La Liga: With 10 rounds remaining, Atletico meet Barcelona in crucial clash

Madrid, March 15 (IANS) Ahead of the international break and with 10 rounds to go, Atletico de Madrid take on FC Barcelona in a crucial clash in the La Liga 2023-24 this Sunday. There are just 10 matchdays of the 2023/24 La Liga season remaining, so every point is extra valuable, and all 20 clubs will look to add three more points to their tallies ahead of the March international break.

With several fascinating games are coming up in Matchday 29, including two regional derbies and a blockbuster clash between Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona, this round will prove important.

The first of Saturday’s four fixtures take place in the Balearic Islands, where Mallorca hosting Granada. The Andalusian outfit won the previous meeting this season 3-2 for one of their just two victories so far, so they’ll hope to pick up another three points against the Copa del Rey finalists.

League leaders Real Madrid are in early afternoon action on Saturday, as they travel to El Sadar to take on CA Osasuna. Los Rojillos haven’t defeated Real Madrid since 2011, but their passionate fanbase will flock to the stadium hoping that run changes this weekend.

The Getafe CF vs Girona FC clash follows, and this could be a game full of goals. Both these teams have been scoring and conceding a lot of late, and the past two fixtures at Getafe CF’s Coliseum produced a 3-2 home win and a 3-3 draw.

Saturday’s action concludes with a Basque derby between Athletic Club and Deportivo Alaves. The team from Bilbao have already defeated their regional rivals 2-0 on two occasions this season, once in league play and once in cup action, and they’ll hope to make it three victories in a row, knowing that this would, at least temporarily, put them into the Champions League positions.

Fans can then enjoy an action-packed Sunday, with five fixtures in one day. The first is Sevilla FC vs RC Celta, with the latter having decided to part ways with Rafa Benítez in midweek. Neither of these teams is safe from the threat of relegation yet, so there’s a lot at stake in their Matchday 29 duel.

There will be two games taking place simultaneously on Sunday. In one of them, UD Las Palmas host bottom-placed UD Almeria at the Estadio Gran Canaria, while the other game is a Valencian Community Derby between Villarreal CF and Valencia CF. This will be a special fixture for Marcelino, as he takes on the club with whom he won the Copa del Rey in 2019.

The next fixture is Rayo Vallecano vs Real Betis, which is a great opportunity for both clubs following their respective poor runs of form. The home side desperately need a win to ease fears of relegation, having gone nine matchdays without the taste of victory, while Real Betis will want to move back into the European qualification positions as soon as possible.

The Estadio Civitas Metropolitano hosts the final match of the round, and it’s a huge one as Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona face off. These teams enter the matchday in fourth and third place respectively and will want to secure their spots in the top four as soon as possible.

Diego Simeone will also hope to earn his first victory against Xavi the coach, given that the Catalan side has won all four of its meetings as managers. That includes the 1-0 Barca win from earlier in the season when Joao Felix scored the only goal. The Portuguese forward will be returning to take on his parent club this Sunday night, in a game which fans around the world will be tuning in to watch.

–IANS

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