La Liga preview: Real Madrid go to Celta Vigo, Barcelona and Atletico at home
Friday 3 February 2017 17:08, UK
Real Madrid will be looking to strengthen their grasp on top spot once again as they go last on Sunday night in the latest round of La Liga fixtures.
However, Zinedine Zidane's men face a tricky trip to a Celta side full of reasons to believe they can cause an upset, while Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are all at homes this weekend.
There's also five other fixtures live on Sky Sports, although Friday night's clash between Deportivo and Real Betis has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Starting with the top-four's fixtures, here's a look at this weekend's line up in full...
Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao (Saturday 3.15pm)
Barcelona can ill-afford any more slip-ups after last weekend's draw in Betis, a rare blip in their otherwise superb recent form.
Luis Enrique's men bounced back with a 2-1 victory at Atletico in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, making it six wins form seven in all competitions.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both also scored in that win, leaving them with 12 goals between them during that run, while Barca have scored 13 in their last three games at the Nou Camp.
Bilbao's top scorer Aritz Aduriz took his tally to 15 goals in all competitions last weekend but the troubling stat for the visitors is that only one of his league goals have come away from home.
That underlines a pretty poor record on the road, failing to win their last six away from the San Mames in La Liga, while they recently let a 2-1 first-leg lead slip by losing 3-1 at the Nou Camp in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Sky Bet prediction: Barcelona -2 - 11/8
Atletico Madrid v Leganes (Saturday 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports 5 HD red button)
Antoine Griezmann may have salvaged a lifeline in Atletico's first-leg loss to Barca on Wedesday but that did little to disguise their crumbling campaign.
Their title chances are all but dismissed now at 66/1 with Sky Bet, but Diego Simeone will surely be emphasising the real threat to their top-four place, with three sides within four points.
Further trouble seems unlikely here though, with Leganes fourth from bottom and the league's lowest scorers, failing to score in five of their last eight.
Sky Bet prediction: Atletico win to nil - 8/11
Sevilla v Villarreal (Sunday 11am, live on Sky Sports Mix HD)
Sunday's first fixture looks a treat for early risers, with Villarreal in the hunt for a top-four spot while their hosts have even grander aspirations.
Sevilla's title dreams took a blow last weekend as they lost 3-1 at Espanyol, leaving them four points behind leaders Real Madrid and prompting Sky Bet to push them out from 25/1 to 40/1 to lift the trophy.
Sixth-placed Villarreal will be looking to drag them further from the title battle and into the top-four contest this weekend, with the gap between the two potentially reduced from five points, having been cut to eight with a 2-0 win for the Yellow Submarine at lowly Granada last time out.
However, Jorge Sampaoli's men are a different animal at home, winning eight of their nine clashes at the Sanchez Pizjuan, while Villarreal have won just two of their La Liga trips.
Sky Bet prediction: Sevilla to win and over 2.5 goals
Celta Vigo v Real Madrid (Sunday 7.45pm, live on Sky Sports 1 HD)
Real Madrid will be hoping to arrive at Sunday's late kick-off with the chance to strengthen their grasp on top spot again, having pulled four points clear last weekend as their closest rivals all slipped up.
With an additional game in hand, they are just 1/3 with Sky Bet to win the title, but this trip is far from a banker for Zinedine Zidane's men.
After a troubled start, Celta have won seven of their last eight home league matches, while they also dumped the European champions out of the Copa del Rey with a 4-3 aggregate win in the quarter-finals.
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They will be forgiven for having one eye on their semi-final tie with Alaves, which is poised at 0-0 after Thursday's first leg, with their fans dreaming of a first ever triumph in the competition.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have the task of wrestling back domestic superiority, which could prove the difference between sides with very similar respective home and away records.
Sky Bet prediction: Real Madrid to win and both teams to score
Malaga v Espanyol (Saturday 12pm, Sky Sports 5 HD red button)
Winless-in-seven Malaga could only end a run of four straight loses with a point against bottom side Granada last weekend as they grapple with a raft of injuries. Their visitors, in contrast, made it back-to-back wins by upsetting high-flying Sevilla on Sunday, leaving them just seven points off the top six.
Valencia v Eibar (Saturday 7.45pm, Sky Sports 5 HD)
It looked too good to be true and so it proved, as Valencia's resurgence came crashing down on Monday night as they let a lead slip to lose 3-1 at Las Palmas.
However, they were reduced to 10 men at 1-1 when Munir picked up a second yellow, and Las Palmas continued their excellent home form having won six and drawn the other five in Gran Canaria.
The bad news is only Eibar have overachieved more impressively than the islanders this season, remaining in the top half following their 3-1 win over Deportivo.
Expect more goals with over 2.5 scored in six of Valencia's last seven and each of Eibar's last three.
Sporting Gijon v Alaves (Sunday 3.15pm, Sky Sports 5 HD red button)
Gijon desperately need a win after collecting a solitary point from their last six games, leaving them five points adrift of safety. Alaves have no such concerns despite just one win in seven, with a decent haul of 12 points on the road this season.
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (Sunday 5.30pm, Sky Sports 2 HD)
With just two wins and four loses from their last seven in all competitions, Sociedad will be looking to move on from a tricky spell this weekend.
They have the perfect opposition to do so in second-from-bottom Osasuna and have more than enough games remaining to keep their top-four battle going strong, having lost just one of their last nine La Liga home games.
