La Liga Fixtures 2017 Week 27: Schedule, Live-Stream Info, Picks and Key Players

With just 12 games to go for the majority of teams in La Liga, matches are beginning to take on extra significance in Spain’s top flight, including those in Week 27 of the season schedule.

Barcelona, who lead the way by one point, make the trip to Deportivo la Coruna on Sunday, seeking to extend their advantage. In second, Real Madrid, who are one of two teams with 13 matches still to play, host Real Betis later in the day hoping to immediately chop down the gap on their rivals.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid will be trying to preserve fourth spot when they visit Granada on Saturday. Diego Simeone’s men are being hunted down by Real Sociedad, who host Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Sunday.

Here’s the schedule for the weekend’s action in La Liga, the crucial viewing information and a look at three players capable of making the difference for their respective sides.

Date	Time (GMT)	Fixture	Prediction	TV
Friday, March 10	7:45 p.m.	Espanyol vs. Las Palmas	1-1	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Saturday, March 11	12 p.m.	Valencia vs. Sporting Gijon	2-0	Sky Sports (U.K.)
Saturday, March 11	3:15 p.m.	Sevilla vs. Leganes	3-1	beIN Sports (U.S.)
Saturday, March 11	5:30 p.m.	Malaga vs. Alaves	1-1	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Saturday, March 11	7:45 p.m.	Granada vs. Atletico Madrid	0-2	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Sunday, March 12	11 a.m.	Real Sociedad vs. Athletic Bilbao	1-0	Sky Sports (U.K.)
Sunday, March 12	5:30 p.m.	Deportivo vs. Barcelona	0-3	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Sunday, March 12	7:45 p.m.	Celta Vigo vs. Villarreal	1-1	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Sunday, March 12	7:45 p.m.	Real Madrid vs. Betis	2-0	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Monday, March 13	7:45 p.m.	Osasuna vs. Eibar	1-1	Sky Sports (U.K.), beIN Sports (U.S.)

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	26	18	6	2	76	21	+55	60
2	Real Madrid	25	18	5	2	67	26	+41	59
3	Sevilla	26	17	5	4	50	30	+20	56
4	Atletico Madrid	26	14	7	5	48	22	+26	49
5	Real Sociedad	26	15	3	8	42	36	+6	48
6	Villarreal	26	12	9	5	38	19	+19	45
7	Athletic Club	26	12	5	9	32	30	+2	41
8	Eibar	26	11	6	9	42	37	+5	39
9	Espanyol	26	9	9	8	35	35	0	36
10	Celta Vigo	25	10	5	10	39	44	-5	35
11	Alaves	26	8	10	8	26	32	-6	34
12	Las Palmas	26	8	8	10	40	41	-1	32
13	Valencia	26	8	5	13	35	46	-11	29
14	Real Betis	26	7	7	12	28	42	-14	28
15	Malaga	26	6	8	12	32	43	-11	26
16	Leganes	26	6	6	14	21	40	-19	24
17	Deportivo La Coruna	26	5	9	12	29	41	-12	24
18	Granada	26	4	7	15	24	54	-30	19
19	Sporting Gijon	26	4	5	17	27	55	-28	17
20	Osasuna	26	1	7	18	27	64	-37	10

All matches can be streamed by beIN Sports CONNECT (U.S.)

*Matches can be streamed via Sky Go (U.K.)

Neymar, Barcelona

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In terms of goalscoring, this campaign hasn’t been as prolific as usual for Neymar, with just eight goals in La Liga this term. However, there have been signs since the turn of the year that the brilliant Brazilian is starting to find his feet again.

Against Celta Vigo in their last La Liga encounter—a 5-0 win for the Blaugrana—Neymar netted a nonchalant chip to make it 2-0 for his team. On the run, struck first time, over the onrushing goalkeeper; it was the kind of finish a player operating with confidence will conjure.

Neymar believes he’s playing as well as he ever has done for the club:

If he can add some goals to his game during the league run-in—as he did in the UEFA Champions League in midweek—Barcelona have an excellent chance of winning the title, you sense.

Against sides such as Deportivo, who will pack the defence, stay narrow and close off spaces, Neymar’s ability to surge past a man and unnerve opponents is a vital trait. Expect him to see plenty of the ball at the Riazor and run the opposition defenders ragged.

Toni Kroos, Real Madrid

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Despite the obvious talent he possesses, it’s easy to overlook the influence of Toni Kroos amid a galaxy of stars at the Santiago Bernabeu. But he continues to show his value to the Real Madrid team consistently.

While manager Zinedine Zidane does like to rotate his options in the middle of the park, Kroos’ passing ability, penchant for finding space and controlling the tempo of a game makes him very important to the way Madrid play.

And while he operates from a deep position, his incisive passing and superb set-piece quality means the Germany international lays on plenty of goals for his team-mates, per Opta Jose:

In the last match at the Bernabeu in La Liga, the 3-3 draw at home to Las Palmas, Kroos had one of his poorer games this season, with the visitors seizing control in the middle of the park. Against Betis, expect Madrid’s midfield metronome to be back at his best and the driving force behind a crucial three points.

Xabi Prieto, Real Sociedad

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A 3-2 win over Real Betis last weekend was enough to push Real Sociedad into La Liga’s top four temporarily. It was a win orchestrated by veteran skipper Xabi Prieto, who will be desperate to make his mark in the Basque derby on Sunday at the Anoeta.

Firstly, he whipped a brilliant shot into the corner to put his team 2-1 up and then later in the game with the score poised at 2-2, snuck into the area to head home the winner.

Per OptaJose, the 33-year-old is in a fine goalscoring groove this season:

As a player who has spent his entire career at Sociedad, this weekend’s fixture will be important to the skipper. A win would not only mean a lot to the locals but would help La Real ensure they remain breathing down Atletico’s neck, assuming they beat Granada in Saturday's final game.

Given Ernesto Valverde’s visitors have been disappointing away from home so far this term, Prieto has a chance to stamp his authority on what is always a fascinating derby match.