No let up as La Liga matchday 24 sees drama at both ends of classification

Barca are still seven points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table and on Sunday entertain a Valencia side that is still in the relegation zone, despite a morale-boosting win at home to Real Sociedad last weekend, reports Xinhua news agency.

The league leaders are without the injured, Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski, limiting Xavi Hernandez's options to rotate his side after Thursday. Valencia also have injuries, with Gabriel Paulista, Jose Luis Gaya, Edinson Cavani and Marcos Andre all missing the trip to Camp Nou.

Real Madrid are also in action on Sunday and have a difficult visit to play fifth-place Betis, who have the advantage of not playing in midweek.

Ferland Mendy and David Alaba are still out for Madrid, while Betis suffered a major setback earlier in the week with the news attacking midfielder, Nabil Fekir will miss the season with a knee injury. Fekir joins Sergio Canales on the injury list, reducing Betis' creativity in midfield.

The weekend kicks off on Friday night with Real Sociedad at home to Cadiz. Cadiz have climbed to 16th in the table, but on Wednesday asked for La Liga to be temporarily halted as they appeal against a VAR error that denied them two points in a 1-1 draw at home to Elche last month.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile have seen a slight dip in form, with two defeats and a draw from their last four matches.

Second from bottom Getafe have a tough match at home to Girona, who have scored nine goals in their last two matches and won 3-2 in Bilbao last weekend.

Almeria are at home to Villarreal after both sides won last weekend, with Villarreal getting the better of Getafe, while Almeria stunned Barca to end a three-match losing streak.

Mallorca will expect to make it six consecutive home wins in La Liga when they entertain bottom-of-the-table Elche. The visitors have just nine points all season and have lost their last three games, but a win for Mallorca would lift them temporarily to eighth in the table and give them a real chance of playing in Europe next season.

Saturday's last game sees Atletico Madrid at home to Sevilla. Atletico are without the suspended Angel Correa and have lost left back Reinildo to a serious knee injury, while Sevilla's recent recovery was halted by a home defeat to Osasuna last weekend.

Sunday kicks off with a relegation battle as an improving Espanyol visit Valladolid, who have slipped to 17th in the table after consecutive defeats again increased the pressure on the coach, Pacheta.

Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club go head to head in a game that has a lot to say in the battle for Europe, with the visitors needing to recover from their narrow Cup defeat in Pamplona on Wednesday and last week's setback to Girona.

The round of matches ends on Monday with Osasuna at home to Celta Vigo in an interesting clash between two sides in a positive moment of form.

--IANS cs

( 561 Words)

2023-03-02-22:24:03 (IANS)