MADRID, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The 31st round of games in La Liga comes in the middle of the Champions League quarterfinal ties and a week ahead of the second Real Madrid - FC Barcelona of the season. Here are some things to look out for in Spain this weekend.

1 Barcelona suspensions to pay off or backfire?

The last round of league matches saw Barcelona trio of Inigo Martinez, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski all force yellow cards which saw them complete a cycle of bookings that mean they miss Saturday's visit to Cadiz, but will be able to play in Madrid.

With Cadiz third from bottom of the table and one of the favorites for relegation, that may be a smart move, but there is a risk that after a tough midweek game against Paris Saint Germain, losing three key players could backfire against a rival battling for survival.

Barca are eight points behind Real Madrid in the title race and can't afford to drop any points if they are to visit the Santiago Bernabeu with options of winning the title and if they don't win, forcing those suspensions won't look to be such a smart move.

2 Mallorca to make it hard for Real Madrid

Real Madrid's 3-3 draw at home to Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final was a joy for neutral fans to watch, but the result leaves Real Madrid with a lot of work to do in next week's return leg in Manchester, especially as their rivals will have Kevin de Bruyne and Kyle Walker available after sickness and injury.

Carlo Ancelotti has to consider some team rotations for his side's visit to Mallorca, but will have to be wary of a difficult rival.

Mallorca lost the Copa del Rey final to Athletic Club Bilbao on penalties and need to bounce back, especially as they are only six points above the relegation zone.

Javier Aguirre's side have only conceded more than one goal once in their last 10 games and are a constant threat from set pieces. Real Madrid will have a lot of the ball, but will have to prepare for a physical battle when they least need one.

3 Marcelino to take advantage of Cup hangover at his former club?

Athletic Club Bilbao beat Mallorca last Saturday to win the Copa del Rey for the first time in 40 years, and the celebrations have been long and loud, culminating with the traditional 'Gabarra' down the River Nervion, which was watched by over a million fans on Thursday.

The celebrations are well-deserved, but Athletic now have to regain focus as they also look to finish fourth in La Liga and qualify for the Champions League.

Villarreal travel to Bilbao on Sunday after a good run of form was ended by a defeat to Atletico Madrid two weeks ago, but former Athletic Club coach Marcelino Garcia Toral will see this as the chance to take advantage of a cup hangover and get his side's European ambitions back on track.

4 Problems for Simeone as Atletico leave work to do in Dortmund

Atletico Madrid looked to be cruising to a comfortable win in their Champions League quarter-final tie at home to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night. Diego Simeone's side were leading 2-0 and went close to a third goal, before Simeone made a defensive change, taking off Alvaro Morata and bringing on Pablo Barrios.

That saw a change in the match, with Borussia pulling a goal back to end the game 2-1.

That leaves Atletico a lot of work to do in Dortmund next week, but first comes a vital league game at home to Girona and with less than 72 hours to prepare to meet the team just above them in La Liga, Simeone will see his squad tested to the limit and has to decide just what his priorities are. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)