It seems La Liga's title race will be decided in the final weeks of the season. With the same three teams that fought until the end of the past tournament, Barceloa will try to hold back Real Madrid and Atletico in their hopes of snatching the lead from Barca's hands, keeping an eye on their European tournament commitments.
After their 9-1 victory over Granada, it seems that Los Blancos will have the necessary motivation to try and beat Barcelona in the final games of the season, but they have to consider Los Blaugranas will defend their current lead without any considerations. Finally, the underdog is Atletico Madrid, still nine points behind the current leaders, but with an apparently easier schedule than that of their rivals. Let's have a look at each team's remaining games in order to determine which ones will be the hardest for them in the quest of another championship.
Real Madrid's upcoming schedule
Which games are the hardest for each side?
La Liga's table after Matchday 29:
Barcelona: The key is to avoid any more surprises at Camp Nou
Los Blaugranas need to make their home field advantage count, since two of their most controversial defeats came while playing at Camp Nou Stadium. After their losses to Celta and Malaga, Los Cules jeopardized their chances of winning La Liga, but following their Clasico victory over Real Madrid, Luis Enrique's crew are in a better position. Barcelona must be very aware of their fixtures against Sevilla (April 11th), Valencia (April 18th), Espanyol (April 25th) and Atletico Madrid (May 17th). If they don't give away a lot of points in those games, they will most likely be crowned as champions after one trophy-less season.
Messi will try to equalize and eventually surpass Cristiano Ronaldo as the league's top scorer. If he can do that, his squad will most-likely win La Liga hands down.
Real Madrid: Their visits to Celta and Sevilla could mean trouble
Apparently, Los Blancos have a much easier calendar than Barcelona, facing teams that navigate in the middle of the table. Their 9-1 win over Granada will surely provide an ego boost for his players, while their quest to overcome Barca's lead continues. Their most complicated matches will be against Celta (April 26th), Sevilla (May 2nd) and Valencia (May 10th). If Cristiano & Co. want to have a fighting chance until the end, they must be fully concentrated while playing those three games.
The current Ballon D'Or holder will also be aiming to tie with Lionel Messi as La Liga's single-season top scorer with 50 goals.
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Atletico: Failure is not an option if they want a top-three finish
Diego Simeone's men, even with a nine-point deficit against Barcelona, still hold one or two cards to favor them. Their schedule doesn't seem to be that difficult, but their visit to Villarreal(April 29th) and their home games against Athletic Bilbao(May 2nd) and Barcelona(May 17th) will surely represent more than a little risk. Two problems lie ahead in Atletico's path: if they fail once, they could surrender their spot to Sevilla or even Valencia, and if they get to the final two games without any options, a possible win over Los Culés could be the key to Real Madrid's victory.
Simeone will need every ounce of talent from each of his players, just like they did last year.
Whoever wins the title, it will surely be a race you wouldn't want to miss. Who can handle the pressure to become La Liga's ruler? Only time will tell... soon!
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Rayo Vallecano 0 - 2 Real Madrid
April 8, 2015 4:00pmEstadio del Rayo Vallecano (de Vallecas Teresa Rivero) (Madrid)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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