La Liga Week 29 Schedule, Fixtures, Table & Stream: Barcelona, Lionel Messi Try to Avenge Loss to Celta Vigo, Real Madrid Look to End Drought

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Apr 03, 2015 01:06 PM EDT

After a week off because of international friendlies, the Spanish Premier League is back underway. Play begins on Friday with Eibar and Rayo Vallecano doing battle at 2:45 p.m. EST.

This is a huge week for Barcelona. When we last saw Barcelona, they defeated their rivals, Real Madrid, at home to secure a four-point advantage in the standings. Thanks to Lionel Messi, Barcelona has the No. 1 ranked offense this season. Messi leads all of La Liga in goals scored (32) and assists (15) this season.

What makes this week so big for Barcelona is their opponent. Barcelona will take on Celta Vigo, who defeated them in Week 10. This game will be played at Vigo, and Messi is dealing with a foot injury that kept him out of Argentina's last two international friendlies. Messi is the driving force of Barcelona, but goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has been outstanding this year in net. Bravo leads all goalkeepers in wins, goals against average and clean sheets.

As for Real Madrid, their last game was a bitter loss to Barcelona, but they played their hearts out. There's no shame in losing 2-1 to Barcelona at Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo is playing well, but Gareth Bale is losing much support from fans. Fortunately, Colombian superstar James Rodriguez is scheduled to make his first start since a Week 16 win against Sevilla when he broke his foot.

A Rodriguez return is just what the doctor ordered for Real Madrid. Karim Benzema and Ronaldo know they need the talented middle fielder to survive down the stretch. Real Madrid will take on Granada on Sunday. Here's where things get interesting. If Real Madrid beats Granada (they beat Granada 4-0 in Week 10) and Barcelona loses again to Celta Vigo, then Real Madrid is behind in the first place standings by just one point.

One of the biggest games of the weekend will be between Valencia and Villarreal. Valencia was victorious over Villarreal back in Week 10, and this is a must win game for them. Very quietly, Valencia has overtaken last year's champions, Atletico Madrid, and they are just four points behind Real Madrid in the standings for second place. Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves has been magnificent in net for Valencia this season, and they will take on both Real Madrid and Barcelona once more this year.

Atletico Madrid has been backed into a corner because of their terrible offense this year. The defending Spanish league Champions sit in fourth place with 59 points, one point behind Valencia. Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann account for 26 of Atletico Madrid's 53 goals this season. It will take a miracle run and a lot of luck down the stretch for Atletico Madrid to repeat as champions.