Barcelona and Real Madrid do not meet again for the rest of the year (unless the Champions League has any say in that), but their fates will be inexorably linked for the next nine weeks of Spain's soccer league.

For that span, everyone will be scrutinizing every play made and every goal scored for and against either side. Any points dropped by one side will throw the ball into the court of the other side to see if they can take advantage. In essence, the race for Spain's title might be as exciting as ever.

Barcelona currently holds a four-point lead in the standings with nine dates to go. But everyone knows that no lead is safe and especially not with how tempestuous both sides have been. Few will forget how Madrid started off the year limping before winning 22 games in a row over all competitions. And then team imploded to start 2015, let a four-point lead slip away and was found trailing Barcelona.

And who could forget Barcelona starting off without allowing a single goal in Spain before twirling into chaos by the end of 2015 where everyone was getting fired and even Lionel Messi was slated for an exit? Suddenly the team got hot and has not stopped looking good.

In sum, anything can and will happen.

So how do the schedules look the rest of the way for Spain's top two sides?

Barcelona and Madrid are in action on Wednesday. Barca gets relegation side Almeria while Madrid visits Rayo Vallecano. Neither side is formidable but Madrid might struggle a bit on the road.

Then on the weekend Barcelona visits Sevilla, a side fighting to get into the top four in Spain and one that could give Barcelona some headaches. That said, Blaugrana managed a 5-1 win over Sevilla earlier this season at home. But Sevilla was struggling at that point in the year and has been far better of late. Real Madrid inversely gets to take on a weak Eibar side at home. This might be a weekend where Madrid picks up some ground.

Then the two sides play in the Champions League during the week. Both teams have tough match-ups that should provide major fatigue for top players. For Madrid, the game against Eibar might be a prime opportunity to rest top players; Barcelona will surely avoid that route against Sevilla.

The follow Spanish League title for Real Madrid at home on April 18 is a tough one. The team hosts a Malaga side that is seventh in the league and previously beat Barcelona. They will give Madrid some issues. But life is not easy for Barcelona as the side will host a hot Valencia team that is currently 10 points back of Barcelona. Who knows where the team is in a few weeks but it is possible that, with some luck, Valencia might be dreaming of catching the top sides and potentially winning the title on their own. Beating Barcelona would be the ideal formula for doing that.

The schedule does tighten up for Madrid in the final four weeks. After the second leg of the UCL, the team takes on Celta Vigo on April 26, hosts Almeria on April 29 and concludes the domestic season against Sevilla and Valencia. The Sevilla game will be away while the Valencia one will be at home. Almeria should be three points but the other three games could prove more difficult and might ultimately cost Madrid the title if it still has a chance.

But Barcelona does not have it any easier. After the Champions League second leg, the team plays a derby with Espanyol, hosts Getafe CF, heads to Cordoba and finishes the year against Real Sociedad. Three of those games should be slam dunks, but derbies are unpredictably, especially on the road for Barcelona while Real Sociedad has a propensity for being a thorn in the side of other top sides. One cannot overlook the fact that teams fighting to avoid relegation could also become difficult opponents down the stretch.

Barcelona also has to deal with the Copa del Rey final and both sides could also be playing deeper into the Champions League. That could lead to tough choices about when to bench top players and reserve them for more heated matches. This could lead to trap matches that ultimately cost points.

Ultimately, Barcelona gets the harder schedule in the next few weeks, but Madrid undoubtedly has a tougher finish.