It’s been a draining past few days for Real Madrid, and the ordeal doesn’t stop this week since Barcelona are only a few points away from wresting the La Liga trophy away from them this season. With three matchdays left in the 2024-25 season, the Blaugrana have a seven-point cushion over Los Blancos in the Spanish top-flight standings.
After last weekend’s El Clasico, where Hansi Flick completed a rare season sweep over Real Madrid, Barcelona are one win away from winning the Spanish top-flight crown and have a winnable match against Espanyol this Thursday.
On the other hand, the battle for the other Champions League spots continues to heat up. Atletico Madrid look safe in third place with 70 points, and Athletic Bilbao are behind them in fourth with 64 points. Villarreal and Real Betis are fighting tooth and nail for the fifth spot.
Real Madrid vs Mallorca
Carlo Ancelotti is approaching the final few weeks of his Real Madrid reign because he has reportedly taken the Brazilian national team job this summer, with Xabi Alonso poised to be his successor. The Italian boss is certainly keen to give the Madridistas a nice parting gift, which is the La Liga title, despite the unfavourable SBOTOP La Liga 2025 odds.
Real Madrid will host Mallorca for the second time this season. The last time this happened was in January, when Real Madrid won 3-0 against Mallorca in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals. However, in the reverse league fixture last August, Mallorca held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw, as Kylian Mbappe had cold feet in his first La Liga contest with Los Blancos.
Fast forward to today, and Mbappe is the frontrunner for the Pichichi trophy this season. The former PSG star improved his goalscoring tally to 27 league goals after he scored a hat-trick against Barcelona last Sunday, and all eyes are on him to produce new La Liga 2025 highlights on Wednesday night.
Mallorca might fancy their chances of securing a point against Real Madrid because of the latter’s lack of defensive depth. Last week, Ancelotti had no choice but to deploy a makeshift back four of Fran Garcia, Raul Asencio, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Lucas Vazquez, and they paid for it dearly. That might be the case again this week since David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, and Eder Militao remain out.
Vedat Muriqi, Cyle Larin, and Dani Rodriguez are Mallorca’s danger men, combining for 17 league goals and 11 assists this term.
Espanyol vs Barcelona
Barcelona can clinch the La Liga title by beating Espanyol for the second time this season. These two teams last met in November, where the Blaugrana won 3-1 at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium as Dani Olmo (brace) and Raphinha found the back of the net.
Hansi Flick can almost taste his first La Liga crown, and he doesn’t have to worry much about his lineup ahead of Thursday. He will only miss the services of starting centre-back Inigo Martinez due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Ronald Araujo is more than capable of taking his place in the starting XI. Pau Cubarsi is also available after suffering a stomach bug last time out.
Robert Lewandowski could return to the starting XI after taking the night off in the El Clasico. He is second in the Pichichi trophy race with 25 league goals and has a chance to surpass Kylian Mbappe. Lewandowski’s probable return could relegate Ferran Torres to the bench.
Espanyol are on a three-game losing streak and are winless in their last four (D1) following last Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Leganes. Espanyol tried to rally from a 0-3 hole, but they didn’t have enough time and goals.
Barcelona’s defence will be wise to key in on Javi Puado. The 26-year-old winger leads Espanyol in scoring with 11 league goals and three assists this term.
Rayo Vallecano vs Real Betis
Real Betis are undefeated in their last four games, and they’re not stopping anytime soon since a fifth Champions League spot is at stake. As of this writing, Villarreal hold the said berth with a three-point cushion because they’re on a three-game winning streak.
Los Verdiblancos were held to a 1-1 draw against Osasuna yesterday because they conceded a late goal from Ante Budimir after Cucho Hernandez gave them a one-goal lead. Head coach Manuel Pellegrini inexplicably had Antony come off the bench, and he might reinstate the Manchester United loanee this Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rayo Vallecano are challenging for a spot in Europa League next season. Inigo Perez’s men are eighth in the table with 47 points, and they are on a two-game winning streak.
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