La Liga Week 26 Schedule, Fixtures, Table & Stream: Barcelona & Lionel Messi Try and Capture First Place Over Real Madrid & Cristiano Ronaldo in Spanish League Standings
La Liga soccer fans are gearing up for another exciting weekend of play.
Levante and Eibar kick things off on Friday afternoon, and from there, nine more game will be played until Monday. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some Spanish Premier League soccer this weekend.
Barcelona got a huge victory last week to pull within just two points of first place Real Madrid. Because Real Madrid tied with Villarreal, that means that Barcelona can overtake Real Madrid this weekend with a victory and a Real Madrid loss. If Barcelona wins and Real Madrid ties, the two teams will be tied for first place with 62 points.
Lionel Messi and Neymar have been the hottest duo in the league over the last month. Barcelona has won seven of their last eight La Liga games including a 3-1 victory over Granada last week. Messi's 27 goals rank second in the league, and he leads the league in assists with 13. Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has been nothing short of brilliant this season leading all goalies in shutouts and goals against average.
Barcelona has the opening game against Rayo Valencia on Saturday. Fortunately for Barcelona, they will be playing at home where they are 10-0-2 this season. Rayo Valencia is currently in 11th place in the standings, so Barcelona should be able to come away with victory.
As for the first place squad, Real Madrid will be facing Athletic Bilbao in a critical must win game on Saturday. Obviously Athletic Bilbao isn't a dominant team, but they will be at home, and they have a good defense. Colombian FIFA World Cup hero James Rodriguez will once again be out for Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be leading Real Madrid into battle. Last week he scored the only goal (penalty kick) in a 1-1 draw against Villarreal. Ronaldo has a La Liga-leading 30 goals this season while Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale have a combined 23 goals themselves. Just like Barcelona, Real Madrid has benefited greatly from supreme goaltending thanks to Iker Casillas.
Without a doubt, the biggest game of Week 26 will be between Atletico Madrid and Valencia.
Valencia has been the best team in recent weeks winning their last four consecutive games, and they have just one loss in their last 12 matches. It may seem crazy to consider Valencia a true contender to win the Spanish League title because they have come out of nowhere and they don't superstar goal scorers, but they're right in the mix. Valencia is in fourth place with 54 points, just one point behind Atletico Madrid.
For Atletico Madrid, it's now or never. Inconsistency has plagued this team all season long. If they fail to defeat Valencia on Sunday, their hopes of an 11th Spanish League Championship are all but over.
La Liga Week 26 Schedule
Friday
Levante defeated Eibar 2-1
Saturday
Sevilla defeated Deportivo 4-3
Athletic Bilbao defeated Real Madrid 1-0
Elche defeated Almería 1-0
Granada defeated Málaga 1-0
Sunday
Barcelona defeated Rayo 6-1
Real Sociedad vs. Espanyol: 12 p.m.
Villarreal vs. Celta Vigo: 2 p.m.
Atlético Madrid vs. Valencia 4 p.m.
Monday
Córdoba vs. Getafe: 3:45 p.m.
All times listed above are Eastern American time. You can watch live game streams here.
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