La Liga Schedule: Dates, Times Announced for Final Fixtures of 2015/16 Season
La Liga has announced the official dates and kick-off times for the final two matchdays of the 2015-16 season, ensuring the teams involved in both the title race and relegation battle will play out their contests simultaneously.
Matchday 37 will be played on Sunday, May 8, while Matchday 38 will be one week later, on Sunday, May 15. All matches across the top division will kick off at 4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET, per La Liga’s official website.
Here’s a look at the schedule for the three remaining title candidates:
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| @ Real Betis (April 30) | Rayo Vallecano (April 30) | @ Real Sociedad (April 30) |
| Espanyol (May 5) | @ Levante (May 5) | Valencia (May 8) |
| @ Granada (May 15) | Celta Vigo (May 15) | @ Deportivo La Coruna (May 15) |
Barcelona currently lead the standings, beating Atletico by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Real sit just one point back.
The two clubs from the capital have the additional responsibility of UEFA Champions League football, which will add to the workload and pressure. Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Blaugrana are currently the overwhelming favourites to win the title:
Barcelona's form has been inconsistent at best of late, but out of the three clubs vying for the title, the Catalans appear to have the easiest schedule left. The clash with neighbours Espanyol could prove vital, but fortunately for Barcelona, it will be played at the iconic Camp Nou.
Per Robert Guell of FCBarcelona.com, manager Luis Enrique believes the real challenges will lie away from the team's home ground: "I'll stick with the positive things. We have one home game left and two away, surely it will be tough on the road but we’ll take advantage of a long week to prepare for the game against Betis."
Atletico will still host Celta Vigo, who are still battling for a spot in next year's Champions League, while Real will play Valencia a week after travelling to San Sebastian to take on Real Sociedad at the Anoeta. La Real have a reputation for beating the top teams at home, taking three points off Barcelona just a few weeks ago and beating Real 4-2 last season.
The battle near the bottom of the standings is proving just as entertaining as that for the title, with Getafe, Sporting Gijon and Levante all sitting within four points of Granada and safety.
Granada enter the final three weeks of the campaign with the advantage, but with clashes against Sevilla and Barcelona in Week 37 and Week 38, respectively, the Andalusians also have by far the toughest schedule left.
Levante and Getafe both came close to winning their Week 35 matches, playing out 2-2 draws with Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, respectively. Getafe will meet Deportivo, Gijon and Real Betis in the final weeks of the season, and if the Azulones play up to their potential, they should be fine.
Gijon will face Eibar, Getafe and Villarreal, a tricky set of fixtures, and Levante's situation looks dire, with matches against Malaga, Atletico and Rayo still to come.
Villarreal lead Celta by four points in the race for the final Champions League ticket, and the Yellow Submarine are expected to cruise to the finish line, with matches against Valencia, Deportivo and Gijon left. Celta, Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla will battle it out for the final European spots.
