With Bayern Munich winning the German Bundesliga yesterday, the Spanish La Liga is the only top flight league among Europe’s top 5 leagues that is still undecided. FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are all battling for who will end the season top of the long and all three teams will be in action today, Sunday, May 8 at the same time as all other Spanish teams.The La Liga FA scheduled the final two rounds of the season for the same time meaning all 20 teams will be in action at the same time, 4:00pm today. FC Barcelona host city rivals Espanyol and will be open to overcome a tough rival, the same team which dented their hopes of winning the title in 2007. Espanyol have always given Barça troubles in the past but not especially at the Camp Nou, they are not yet safe from relegation and also would love to stop Luis Enrique’s men from winning the title which means they’ll play at 100%.Second place Atletico Madrid have a tricky tie on the table as they will be hosted by already-relegated Levante, a side they always seem to struggle against each time they’re away from home. Although relegated, Levante will try as much as possible to get a result in this game just to whet the appetites of their fans. Atletico Madrid will have to get at least a draw to keep their hopes alive and will pray that FC Barcelona and Real Madrid also drop points.Real Madrid have the toughest fixture among the three, they take on Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu, a game which they often find very difficult to win recently. The tie got even harder after the news broke that Los Blancos will be without key men Gareth Bale and Keylor Navas. Real Madrid are currently on superb form in the league, cutting down a 12-point deficit of FC Barcelona to just one. They can’t afford to not win this game because if Barcelona or Atletico Madrid ends up with a win and they end up even playing a draw to Valencia then there’s no chance they can win the league, so it’s a must-win game for Cristiano Ronaldo and Co.
LA LIGA, FIXTURES FOR GAMEWEEK 37
FC Barcelona vs Espanyol
Levante vs Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Valencia
Celta Vigo vs Malaga
Eibar vs Real Betis
Getafe vs Sporting Gijon
Las Palmas vs Athletic Bilbao
Real Sociedad vs Rayo Vallecano
Sevilla vs Granada
Villarreal vs Deportivo La CorunaAll game kick off at 4:00pm (Nigerian time)