La Liga preview: Real, Barca out for revenge

28 April 2012 01:43

Real Madrid and Barcelona will look to bounce back from UEFA Champions League heartbreak in this weekend's La Liga action.

Real and Barca - the two giants of Spanish football - were knocked out of the semi-finals in Europe's premier club competition by Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively in mid-week.

For Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid outfit, they can take some solace in the fact that barring a miracle, they will lift their first La Liga title in four years at the season's end.

Real lead Barcelona by seven points on the table with just four matches to play and they can move another step towards securing the title with victory against Sevilla on Sunday.

"We need to go out on Sunday with pride," Mourinho said in the build-up to the Santiago Bernabeu fixture.

"It is disappointing to have gone out (of the Champions League) because of all the work we put in but now we have four games to finish our season and it is down to us. If we win the championship then it will have been a good season."

Mourinho also clarified the situation surrounding his future, saying that he will continue in his post at the club.

A similar statement has not been heard from Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola though, with an announcement on his future expected Friday.

After winning the Spanish Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup last year, 2012 has not treated Barca kindly.

Winning the league looks beyond them and their semi-final exit to Chelsea - a tie which they led 2-1 on aggregate, with their opponents reduced to 10 men at the Camp Nou - will sting for some time.

They should get back to winning ways when they visit Rayo Vallecano on Sunday though and Guardiola's men still have another opportunity to add to the trophy cabinet when they play Athletic Bilbao on May 25 in the Copa del Rey final.

Also on Sunday, the race for third could be decided at La Rosaleda when fourth-placed Malaga (52 points) host the side directly above them, Valencia (55 points), while Athletic Bilbao travel to Real Zaragoza and Real Betis welcome the visit of Atletico Madrid.

Levante, who sit fifth, are at home to Granada in the pick of Saturday's fixtures, which also see Sporting Gijon's battle for survival take them to Espanyol.

Getafe host Mallorca, Racing Santander visit Real Sociedad and Villarreal are at home to Osasuna in the other matches on Saturday.