Madrid: Ahead of another Champions League salvage mission there is no room for error for Barcelona as they try to chase down Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Here, AFP Sports looks at a few things to look out for in La Liga this weekend.
Neymar-less Barca:
Barca’s season unravelled quickly in the past week as they lost at Malaga to fall three points behind Madrid, who also have a game in hand, at the top of the table and were then thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in the Champions League. In between Neymar was also slapped with a three-game ban following his first Barca red card last weekend and misses Real Sociedad’s visit on Saturday, as well as a potential decisive clash with Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu next weekend. Barca have to win to have any chance of keeping the title alive ahead next weekend’s Clasico. Boss Luis Enrique therefore has a delicate balance to find between resting some of his star names ahead of another Champions League rescue mission in midweek and still having enough to see off a Sociedad side battling for a place in the Europa League.
Attention on Asensio:
In stark contrast to Barca’s troubles, Real Madrid have been propped up throughout the campaign by the depth of their resources. No more so than by Marco Asensio who made a huge impact by setting up Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner against Bayern Munich after replacing Gareth Bale for the final half hour. With Bale set to sit out the trip to Gijon, Asensio will get his chance to make a case to start against Bayern on Tuesday.
Basque battle:
The fight to be top dogs in the Basque Country will almost certainly be rewarded with a place in Europe with Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao and Eibar separated by just two points between sixth and eighth. With Sociedad at the Camp Nou, Athletic can move a step ahead when they host Las Palmas on Friday night before Eibar continue their remarkable charge at struggling Betis on Sunday.
Valencia on the rise:
There is a rare sense of positivity around Valencia’s fortunes at the minute after three consecutive wins for the first time in a year. Chairwoman Layhoon Chan’s resignation earlier in the week also pleased a large section of the fan base unhappy. Sunday’s visitors to the Mestalla should take note of what bad organisation from the top can do to even a historically big club.
