La Liga Table 2016 Week 35: Updated Standings, Title Odds After Friday's Results

Las Palmas moved to within touching distance of confirming their La Liga status for next season in Week 35 after securing a 4-0 win over Espanyol at Estadio de Gran Canaria.

Despite Espanyol dominating proceedings in the opening period, it was the hosts who took a surprise lead on the stroke of half-time through Nabil El Zhar.

Moments following the interval, Los Amarillos added a cushion to their lead through Jonathan Viera, as Pedro Bigas and Wakaso Mubarak confirmed victory with a header and a volley, respectively.

Barcelona maintain the top title odds, ahead of Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Here’s a look at the standings and title odds following Friday's action. 

The latest La Liga standings:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	34	25	4	5	96	29	+67	79
2	Atletico Madrid	34	25	4	5	58	16	+42	79
3	Real Madrid	34	24	6	4	101	30	+71	78
4	Villarreal	34	17	9	8	42	31	+11	60
5	Athletic Club	34	16	6	12	51	41	+10	54
6	Celta Vigo	34	15	9	10	47	54	-7	54
7	Sevilla	34	13	10	11	47	42	+5	49
8	Las Palmas	35	12	7	16	42	46	-4	43
9	Valencia	34	11	10	13	42	40	+2	43
10	Malaga	34	10	12	12	31	31	0	42
11	Eibar	34	11	8	15	45	53	-8	41
12	Real Sociedad	34	11	8	15	42	46	-4	41
13	Real Betis	34	10	11	13	31	46	-15	41
14	Deportivo La Coruna	34	7	17	10	42	56	-14	38
15	Espanyol	35	10	7	18	35	67	-32	37
16	Rayo Vallecano	34	8	11	15	46	66	-20	35
17	Granada	34	8	9	17	38	61	-23	33
18	Sporting Gijon	34	8	8	18	35	55	-20	32
19	Getafe	34	8	7	19	31	62	-31	31
20	Levante	34	7	7	20	31	61	-30	28

The updated title odds, courtesy of Oddschecker.com:

Team	Odds
Barcelona	2-5
Atletico Madrid	11-2
Real Madrid	7-1

Friday Recap

Las Palmas stunned out-of-form Espanyol with a 4-0 home victory to leave their opponents in danger of relegation with three matches still to play in La Liga.

Both sides began the match slowly, with neither team about to take a grasp on the tie. Espanyol were the first to mount a serious effort on goal through Burgui and from there on, began to grow into the half.

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

The left-winger fired an effort on goal that Raul Lizoain smartly kept out before he set up Hernan Lopez for a strike from outside of the area. With time running out in the first half, Espanyol had their clearest chance of the game as Joan Jordan's bending strike was parried around the post.

However, against the run of play, it was Las Palmas who did eventually open the scoring, as El Zhar struck from eight yards out on the stroke of half-time. After a smart break upfield, Jonathan Viera fed the ball through to the former Liverpool attacker on the edge of the box, before El Zhar controlled well and struck across goal and into the far corner.

Viera has enjoyed a productive campaign this term, as detailed by Opta:

Three minutes following the interval, Las Palmas doubled their advantage through Viera. Pedro Bigas produced a remarkable darting run through the Espanyol midfield from the halfway line before laying off to William Jose, who fired powerfully toward goal.

Giedrius Arlauskis did well to parry the fierce effort away from goal, but the rebound fell kindly at the feet of the arriving Viera, who slammed his shot into the ground to find the back of the net via the left hand post.

One Football were impressed with the hosts' showing against their relegation rivals:

"

Las Palmas have such a beautiful approach to the game. Playing a fast, attractive football and thrashing Espanyol. Fans must be proud! #UDLP

— Onefootball (@Onefootball) April 22, 2016"

Viera turned provider five minutes later as he bent a superb curling cross onto the head of Bigas. The towering central defender climbed highest in the area following the quickly taken free-kick to divert the loose ball past Lithuanian stopper Arlauskis to put Quique Setien’s men out of sight.

Spanish media outlet AS revealed Las Palmas' impressive run of form to move away from a relegation scrap:

With 15 minutes left to play, Mubarak added a fourth with a sensational volley. Jose inadvertently headed a whipped corner in the box high into the air—which the Ghanaian followed perfectly onto his boot—before striking an unstoppable effort into the far top corner of the net. 

The impressive victory sees Las Palmas move into eighth in the Liga table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone, following a sensational run of form. Meanwhile for beleaguered Espanyol, their poor run of results continues with just one win in their last seven Primera matches as they remain just five points above the drop zone.