DM Monitoring
MADRID: The 27th round of games in the Liga Santander comes after Real Madrid’s win over FC Barcelona in the Clasico and will be vital to measure how both sides react to that result. Here are some things to look out for this weekend in Spain.
1. Can Barca recover from Clasico defeat?
Barcelona were disappointed (especially in the second half) with their defeat to Real Madrid last weekend and now have to recover with a tough home game against Real Sociedad.
Real Sociedad travel three days after booking their place in the final of the Copa del Rey and with players such as Mikel Merino, Mikey Oyarzabal, Alexander Isak and Martin Odegaard they are arguably playing some of the best attacking football in Spain at the moment.
If they are to keep in the race for the title, Barcelona have to produce a convincing display both in attack and in defense, because anything other than their best will probably see them lose further points in the title race.
2. Tough away game for Real Madrid
It has been said that football is a state of emotion and if that is the case then Real Madrid’s emotions experienced a 180-degree turnaround last weekend as they recovered from a run of poor results to beat rivals Barcelona.
Now Zinedine Zidane will look to build on the Clasico win to keep the pressure on Barca and also to prepare for their Champions League return leg away to Manchester City, where they have to recover from a 2-1 home defeat.
Sunday’s rivals Betis have not won in their last seven games and coach Rubi is under increasing pressure as he fails to get the best out of a squad that should be challenging for a place in Europe. If Betis click, they can make life tough for Madrid, who need to keep the good times rolling.
3. Huge game at the Wanda
There is a massive game at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium as Atletico Madrid and Sevilla battle it out for a place in the top-four.
Although Atletico’s form has picked up in recent weeks, they were slightly lucky to get a point from last weekend’s visit to bottom of the table Espanyol, while Sevilla made incredibly hard work of beating 10-man Osasuna and needed an injury time goal to take the points in a thrilling 3-2 win.
Despite his side’s position in third place, Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui has been questioned after recent performances and he needs his side to be at their best in Madrid.
Atletico meanwhile have to win to keep in touch with the top-four and also to keep their morale high ahead of next week’s visit to Anfield and coach Diego Simeone’s ‘one game at a time’ mantra will never be more true than now.
4. All to play for in Getafe
The game between Getafe and Celta Vigo also has a lot of promise as the side fourth from the top takes on the team currently fourth from bottom.
Getafe’s organization in midfield and defense coupled with their strikers Angel and Jorge Molina has made them incredibly tough to beat, however, Celta have put together a positive run of results under Oscar Garcia and two wins from their last two games have lifted them out of the relegation zone and with forwards Rafinha and Iago Aspas a continued threat this game could be closer than the league table implies.
