Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla all in La Liga action on Sky Sports this Sunday
Saturday 28 January 2017 07:43, UK
The top three will be looking to avoid slip-ups in the latest round of La Liga fixtures, all live on Sky Sports .
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Sevilla all racked up wins last weekend in a relentless battle for the La Liga title, with Atletico Madrid losing pace as they dropped points at Eibar.
Diego Simeone's men have the opportunity to regain ground on Saturday before the top three feature in Sunday's line-up, with Barca and Sevilla on the road while leaders Real host fifth-placed Real Sociedad.
Osasuna and Malaga played out a 1-1 draw on Friday night to kick off the La Liga action.
Here's a look at the top four's clashes and the key stats for the rest of the action...
Betis v Barcelona (Sunday 11am, live on Sky Sports 2 HD)
With 17 goals and 13 points from their last five league matches, Barcelona are finding their rhythm again ahead of a tricky trip to Betis.
Their hosts are unbeaten in their last five games at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, although they were battered 6-1 on home turf by Real Madrid in October.
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Luis Enrique's men look in the mood to hand out a similar result, having hammered Real Sociedad 6-2 on aggregate to make the Copa del Rey semi-finals, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez maintaining their stunning form with nine goals between them in their last five in all competitions.
Barca are also the league's best travellers, averaging 2.8 goals on the road this season, while they also have Neymar back in the goals, with one in each of his last three after firing blanks in his previous 11.
Sky Bet prediction: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both to score - 6/5 with Sky Bet
Espanyol v Sevilla (Sunday 3.15pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
Sevilla produced the sort of performance that typified their undoing here last season, going down 1-0 as they failed to win a single game on the road throughout the whole campaign.
However, they've already racked up five wins away from the Sanchez Pizjuan this season, scoring 11 goals in three successive away wins heading to Catalonia.
Jorge Sampaoli's men also put six past their hosts in the opening weekend of the season, although they also conceded four, contributing to the biggest question over their credentials, a defence which has conceded 25 times, the joint worst in the top seven.
More goals can be expected here, with both teams netting in Espanyol's last six while there have been three or more in Sevilla's last eight in all competitions.
Sky Bet prediction: Sevilla to win and both teams to score - 3/1 with Sky Bet
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (Sunday 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
Sociedad complete a brutal four days as they head to the capital after being hit for five in Barcelona, with little encouragement to take from their opening-weekend 3-0 home loss to Zinedine Zidane's men.
However, they do have plenty of league momentum with back-to-back wins keeping them well in the top-four battle, while they also head into the weekend with the joint second most wins on the road.
They also visit Madrid at the best possible time with their hosts in a mini-meltdown following a humbling Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Celta Vigo.
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Their grasp of the league lead has also weakened following a 2-1 loss to Sevilla and an unconvincing 2-1 victory over winless travellers Malaga.
Five straight league wins at the Bernabeu makes it hard to oppose Madrid, but just two clean sheets at home all season suggests Sociedad will get their chances, which nine-goal frontman William Jose is in the form to take them.
Sky Bet prediction: Real Madrid to win and both teams to score - 5/4 with Sky Bet
Villarreal v Granada (Saturday 12pm, live on Sky Sports 5 HD red button)
Villarreal have slipped off the pace in the top-four race, with last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at home to Valencia leaving them with just two points from three games.
They've failed to score in their last two but still boast the best defensive record in the league, and should be confident of getting back to winning ways against second-from-bottom Granada, who are winless away this season.
Sky Bet prediction: Villarreal win to nil: evens with Sky Bet
Alaves v Atletico Madrid (Saturday 3.15pm)
Once Europe's most stringent force, Atletico are in a defensive crisis, relatively speaking. Last weekend saw them concede twice in a game for the fifth time this season, something that only happened three times in the entirety of the last campaign.
At the halfway mark they've conceded just two goals less than last season in total, while their slackness seeped back in midweek despite a four-goal aggregate lead, with Eibar snatching two late consolation goals in the Copa del Rey.
However, that does not change the fact that 14 of their 19 wins have involved clean sheets, so the formula for success remains the same, if not their discipline.
Simeone is surely addressing the issue and has the perfect chance to reintroduce the grinding machine when they visit Alaves, who average less than a goal per game.
Sky Bet prediction: Atletico win to nil - 5/4 with Sky Bet
Eibar v Deportivo (Saturday 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
After a fine start to the season at the Ipurua, Eibar have failed to score in their last three home league matches, while Deportivo are still winless on the road this season, although they have drawn five times.
Sky Bet prediction: draw and under 2.5 goals - 11/4 with Sky Bet
Leganes v Celta Vigo (Saturday 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
The league's lowest scorers Leganes made a mockery of the form guide to play out a 2-2 draw with the then second lowest scorers Alaves last weekend.
They also upset the odds in the opening weekend of the season when they beat last season's overachievers 1-0, but Celta are back in form, winning six of their last eight in all competitions and dumping Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in the process, while also boasting the league's fourth top scorer in Iago Aspas.
Sky Bet prediction: Iago Aspas to score and Celta to win - 11/4
Athletic Bilbao v Sporting Gijon (Sunday 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
Athletic have endured a tough January so far, seeing their narrow lead narrowly overturn by Barca in the Copa del Rey, while they failed to break down Alaves and Leganes before letting a lead slip against Atletico.
Their visitors have had an even tougher time of it, failing to win since December 4, but did stop the run of five straight loses with a goalless draw at Betis, while they arrive with the least amount of away goals in LaLiga.
Sky Bet prediction: Athletic to win to nil - evens with Sky Bets
Las Palmas v Valencia (Monday 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
Whisper it quietly, Valencia finally seem to be on their way back up. Shoots of promise emerged with a 2-1 win over Espanyol before they fully flourished with a surprise 2-0 win at sixth-placed Villarreal last weekend.
They face another tough trip on Monday night with Las Palmas unbeaten Gran Canaria this season, while the islanders left the Mestalla with a 4-2 win on the opening weekend.
Sky Bet prediction: Las Palmas to win and both teams to score - 7/2 with Sky Bet
