Barcelona hope to extend stay at top in a La Liga weekend full of derbies

Indian Super League Prediction

April 28 2024, 07:30 PM

ATK Mohun Bagan

Odisha

Bengaluru, January 26: Lionel Messi and his Barcelona team will look to protect their current five-point advantage at the top of the table when they travel to Girona on Sunday, with locally born players on both sides and the home crowd at Montilivi hoping for a first ever La Liga victory against the Camp Nou outfit.

Second-placed Atletico de Madrid are in action on Saturday in a meeting of two teams from the Spanish capital.

Diego Simeone's side will look to continue their excellent home form at the Wanda Metropolitano, while neighbours Getafe have lost just once on the road all season in La Liga under Pepe Bordalas' astute management.

La Liga fixtures | Results | Points table

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Real vs Espanyol

Real Madrid will be aiming for a third successive La Liga win when they travel to struggling Espanyol later on Sunday.

Blancos forward Karim Benzema is set to return to the pitch with a protective cast over a broken finger, while Periquitos stars Mario Hermoso, Esteban Granero and Diego Lopez all face their former club.

Community derby

Saturday sees another derby match-up, as Valencia host local rivals Villarreal in what is often called the Derbi de la Comunitat (The Community Derby).

Always motivated for the trip to the regional capital, the Yellow Submarine have won on each of their last three LaLiga visits to Mestalla. Meanwhile Los Che coach Marcelino Garcia Toral will want to get one over his former club.

Shaky start

The weekend starts with fourth-placed Sevilla looking to recover from some shaky form with a home game at the Sanchez-Pizjuan against a Levante team who picked up their first league win of 2019 last weekend.

Two teams just above the relegation places meet elsewhere in Madrid on Saturday, with Leganes in 15th hoping their strong form in front of their own fans at Butarque will continue and Eibar aiming for an upturn in fortunes having taken just two points from 15 on the road.

Unbeaten run

Elsewhere in the Basque Country, Real Sociedad will aim to continue their unbeaten run to 2019 in La Liga, while bottom club Huesca know that each game is already close to 'must-win' given their position in the table.

The weekend's action ends on Monday with fifth-placed Alaves aiming to maintain their unbeaten 2018-19 record at Mendizorrotza, but visitors Rayo Vallecano have taken 10 points from their last 12 as they start climbing up the rankings.