Preview: La Liga – a three-horse race?
Reaching its half-way point, La Liga has only started getting interesting. Saturday’s goalless draw between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon appeared to be the best possible news for Real Madrid.
However, Los Blancos (44 points) will remain third no matter what happens at the Cornella-El Prat on Sunday. Victory is a must though, if they want to maintain the pressure on the Blaugrana and the Rojiblancos who both have 50 points. Reducing the gap to three points would transform La Liga in a three-horse race at the delight of Madridistas as well as neutrals.
“It’s a very important game. We have the chance to pick up more points than Atlético Madrid or Barcelona and we hope to finish the first half of the season with a win,” coach Carlo Ancelotti stated at the pre-match press conference.
“I know that Espanyol are not an easy team to play at their stadium and that they beat Atlético Madrid there. They’re a dangerous team at home.”
The hosts have picked up four wins in nine matches at the Cornella-El Prat. They occupy the 11th spot in the Primera Division. Should Espanyol upset Real Madrid, they could make a massive jump and end the first half of the campaign in seventh place with 25 points – just six behind the European zone.
Where to watch the match – live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores
Watch Espanyol vs Real Madrid live on Sunday, January 12, 2014:
In Canada at 13:00 ET:
| Canada | beIN Sports Play Canada |
In UK at 18:00 BST:
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Sports 1 Ireland, NOW TV |
In USA at 13:00 ET:
| United States | beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports en Español, SiriusXM FC, beIN Sports Play |
If you need live listings from outside these countries or live scores during the game, please visit the Espanyol-Real Madrid match page.
