It hasn’t been a particularly great last seven days for FC Barcelona. Last weekend, their La Liga record winning streak was snapped as they drew Sporting Gijon, 1-1. Mid-week, they fell 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium to Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League, giving up a 1-0 lead at the end of the game. This week, they look to right the ship, but it shouldn’t be easy. Athletic Bilbao are coming to the Camp Nou, looking to move up from their current fifth place standing to a Champions League spot.
Spanish La Liga, Round 24: Can FC Barcelona Bounce Back From Disappointments?
If Barcelona do slip up again, their rivals Real Madrid will have a solid chance to gain ground and move closer to first place. They host Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu, a team that inexplicably held them to a 0-0 draw last time the two teams met. It seems unlikely that Los Merengues will do anything but take all three points.
A few other teams chasing Europe have tricky encounters, but still games that all of them should win. Valencia host the Sporting Gijon team that gave Barcelona trouble last week, Villarreal host a talented, but somehow bottom of the table Malaga side at El Madrigal, and Espanyol go away to Osasuna. Espanyol currently have a six point cushion on the teams below them, a group that includes Getafe, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, and the struggling Atletico Madrid. Villarreal currently sit in fourth place, seven points ahead of Bilbao. The race for European places could be over soon, but it only takes one slip-up by Espanyol or fourth placed Villarreal to make things interesting.
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