La Liga Preview: Week 31

Bilbao vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid will probably shifting their focus towards the Champions League, which could be a source of joy for Athletic Bilbao, who will be looking to use this match in order to gain some positions in the league.

Madrid will also be looking to avoid their second consecutive defeat, which does not normally happen under José Mourinho’s stewardship. However, the impressive 4-0 victory over Tottenham in the midweek Champions League quarterfinal match now means that Real Madrid’s loss against Sporting last week was an one-off.

Normal service is expected to resume this weekend, but José Mourinho could rest a number of players for the upcoming second leg Champions League match against Tottenham. José Mourinho seemingly conceded that title to Barcelona after the loss to Sporting last weekend, which could be just the thing that Athletic Bilbao needed at the moment. They are looking to hold off Sevilla, who are level on points with them.

It remains to be seen if Cristiano Ronaldo will be involved in the match against Athletic Bilbao. Apart from the recent victory over Almeria, the form of Athletic Bilbao is pretty poor and their hopes of getting anything seemingly rests on their ability to score goals.


Barcelona vs Almeria

With the Spanish league title seemingly headed towards the direction of the Nou Camp, Barcelona have the opportunity to relax and stretch their legs against Almeria. Barcelona will be coming on the back of a 5-1 scoreline against Shakhtar Donetsk in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which all but confirms their fixture against Real Madrid in the semifinals.

Their approach to the match could also be relaxed even further with the knowledge that they will be taking on the bottom side, who have been extremely poor this season. They have just one victory to show for in their last five matches and that too was against fellow relegation strugglers Hercules.

This almost makes the victory against Almeria a no-brainer for Barcelona. It could be introducing complacency into the mindset of the players, it will be something that Pep Guardiola will be looking to avoid. It remains to be seen if Carles Puyol will be making it into the team after a long absence. On the positive note, Almeria need just four points to get out of the drop zone.


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