State of Play
What happened in their last games?
ALL THREE TEAMS aiming for La Liga glory had wins last Saturday with a Gareth Bale double helping Real Madrid to a 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano, while Atletico Madrid saw off Athletic Bilbao 2-1 and and a Lionel Messi penalty was enough for Barcelona to overcome city rivals Espanyol.
In the midweek Champions League quarter-final first legs, Barca and Atleti played out a 1-1 draw win a game which Diego Costa limped off injured. Real Madrid have one foot in the semis, meanwhile after defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-0.
Who is playing who?
Atletico Madrid v Villarreal (Saturday 3pm): Atletico’s top scorer Diego Costa will be also sidelined this weekend due to a hamstring problem he picked up against Barca, despite the injury not being as serious as first feared.
Arda Turan could also be missing for Diego Simeone’s men as continues to be plagued by a sports hernia, whilst captain Gabi is suspended.
Barcelona v Real Betis (Saturday 5pm): Barca defender Gerard Pique will miss the next four weeks after suffering a hairline fracture in his right hip during the Catalans 1-1 draw against Atletico in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
Gerardo Martino will therefore be pressed into pairing Marc Bartra alongside Javier Mascherano for the a crucial period that will encompass the title run-in as well as the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid and the return leg away to Atletico on Wednesday.
Martino is expected to rotate his squad for the visit of Betis with Alex Song, Adriano, Pedro Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez set to feature.
Real Sociedad v Real Madrid (Saturday 7pm): Madrid face arguably their most difficult league game remaining this season when they travel to face Champions League chasing Real Sociedad.
Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off towards the end of Real’s 3-0 win over Dortmund on Wednesday due to a slight knee injury, but they are confident he will be fit to start against Sociedad.
Predictions?
Despite the injuries, Barcelona will have too much for bottom-placed Real Betis. Both Madrid clubs face tough challenges but I’ll go for wins all-round.
Additional reporting from - © AFP, 2014
