La Liga leaders Barcelona face local rivals Espanyol
After beating Real Madrid in El Clasico, La Liga leaders Barcelona are now preparing to face local rivals Espanyol in Thursday’s clash at the RCDE Stadium.
Espanyol are sitting in 14th place in the standings after winning 10, drawing nine and losing 16 of their 35 La Liga matches this season.
Los Periquitos will enter Thursday’s derby clash on the back of a poor run of form, having taken just one point from their last four matches since beating Getafe 1-0 on April 18.
While they will be disappointed with their recent results, Espanyol are still in a strong position to avoid an immediate return to the second tier, boasting a five-point gap to the relegation zone with three games left to play against Barcelona, Osasuna and Las Palmas.
Espanyol will hope that home advantage can inspire them to their first La Liga victory against Barcelona since recording a 2-1 away win in February 2009.
Barcelona remain without the services of Defender Jules Kounde. Inigo Martinez is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards, opening the door for either Ronald Araujo or Andreas Christensen to start, and the latter could get the nod after impressing in his substitute appearance in El Clasico. Barcelona are unlikely to risk Robert Lewandowski from the start following his recent struggles with a hamstring issue.
Barcelona usually fare well when they face their local rivals, and after winning 14 of their last 15 league matches, we believe that the confident visitors will showcase their firepower once again to claim a commanding victory in Thursday’s derby clash.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Athletic Bilbao travel away to face Getafe
Athletic Bilbao will continue their bid to secure Champions League qualification when they travel to the Coliseum for Thursday’s meeting with Getafe.
The visitors are looking to claim back-to-back victories, while the Azulones are hoping to end a run of five consecutive defeats.
After 30 matches, Getafe were sitting in 11th place with 39 points to their name, with just two points separating them from the top eight.
However, their European dreams have since been quashed by a woeful run of form that has seen them lose three games on the bounce
Getafe supporters will want to see a strong performance their side on Thursday after watching their team win just one of their previous eight home league matches (D2, L5).
However, their recent record against Athletic suggests that Getafe may have their work cut out to claim all three points, having failed to win any of their last eight head-to-head meetings since recording a 2-0 away victory in February 2020 (D7, L2).
Athletic are fully focused on their Champions League qualification bid after their dreams of playing in the Europa League final at San Mames were ended by Manchester United in last week’s clash at Old Trafford.
Athletic showed great character to quickly pick themselves up to claim a narrow victory in Sunday’s home league game against fellow Basque side Alaves. Athletic will have to assess Nico Williams and Inaki Williams, who are struggling with groin and hamstring injuries respectively.
Athletic would have been buoyed by Sunday’s narrow win over Alaves, and while their recent home form has not been great, we think that a game against an out-of-form Getafe side could prove to be the perfect opportunity for the visitors to clinch all three points.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Atletico to extend unbeaten run when they clash with Osasuna
Atletico Madrid will attempt to extend their three-game unbeaten run when they travel to El Sadar for Thursday’s La Liga clash against Osasuna.
Meanwhile, the hosts will be looking to return to winning ways after taking just a point from their last two matches.
Osasuna boosted their European aspirations with a fine run of form in April, picking up three consecutive victories against Girona, Real Valladolid and Sevilla. However, their European bid has lost momentum in their last two games.
Osasuna will now return to the familiar surroundings of El Sadar for back-to-back games against Atleti and Espanyol, before they conclude the season with a match against Alaves, knowing that they need a strong finish to the campaign if they are to secure European qualification for the second time in three seasons.
Unfortunately for Osasuna, they tend to struggle in meetings with Atletico, having lost 12 of their previous 13 La Liga encounters (W1).
Their only win in that period took place at the Metropolitano in May 2024, while they have not beaten Atleti in a home match since recording a 3-0 victory in February 2014.
Atletico Madrid may have fallen short in their title bid this season, but they have at least secured another campaign of Champions League football after they confirmed a top-five finish with a dominant 4-0 win in Saturday’s home clash with Real Sociedad.
Atletico have won each of their last six away meetings with Osasuna, keeping clean sheets in five of those victories.
With that in mind, we believe that the visitors will enjoy another successful trip to El Sadar, especially as they will be buoyed by Saturday’s dominant win over Real Sociedad.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Betis to get Champs League qualification on track against Vallecano
After dropping two points at the weekend, Real Betis will attempt to get their Champions League qualification bid back on track when they travel to Vallecas for Thursday’s meeting with Rayo Vallecano.
Los Verdiblancos are currently sitting in sixth place in La Liga, while Rayo are just inside the European places in eighth position. Having collected 47 points from 35 matches, Rayo are dreaming of securing European football for the second time in their history and the first time since they reached the UEFA Cup finals in 2000-01.
Los Franjirrojos are currently in the Conference League qualification spot, knowing that they could still miss out on Europe altogether, or even upgrade to the Europa League with just two points separating them from seventh-placed Celta Vigo.
Betis are looking forward to competing in their first-ever European final after they got the better of Italian side Fiorentina in last week’s dramatic Conference League semi-final second leg in Florence.
Betis will surely feel that they need to win their final three games against Rayo, Atletico Madrid and Valencia if they are to have any chance of securing Champions League qualification for just the second time in their history.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Rayo Vallecano 18:00 Real Betis
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