Little recovery time for big three in vital La Liga weekend

There is little time for FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to recover from their Champions League commitments and prepare for the 31st round of matches in La Liga as the races for the title, European places and survival intensify.

Real Madrid is first into action Friday night, with La Liga trying to give Alvaro Arbeloa's side as much time as possible to prepare for next week's Champions League quarterfinal second leg away to Bayern Munich, where it must overturn a 2-1 first-leg defeat.

FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal (1st L) vies with Atletico de Madrid's Robin Le Normand (2nd L) during the 2025/2026 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg football match between FC Barcelona and Atletico de Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, April 8, 2026. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)

With Real Madrid not playing again until Wednesday, Arbeloa may not make too many changes to his starting lineup at home to Girona, although both Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao will probably start to build fitness for next week.

Defeat in Mallorca left Real Madrid seven points behind Barcelona in the standings, making victory vital against a Girona side that only played Monday night and lost top scorer Vladislav Vanat for the rest of the season during a 1-0 home win over Villarreal.

Barcelona has to respond quickly after Wednesday's 2-0 Champions League defeat at home to Atletico Madrid as it looks to protect its lead over Real Madrid in the city derby at home to Espanyol.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick is limited by injuries, with Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Frenkie de Jong all still sidelined, but he will look to freshen up his side with Ferran Torres, Fermin Lopez and possibly Alejandro Balde all in line to start against an Espanyol side that still has not won in 2026.

Atletico is currently secure in fourth place, and coach Diego Simeone can be expected to make sweeping changes when his side visits under-pressure Sevilla Saturday night.

Sevilla is fourth from bottom after Luis Garcia Plaza's first game as coach ended in defeat at Oviedo, and a loss to Atletico could send the club into the bottom three if 18th-place Elche wins at home to Valencia, which is only six points above it.

Saturday's Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Alaves has implications at both ends of the table, with Real Sociedad seventh while Alaves has just three points more than Elche but is unbeaten in three games under Quique Sanchez Flores.

Alaves may hope to catch Real Sociedad with one eye on next weekend's Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid and the possibility of resting key players.

Betis looked well placed to qualify for the Europa League semifinals after a 1-1 draw in Braga in midweek, but its European run has come at a domestic cost, with no wins in six games ahead of an always difficult visit to Osasuna, where Ante Budimir and Victor Munoz pose the main threats.

Mallorca will look to build on last weekend's win over Real Madrid when it hosts Rayo Vallecano, with striker Vedat Muriqi seeking his 20th league goal of the season.

Oviedo's slim hopes of survival depend on taking something from its visit to sixth-place Celta Vigo, which is in Europa League action Thursday night, while third-place Villarreal visits Athletic Bilbao Sunday.

Villarreal was poor in Girona Monday, while Athletic Bilbao turned in a disappointing display in a 2-0 defeat to Getafe, but it usually performs much better at home and could have Nico Williams back in the starting lineup.

The round of matches ends Monday night with Levante clinging to its survival hopes at home to a Getafe side chasing Europe and seeking a fifth win in six games, led by strikers Fran Vazquez and Martin Satriano.