La Liga Returns: The Title Race, Champions League Battle, Relegation Fight & Big Games to Look Forward to
By Ali Rampling
La Liga is poised to return on 11 June following a three month coronavirus enforced hiatus.
Fans of the Spanish first tier are to be treated to a bumper month of football, with remaining league fixtures played every day until the season concludes on 19 July.
Proceedings were finely poised at both ends of the table before the campaign ground to a halt in March, leaving plenty of loose ends to be tied up during the final 11 games of the season.
Let's take a look at how things currently stand, the big games to look forward to, and how things could finish up in La Liga.
The Title Race
Barcelona lead Real Madrid by two points, with 11 games left to play. Real can finish the season with a maximum of 89 points if they win their remaining league matches. If this is the case, Barcelona too must take maximum points from their final fixtures to be certain of retaining their title.
Even if Real don't drop a single point, Barcelona could potentially afford to draw one of their remaining league games and still win the title. This would leave the two sides tied on 89 points, and Barcelona currently have a better goal difference - although by a margin of just two goals.
Barcelona's run-in is not simple. They still have to travel to third place Sevilla - who themselves are in with an outside chance of lifting the title, although this would involve them making up an 11 point gap over Barcelona in 11 games.
The defending La Liga champions also have the visit of Diego Simeone's famously stubborn Atletico Madrid standing between them and the title.
Real have some potential banana skins of their own to navigate. Zinedine Zidane's side still have the tricky visit of Valencia to come - having rescued a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in December thanks to a 96th minute Karim Benzema equaliser.
Los Blancos also face a trip to fourth place Real Sociedad, another side who could still mathematically - although highly unlikely - win the title.
Neither Barcelona or Real have been at their best this season, with the pair both dropping points on multiple occasions, suggesting there are still plenty of twists left in this year's title race.
The pair are both back in action on 13 June, with Real welcoming Eibar and Barcelona visiting Mallorca.
The Champions League Race
The battle for Europe is just as tight as the title race, with third place Sevilla down to Valencia in seventh all realistically in with a shout of securing the final two Champions League spots.
Villarreal, Granada and Athletic Club could also sneak in, with the latter down in 10th but just nine points off Real Sociedad in fourth.
Sevilla sit on 47 points, and Sociedad and Getafe are a point behind in fourth and fifth. With an identical goal difference, Sociedad are currently keeping Getafe out of the Champions League places on goals scored.
Atletico Madrid are in sixth spot on 45 points, currently missing out on Champions League football by a single point, while Valencia are a further three points behind in seventh.
The race for the Champions League will be fascinating, with all sides in contention still scheduled to play each other before the season's climax. Sociedad still have a trip to Getafe, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal on their fixture list, as well as the visits of Seville and Granada.
Getafe's first game back sees them play Granada, and they will also welcome Atletico Madrid before the season is out, while Valencia have encounters with Sevilla, Granada, Villarreal and Athletic Club in the pipeline.
The Battle at the Bottom
It's very much squeaky bum time in the lower echelons of La Liga, with just nine points separating Mallorca in the final relegation spot, and Osasuna in 11th.
Espanyol are slightly cut adrift at the league basement, six points from safety. Leganes sit second from bottom, just three points off 17th spot Celta Vigo.
Celta Vigo are a point clear of Mallorca in the drop zone, while Eibar and Real Valladolid are still very much in danger, sitting a respective two and three points clear of the drop zone.
Alaves, Levante, Real Betis and Osasuna have all got a little bit of daylight between themselves and the bottom three, but could easily get dragged into a relegation dog fight if they don't hit the ground running.
Mallorca have a very tasty fixture list, with matches against Real Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Atletico Madrid still to come, in addition to relegation six pointers against Celta Vigo and Leganes.
Leganes themselves have got meetings with fellow strugglers Eibar and Valladolid ahead of them, leaving plenty of opportunity for movement in the relegation zone before the curtain comes down on the season.