La Liga Week 27 Standings & Table: Barcelona & Lionel Messi Remain in First Place, Real Madrid & Cristiano Ronaldo Prepare for El Clasico

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Mar 16, 2015 04:33 PM EDT

Last week Barcelona took over first place in the La Liga standings, and they had no intentions of surrendering that lead in Week 27.

Barcelona defeated Eibar 2-0 on the road. With that win, Barcelona is now 21-2-4 giving them 65 points. Lionel Messi continued his amazing scoring streak with two goals. Messi now has an amazing 32 goals this season, which leads the league. Messi also has a La Liga high 14 assists. Barcelona has now won nine of their last 10 games. Their only loss in that time span was a Week 24 loss to Malaga at home.

To put things into perspective on just how amazing of a run Messi has been on, see his scoring rate compared to Cristiano Roanldo's over the last three months. In Week 12 Ronaldo had an incredible 20 goals while Messi had just seven. Now Messi has 32 goals as Ronaldo has 30. We'll let you do the math.

As for Real Madrid, they picked up a much needed victory against Levante, 2-0. This win was critical for Real Madrid because they had previously won just two of their last five games. Real Madrid now has a 21-1-5 record with 64 points. Real Madrid was in first place in the standings since Week 10, but a recent slump has many fans skeptic.

The biggest loss for Real Madrid has obviously been James Rodriguez. The Colombian superstar still hasn't returned from his broken foot injury, and he will not play next week.

Speaking of next week, the biggest game of the Spanish Premier Division season is upon us. Real Madrid and Barcelona will face off in the "El Clasico" for just the second time this season. This duel is by far one of the greatest rivalries in sports history. Real Madrid won the first meeting in Week 9, 3-1. The winner of this upcoming game will automatically take over first place.

Over in Valencia, fans are still staying hopeful. Their team defeated Deportivo, 2-0, to overtake Atletico Madrid for third place in the standings. Valencia doesn't have a single player ranked in the top 11 goal scoring leaders, but they just keep fighting. Daniel Parejo leads Valencia with just nine goals. The primary reason Valencia is still alive is because of their goalkeeper. Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves has been outstanding this season allowing just 19 goals in his 26 starts. Only Claudio Bravo has better statistics in net this year.

By far the biggest loser of Week 26 was Atletico Madrid. Their 0-0 draw against Espanyol now has them in fourth place. This team doesn't resemble last year's championship squad at all, and they are having huge offensive issues. It doesn't look like Atletico Madrid will be celebrating their 11th Spanish League title this season.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have won a combined 54 Spanish League Championships dating back to 1929. We've seen three different winners the last three years, but it's almost certain that either Real Madrid or Barcelona will be taking home another championship this year.