Matchday 30 of the ongoing La Liga season promises some high-octane battles with the international break all done and dusted. With just nine gameweeks left to play, it looks certain that Real Madrid will be running away with yet another league title although the prospect of a late twist cannot be ruled out. Los Blancos will feature in one of the four games scheduled for Saturday and will travel to the Municipal de Balaidos to battle with Celta Vigo.

Essentially, Carlo Ancelotti's side will set their sights on bouncing back to winning ways after their humiliating defeat to Barcelona in El Clasico. In the absence of the talismanic Karim Benzema, the Merengues barely turned up for the show, conceding four times against Xavi's high-flying side as they picked up their first loss in seven league outings. Should they beat Celta, Real Madrid will put themselves 12 points above second-place Sevilla.

On Sunday, the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán outfit will travel to Barcelona with the hope of consolidating their status among the top three with a favorable result. Julien Lopetogui's men will approach the game with the sole objective to turn their recent form around, having picked up three draws in succession. However, the task will not be an easy one considering how impressive the Catalans have been in recent months. The latter will come into the game on the back of a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions, having last lost a game in January.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid will add to their bid to secure a top-four place when they take on Deportivo Alaves. Los Rojiblancos have impressed in their recent outings, winning all but one of their last seven matches across all competitions. At the moment, they are being rivalled in their quest to finish in the fourth place by Real Betis and Real Sociedad who will take on Osasuna and Espanyol respectively.

La Liga standings heading into matchday 30

Pos.		Mannschaft	AS	S	U	V	TE	GT	TD	P	Letzte 5
1		Real Madrid	38	29	8	1	87	26	+61	95	UUSSS
2		Barcelona	38	26	7	5	79	44	+35	85	SSSSV
3		Girona	38	25	6	7	85	46	+39	81	SSVUS
4		Atlético Madrid	38	24	4	10	70	43	+27	76	SVSSS
5		Athletic Club	38	19	11	8	61	37	+24	68	SSVUS
6		Real Sociedad	38	16	12	10	51	39	+12	60	VSSVS
7		Real Betis	38	14	15	9	48	45	+3	57	UVUSS
8		Villarreal	38	14	11	13	65	65	0	53	UUSSV
9		Valencia	38	13	10	15	40	45	-5	49	UVVUV
10		Deportivo Alavés	38	12	10	16	36	46	-10	46	USVUS
11		Osasuna	38	12	9	17	45	56	-11	45	USUUV
12		Getafe	38	10	13	15	42	54	-12	43	VVVVV
13		Celta de Vigo	38	10	11	17	46	57	-11	41	USSVS
14		Sevilla	38	10	11	17	48	54	-6	41	VVVVS
15		Mallorca	38	8	16	14	33	44	-11	40	SUUSV
16		Las Palmas	38	10	10	18	33	47	-14	40	UUUVV
17		Rayo Vallecano	38	8	14	16	29	48	-19	38	VVSUV
18		Cádiz	38	6	15	17	26	55	-29	33	VUSSV
19		Almería	38	3	12	23	43	75	-32	21	SUVVS
20		Granada	38	4	9	25	38	79	-41	21	VVVVV

Team news for matchday 30

• Athletic Bilbao: Yeray Álvarez (suspended) Inigo Lekue (phy discomfort) Julen Agirrezabala (knee injury)

• Atletico Madrid: Angel Correa (suspended), Koke (suspended), Mario Hermoso (phy discomfort), Hector Herrera (thigh injury) 

• Barcelona: Nico Gonzalez (Covid-19), Sergino Dest (hamstring), Sergi Roberto (tendon injury)

• Real Madrid: Luka Jovic (ankle injury), Isco (back injury), Eden Hazard (ankle injury)

• Real Sociedad: Adnan Janzuaj (suspended), Mikel Oyarzabal (ACL injury), Nacho Monreal (knee injury), Carlos Fernandez (ligament injury), Ander Barrenetxea (hamstring injury)

• Sevilla: Marcos Acuña (hamstring injury), Dario Gomez (muscle injury), Karim Rekik (muscle injury), Suso (Ankle injury), Fernando (ankle injury), Bono (head injury), Thomas Delaney (calf injury), Rafa Mir (muscle injury)

• Villarreal: Alberto Moreno (ACL injury)