With just two rounds of matches to go in the Spanish league, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid all are in the fray to be crowned the champions when the last rounds of games are played on Sunday, 15th May.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are tied on top of the table with 85 points each, with an identical record of 27 wins, four draws and five losses from 36 games each, while Real Madrid are a point adrift in third having accumulated 26 wins, six draws and four losses in their league campaign.
The Catalan outfit will take home the title if they win their last two games, no matter what happens in the games of their rivals. They defeated Atletico Madrid both home and away, while they thrashed Los Blancos 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu before losing 2-1 at the Camp Nou, meaning the Catalan club have the upper hand when it will come down to head-to-head record in the eventuality of all three teams tied at the same points tally at the end of the season. In Spain head-to-head record takes precedence when it comes to deciding the winner in case of a tie, instead of the goals-for tally as it happens in the English Premier League.
This is how the remaining games of the title contenders look like:
Barcelona: Espanyol (home), 8th May and Granada (away), 15th May
Atletico Madrid: Levante (away), 8th May and Celta Vigo (home), 15th May
Real Madrid: Valencia (home), 8th May and Deportivo La Coruna (away), 15th May
Looking at the fixtures, it’s a little hard to put a finger on who the eventual winner will be. However, Barcelona appears to have the easier fixture list of the three teams.
The Catalan outfit will have a tough outing this Sunday as derby rivals Espanyol always raise their game against their illustrious opponents. However, Espanyol’s 1-0 win over Sevilla in their last league fixture secured their top-flight status, meaning they will not have much to play for when they go to the Camp Nou this weekend.
Nonetheless, they will take great relish in wrecking the title hopes of their city rivals and will surely do all within their means to give a helping hand to the two Madrid clubs. This has the potential to be a banana skin for Luis Enrique’s men. Granada remain embroiled in relegation scrap and if their top division status isn’t secure by the final match day, then they too could be potential disaster in waiting for Barcelona.
Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia on the 36th match day last season and it effectively handed the title to Barcelona, and Los Che will be eager to do the same this Sunday too. After that Zinedine Zidane’s men will have a final day clash against Deportivo La Coruna to look forward to.
Levante are all but relegated from the Spanish top flight and will likely be smashed by Atletico Madrid this Sunday, but they will have a formidable opponent in Celta Vigo on the final match day. Celta ousted Diego Simeone’s men from the Copa del Rey with a 3-2 win at the Calderon and are more than capable of another win especially as a spot in the Europa League is on the line for them.