MADRID, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Matchday 31 of the Spanish La Liga sees the Madrid derby and two key games to avoid relegation. Here are some things to look out for this weekend in Spain.
1. Squad rotations for Valverde?
Barcelona have come back from the international break with two tough games, an away trip to Sevilla and a Champions League tie at home to Roma. Although Lionel Messi inspired a late comeback in Sevilla and fortune was on Barça's side in their 4-1 home win against Roma, Valverde's men had to dig deep in both games. An unrelenting fixture calendar means they have two games a week until almost the end of the month (if they continue in Europe) and Saturday's home game against Leganes looks perhaps the most straightforward of those. Valverde will probably use the game to rest some key players, but the question is; will he rest Messi, who has had a groin injury over the past fortnight?
2. Watered down Madrid derby?
There is always local pride at stake in the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico Madrid and Sunday's game should be no different. However, it comes at a moment when both sides are perhaps more focused on European ambitions than on the league. Real Madrid are 13 points behind Barça, while Atletico are nine points back and that could be 12 by the time they kick off on Sunday. With Europe the priority, will Zinedine Zidane and Diego Simeone field their strongest sides on Sunday? After all nobody will remember who finished above of who if the two sides win European trophies.
3 Vital weekend to avoid the drop.
The weekend sees two games which could decide which three sides will be relegated to the second division (Liga 123) at the end of the current campaign. Second from bottom Deportivo la Coruna entertain bottom of the table Malaga on Friday night, while Sunday sees Levante take on third from bottom Las Palmas. Levante have a seven-point cushion over Las Palmas and a win would surely mean Malaga, Deportivo and Las Palmas go down, but if Las Palmas can take a point then the battle will remain open for a while longer.
4 Betis to move closer to Europe?
Last Monday's 1-0 win away to Getafe saw Betis move into sixth place in the La Liga table; a position which would qualify them for next season's Europa League. Betis have arguably been one of the most entertaining sides to watch in Spain this season, scoring 50 goals while conceding 53, but all of those goals against them have cost them points. Goals are vital in football, but if you are conceding more than one a game, it is hard to win game after game and it's no surprise that their run of three wins in three games has coincided with three clean sheets.
