La Liga: Different states of mind for Barca, Real Madrid ahead of matchday 31

Madrid, April 10 (IANS) Matchday 31 in La Liga sees leaders FC Barcelona and second-placed Real Madrid in very different situations and state of mind for their weekend matches in the top-flight Spanish league.

Barcelona travel to Leganes on Saturday night to defend a four-point lead at the top of the table, with less than 72 hours rest after Wednesday night's 4-0 thrashing of Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Hansi Flick is likely to make some changes to his starting eleven. He will be able to bring in players such as Eric Garcia, Gavi, Gerard Martin, or Ronald Araujo and his side has its morale sky-high after its brilliant midweek performance, reports Xinhua.

Lamine Yamal probably won't start after asking to be substituted in the closing minutes of Wednesday's win, although the club has still to confirm if he has suffered an injury.

Real Madrid's situation is very different as they prepare to visit Alaves on Sunday afternoon. Carlo Ancelotti's side travels to the Basque Region after a disastrous week that saw a La Liga defeat at home to Valencia followed by a 3-0 loss away to Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinals.

That means Madrid need something special in next Wednesday's return leg against Arsenal, and Ancelotti will also have to make squad rotations, with Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz, and Fran Garcia all back in the starting eleven against a rival that is battling to avoid relegation, but tough to beat at home.

Atletico Madrid are seven points behind Barca and three behind Real Madrid. They have a home match on Monday against bottom-of-the-table Valladolid - a side that is almost certain to be relegated and with squad issues as shown by last weekend's incident when two players almost came to blows in the dugout.

Valencia look to capitalise on last weekend's win in the Bernabeu on Friday with a home match against Sevilla. Sevilla's European ambitions seem to have disappeared and coach Garcia Pimienta could be sacked if his side slips to a fourth consecutive defeat.

Las Palmas coach Diego Martinez has clung to his job, despite his side dropping to second from bottom after failing to win in 2025. Las Palmas travel to play a Getafe with three wins in four games.

Real Sociedad are at home to Mallorca in a match between two sides with European ambitions, although Mallorca are hampered by an injury to strike Vedat Muriqi.

Celta Vigo's excellent recent performances and results have lifted them up to seventh, with forwards Fer Lopez and Alfon Gonzalez both in excellent form ahead of a home game against Espanyol, which travel to the Balaidos Stadium after a morale-boosting 4-0 win away to Rayo Vallecano.

Rayo visit an Athletic Club Bilbao side in Europa League action on Thursday night, and that in La Liga has the chance to extend their lead over sixth-place Betis and Villarreal who play each other on Sunday.

Betis highlighted its excellent form with a 1-1 draw in Barcelona last weekend, while despite being held 0-0 at home to Athletic, Villarreal's attack of Ayoze Perez, Alex Baena, and Thierno Barry have actually got better results on the road than at home.

With both teams packed with pace in attack, this could be the best game of the weekend.

Finally, Osasuna entertain Girona in a match between two sides that are struggling to get the win they both need to probably ensure their top-flight survival for another year.

--IANS

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