La Liga Week 23 Preview

Sunday gets under way with Real Sociedad and Villarreal locking horns in a huge game for European qualification, before struggling Valencia host Athletic Bilbao.

In a battle of fifth-versus-sixth in La Liga, Villarreal travel to Anoeta, having won just one of their last 10 matches, leaving them provisionally nine points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

They will also have to make do without midfielder Roberto Soriano, the Italian banned after his red card against Malaga last weekend.

La Real – a place above the Yellow Submarine – won’t be able to call on injured top goalscorer Willian Jose, but a third straight home victory would propel them to within a point of Atleti.

Villarreal’s eastern rivals Valencia are next up, needing a positive result against Athletic to avoid yet another slump in form.

Two defeats and no wins in their last three have left Los Che a mere four points afloat, although they have two games in hand on each of their rivals.

The Basques, meanwhile, can sneak into sixth with a fourth victory in six, their chances boosted by a full-strength squad being at Ernesto Valverde’s disposal.

Taking us into the evening are Celta Vigo and Osasuna as Balaidos prepares to host its first encounter since the postponement of a fortnight ago.

John Guidetti and Hugo Mallo’s absences mean the Galicians will be without two of their first-choice players, although Osasuna cannot pick up a win for love or money at the moment, despite performances improving under Petar Vasiljevic.

Finally, Malaga and Las Palmas round off Week 23 when they face off at La Rosaleda on Monday evening.

The Andalusians, though unlucky not to beat Villarreal last week, remain without a win since November and plagued by injuries, their attack especially toothless without leading marksman Sandro Ramirez.

The islanders, however, lost back-to-back matches for the first time a week ago, albeit against Champions League-chasing Sevilla.

La Liga Week 23 Fixtures – Sunday and Monday

Real Sociedad v Villarreal (11:00 GMT/12:00 CET)

Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (15:15/16:15)

Celta Vigo v Osasuna (17:30/18:30)

Barcelona v Leganes (19:45/20:45, LIVE on Football Espana!)

Malaga v Las Palmas (Monday, 19:45/20:45)

La Liga - Club News