La Liga Table 2017 Week 35: Updated Standings Following Friday's Result

Villarreal started Week 35 of the 2016-17 La Liga season with an easy 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon, with star striker Cedric Bakambu finding the net twice.

The result leaves Sporting six points behind Leganes, and their bid to avoid relegation seems almost hopeless at this point.

Barcelona and Real Madrid will both feature Saturday, taking on Espanyol and Valencia, respectively.

Here's a look at the latest standings:

Pos	Team	PL	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	34	24	6	4	101	33	+68	78
2	Real Madrid	33	24	6	3	90	38	+52	78
3	Atletico Madrid	34	20	8	6	60	25	+35	68
4	Sevilla	34	20	8	6	60	40	+20	68
5	Villarreal	35	18	9	8	52	28	+24	63
6	Athletic Club	34	18	5	11	48	38	+10	59
7	Real Sociedad	34	18	4	12	52	47	+5	58
8	Eibar	34	14	9	11	52	45	+7	51
9	Espanyol	34	13	11	10	45	44	+1	50
10	Alaves	34	11	12	11	32	40	-8	45
11	Celta Vigo	33	13	5	15	49	54	-5	44
12	Valencia	34	11	7	16	49	59	-10	40
13	Las Palmas	34	10	9	15	52	61	-9	39
14	Malaga	34	10	9	15	40	49	-9	39
15	Real Betis	34	10	7	17	37	53	-16	37
16	Deportivo La Coruna	34	7	10	17	37	57	-20	31
17	Leganes	34	7	9	18	30	51	-21	30
18	Sporting Gijon	35	5	9	21	38	70	-32	24
19	Granada	34	4	8	22	27	72	-45	20
20	Osasuna	34	3	9	22	35	82	-47	18

Recap

The Yellow Submarine were expected to beat Sporting Friday but didn't have it all their way early as Gijon came out fighting for their La Liga lives.

As shared by sports writer Sid Lowe, some heroics from goalkeeper Andres Fernandez preceded Roberto Soldado's opener, and Friday's match could have played out quite differently if it hadn't:

The opener took the wind out of Gijon's sails, and Villarreal controlled the action the rest of the way. Bakambu missed a huge chance to double the lead before half-time, but he redeemed himself with a brace after the break.

By the time he bagged his second goal, Lowe thought things seemed

The visitors did pull one back through Douglas, but much more was needed Friday. If Leganes and Deportivo La Coruna take care of business Sunday, their relegation scrap will be over.

JOSE JORDAN/Getty Images

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid face tricky assignments during the weekend, even if the two La Liga giants are favoured to win their respective match.

For the Blaugrana, the city derby against Espanyol is on tap. The latter side has been remarkably well-organised and efficient of late, not conceding more than a single goal in their last four outings.

Per Barcelona's official Twitter account, manager Luis Enrique is well aware of the challenge ahead:

Real Madrid's job this weekend could also be tricky as they face a talented but woefully inconsistent Valencia side. When they're at their best, Los Che can do tremendous amounts of damage in the attacking third, and Los Blancos have some injuries on the back line.

You never know which Valencia side turns up. They could slump in the first minutes and concede six or seven goals, but if they have one of those nights, Los Che might just blow open the La Liga title race even further.