La Liga Matchday 23 preview: A crucial weekend in the title race

At the end of this La Liga season, fans might look back at Matchday 23 and realise how significant it was, both in terms of the title race and the relegation battle.

There are several six-pointers coming up this weekend, not least El Debri Madrid between leaders Real Madrid and second-placed Atlético de Madrid at the Bernabéu.

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Before that heavyweight clash, there are several other fixtures to tuck in to this weekend. The matchday kicks off on Friday night with Rayo Vallecano vs Real Valladolid, and the home team will look to keep up their positive run of form. Rayo Vallecano are unbeaten in their past eight league games, and will expect to take another positive result against the bottom-placed team.

RC Celta vs Real Betis is the first of Saturday’s four fixtures, an important one for home striker Borja Iglesias as he takes on his former team. It was a back-and-forth 2-2 draw when these sides met earlier in the season, in which Marc Bartra scored a 95th-minute equaliser, so more fireworks should be expected between these two attacking sides this weekend.

The next game is a meeting of two teams who finished inside the top five last term, with Girona FC travelling to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club. Both teams want to qualify for Europe again this season and, if possible, the Champions League. That makes this a very important match for both clubs.

A battle of Los Amarillos follows, as UD Las Palmas welcome Villarreal CF to the Canary Islands. Villarreal CF have been scoring goals for fun of late, having achieved a 5-2 win at CD Leganés, a 4-0 triumph over RCD Mallorca and a 5-1 victory over Real Valladolid all within the past three weeks. They defeated UD Las Palmas 3-1 when these clubs faced off earlier this season, so coach Marcelino will hope for another big win here.

At 9pm, it’s time for the second El Debri Madrid of the season. Every clash between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid is a big deal, but this one is especially important given that they are both battling for the LALIGA EA SPORTS title. Real Madrid enter this match at the Bernabéu one point ahead of Atleti, but Diego Simeone’s side have done well in El Debri Madrid of late, having won one and drawn three of their past four meetings in the league. If Atleti can escape the Bernabéu with a point or three from this weekend’s match, then the title race will well and truly heat up.

Sunday begins with two huge six-pointers in the relegation battle, with Deportivo Alavés vs Getafe CF and Valencia CF vs CD Leganés. With these four teams all positioned between 14th and 19th in the standings, the points on offer are so valuable and it’ll be fascinating to watch these teams battle it out.

On Sunday evening, Real Sociedad will look to jumpstart their quest for European qualification when they host RDC Espanyol. La Real have lost four of their past five La Liga games, and have slipped down to 11th, so they desperately need a victory if they’re to qualify for UEFA competition for a sixth season in a row.

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FC Barcelona then return to action, and Hansi Flick’s side have a trip to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán to take on Sevilla FC. Barça have actually gone eight league matches unbeaten there, winning five and drawing three over the past few years, but this is famously one of the hardest stadiums to play at in Spain and Sevilla FC have gone five league games undefeated at home coming into this one.

The final game of the matchday is RCD Mallorca vs CA Osasuna, which is an interesting match for a couple of reasons. Firstly, current RCD Mallorca coach Jagoba Arrasate is taking on his former club, and he’ll want revenge after CA Osasuna claimed a 1-0 win in the first meeting of this season. Moreover, this a clash between two teams currently on the same number of points, on 30 each, and they both harbour aspirations of qualifying for European football next season.