La Liga Week 22 Schedule, Fixtures & Table: Cristiano Ronaldo Returns For Real Madrid-Atletico Madrid Showdown, Lionel Messi & Barcelona in Action

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Feb 07, 2015 12:00 AM EST

Another exciting week of Spanish soccer is among us. The 22nd week of La Liga promises to be an exciting one. In one of the greatest rivalries in soccer history, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will face one another on Saturday.

Real Madrid has the best record in the league with 18 wins and 54 points. Real Madrid fans have some good and bad feelings heading into this week. On the good side, superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is back from his two-game suspension. On the bad side, Colombian striker James Rodriguez has a broken foot, and will miss significant time.

Despite not having the Portuguese Ballon d'Or winner, Real Madrid still went 2-0 without Ronaldo. Real Madrid successfully defeated Real Sociedad and Sevilla in their last two games. Rodriguez scored a goal in both of those games, but again, he will not be playing this weekend. Goalkeeper Iker Casillas has been playing fantastic lately.

Standing in Real Madrid's way of a Spanish league title is the defending champion, Atletico Madrid. They haven't played as dominant this season as we saw them last year, but they have won their last three consecutive games. Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic have been playing terrific this season with a combined 21 goals, but Atletico Madrid has not seen a lot of balanced scoring outside of that dynamic duo. Real Madrid won the first game in Week 3, 2-1.

Atletico Madrid will be the home team in this match-up.

Second place Barcelona will also be in action this weekend. Barcelona is four points behind Real Madrid with a 16-2-3 record, giving them 50 points. Lionel Messi has scored seven goals in his last four games, all of which have resulted in Barcelona victories. Barcelona has just one loss since their Nov. 1 defeat to Celta Vigo.

Barcelona will take on Athletic Bilbao on the road. Athletic Bilbao has just six wins this season, and head coach Luis Enrique knows this is a must win.

Messi has 22 goals this season (second behind Ronaldo's 28), but Neymar has provided an excellent second option this season. The Brazilian forward has recorded 15 goals this season, and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has been outstanding in net. Barcelona has allowed the fewest goals in the league this season, just 11.

Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are beginning to distance themselves from the rest of the league. If Atletico Madrid can pull off an upset victory over Real Madrid, and Barcelona were to lose, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona would be tied for second place in the standings. On the other hand, if Barcelona wins and Real Madrid loses, Barcelona is just one point behind Real Madrid for first place.

With the first and third place teams playing each other this week, it promises to be an action packed weekend of soccer.