league championship. Diego Simeone’s men will be carried forward by dynamic forward Antoine Griezmann against European challengers Athletic Bilbao.

Meanwhile for Los Blancos, Zinedine Zidane’s troops—led by the division’s top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo—play host to UEFA Champions League hopefuls Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Here are the full fixtures for Week 34, along with schedule and streaming information and predictions:

Date	Time (BST)	Match	Live Stream	Predictions
Tues, April 19	19:00	Espanyol vs. Celta Vigo	Sky Sports 4	0-2
Tues, April 19	20:00	Real Betis vs. Las Palmas	Sky Sports	0-1
Wed, April 20	19:00	Deportivo La Coruna vs. Barcelona	Sky Sports 3	0-3
Wed, April 20	19:45	Malaga vs. Rayo Vallecano	Sky Sports	1-1
Wed, April 20	19:45	Athletic Bilbao vs. Atletico Madrid	Sky Sports	1-2
Wed, April 20	19:45	Valencia vs. Eibar	Sky Sports	1-0
Wed, April 20	19:45	Sporting Gijon vs. Sevilla	Sky Sports	1-2
Wed, April 20	21:00	Real Madrid vs. Villarreal	Sky Sports 3	2-0
Thu, April 21	19:30	Real Sociedad vs. Getafe	Sky Sports 5	1-1
Thu, April 21	20:00	Granada vs. Levante	Sky Sports Xtra	0-0

Links: Sky Go.

Preview

Barca have been rocked by their Clasico defeat to fierce rivals Real. Enrique’s side have been eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of fellow Spanish participants Atletico and have lost ground domestically over the past four weeks.

Their visitors Deportivo have suffered an even greater fall from grace following the New Year as they experienced a complete meltdown. The 1999-2000 league champions won just their first match of 2016 at the end of March in a 2-1 win over relegation-battlers Levante. 

Barca's slip in form has coincided with a run of goalless games from key influential attacker Lionel Messi. Before Barca's last match against Valencia, the Argentinian wizard had failed to score in each of his last five games, achieving just five shots on target in total, per Ben Hayward of Goal.com. 

Messi's personal dip in fortune in front of goal has affected the team. Ahead of his side's clash with Valencia, the talisman was in the midst of the longest goal drought of his career, having failed to score in five matches.

According to Sky Sports' Spanish Football Expert Guillem Balague, Messi's failures to significantly add to his goal tally in recent weeks is down to a lingering muscle ailment:

"

He has not scored in five games, and Barcelona depend on a very good Messi. There's two ways to explain this. First, you look at him and he's dropping deeper, he's walking instead of running - although he normally does that - and he doesn't look as sharp.

When he doesn't feel sharp he doesn't get in the box. As a midfielder, he's good but he's not that great. But you can also explain it in a different way. Minutes after the Atletico Madrid game finished a story came out that he has been struggling with muscle problems.

Not an injury as such, but about three weeks ago he went to Venice to see a nutritionist and he was asking him, "Why is it I don't feel well at the moment?". It could be the training and he's in pain certainly, and all those things have made him perform at a lesser level.

Some will say it's just excuses, but look back at his last five games and you can see it hasn't been the same Messi. I've checked with the family and the muscle issues are one of the problems that is worrying him.

"

Against mid-table opposition, Barca and Messi should return to their irresistible best to enable them to close in on successive league titles. Deportivo's main goalscoring threat arrives in the form of Lucas Perez. The 27-year-old attacker has an eye for goal and a useful knack of scoring the game's first goal. Per Soccerway, of his 16 league goals this year, 13 of them have been the game's opener.

Messi's struggles may be having a detrimental effect on his team's tilt at the title, but for Atletico star Griezmann, this season has been one of many highlights.

The France international has played a starring role in Simeone's side, helping the Rojiblancos charge up the Liga rankings. He also helped seal a final-four berth in the Champions League for his team with an emphatic brace in the quarter-finals against defending champions Barca.

Paul White/Associated Press

Per WhoScored.com, the 25-year-old former Real Sociedad forward has hit 20 league goals this term, netting 10 goals in his last 10 games in all competitions before last Sunday's Granada clash.

After helping his own club progress to the next stage in Europe, Griezmann took to social media the following day after Liverpool's dramatic stoppage-time winner over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Europa League to promote his love of the beautiful game:

Atletico's challengers on Wednesday, Athletic Club, remain in the fight to secure automatic Champions League football through a fourth-spot finish. The San Mames outfit have won three of their last three La Liga games but lack an explosive goalscorer—having to rely on the inspired form of 35-year-old Aritz Aduriz.

Per WhoScored.com, the rejuvenated forward has struck 29 times in all competitions this campaign, including 10 in the Europa League, to help his Basque side reach the last eight of the tournament. 

The pace, power and confidence of Simeone's players should enable the 2013-14 champions to pick up another three points on the road.

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

Fellow Champions League semi-finalists and domestic challengers Real are also in action in Week 34 when they take on European hopefuls Villarreal at home.

The Yellow Submarine have enjoyed a consistent term and will pose Zidane's side some serious challenges due to their defensive frugality and quick-motion counter-attacking play. Marcelino's men have conceded just 26 goals in the league throughout the season but scored two fewer than lowly Rayo Vallecano.

Spanish football writer Euan McTear believes there is widespread misconception over the talents of Villarreal and suggests the team will pose Europa League opponents Liverpool a tough task. 

Real's vital playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo will be eyeing further goals after another sensational 12 months in the Spanish capital. Seven wins in a row for the Madrid giants has seen them close in on a first Liga title since 2011-12, with the Portuguese attacker hitting 31 goals in 33 appearances in the league in the process, per Soccerway.

Real's title ambitions should be questioned at home, but they must sail above the Yellow Submarine if they are to reach their desired destination of a first domestic crown in four attempts.