Battle for top three as Atlético Madrid lock horns with UDG Tenerife: Primera Iberdrola Week 23 Preview

Atlético Madrid welcome third-placed UDG Tenerife at the Estadio Wanda Atlético de Madrid Alcalá de Henares on Sunday.

Tenerife will be hoping to continue with their winning streak which stretched to six games after beating Valencia 3-0 in the Copa De Reina on Wednesday whilst the hosts look to bounce back from a 2-1 defeat to Sporting Huelva in the cup on Thursday night.

Tenerife have not beaten Atlético Madrid in the 14 matches they have met, losing 10 and drawing four.

A win for Tenerife may see them move to second position if Real Sociedad fail to win elsewhere whilst a loss will take them to fourth from third.

The hosts, on the other hand, seek a crucial victory against Tenerife ahead of a rescheduled derby clash with rivals Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

Elsewhere, at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on Saturday, Real Madrid lock horns with Athletic Club.

The hosts look forward to a top three finish in order to have another dance in the champions league next season.

A win will take them to 38 points with two games in hand.

On the other hand, fifth-placed Athletic Club will look to avoid a defeat in order to also mount a late top three challenge.

A win, which would take them to 39 points, would take them to within touching distance of top three teams.

Real Madrid will be banking on their top scorer Esther González whilst the visitors will be looking up to Ane Azkona for goals.

The teams have met in four competitive matches with each winning twice.

Defending champions Barcelona make a trip to the Ciudad Deportiva José Luis Compañón to face Alavés on Saturday.

Barcelona will look to stretch their winning streak to 23 games this season.

Alavés, on the other hand, are aware of the marauding Barcelona forwards let by in-form forwards Jenni Hermoso, Lieke Martens and midfielder Alexia Putellas.

The hosts will look to avoid another ‘goals galore’ having lost 9-1 to the visitors in October last year as they aim to be the first team to stop Barcelona from winning this season and delay their crowning.

A win for Barcelona will see them needing just two points from the remaining seven matches to be crowned champions as the closest team would finish on 70 points if they won all the remaining matches.

Sevilla have a date with Real Betis in the El Gran Derbiat the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán on Sunday evening.

This derby has played out seven times and Betis have won three, lost two and drew two. In the three matches which they have played at this venue, Betis have won two and lost one.

Sevilla will be boosted by their 1-0 Copa De La Reina win over Athletic Club on Tuesday whilst Betis will be looking to bounce back from a 4-1 loss to Levante in the cup on Thursday.

Fight for survival in boiling point as Madrid CFF sink deeper

An epic battle for survival looms at the Estadio Municipal Nuevo Matapiñonera where Madrid CFF host Valencia on Sunday.

This clash is key to both teams who are in danger of relegation and cannot continue losing points with a few matches to go.

Valencia is just five points above relegation zone whilst Madrid CFF is four points off the last spot.

The hosts will be hoping that their top scorer Geyse Ferreira will come to the party.

The teams have met eight times with Valencia winning three, losing three and drawing two. Valencia have not won at this venue in the four matches which they have played there, losing two and drawing two.

Villarreal host Levante at the Ciudad Deportiva on Sunday.

Villarreal have managed to collect some points in their last matches and now find themselves seven points above relegation zone and are aiming for a win to boost their survival chances whilst Levante are aiming to collect maximum points to boost their top eight finish.

The teams met just once in December last year and Villarreal won the match 2-1 away.

Sporting Huelva host Rayo Vallecano at the Campo Federativo de la Orden on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts are just one point above the relegation zone and will look to win the encounter in order to boost their chances of relegation survival.

Huelva would want to avoid another draw having already recorded 11 draws in 22 games.

The teams have met 11 times at this venue and Rayo have won four, lost six and drawn one.

A win for Huelva will take them to 20 points and above Madrid CFF if the latter lose to Valencia later in the day.

Sporting Huelva will be boosted by their 2-1 win over Atlético Madrid in the Copa De La Reina on Thursday night.

15^th placed Eibar face an uphill task when they clash with second-placed Real Sociedad away at the Instalaciones de Zubieta on Sunday.

Eibar meet a wounded Sociedad side who have not won in their last four matches and are on the verge of surrendering their second spot to either UDG Tenerife or Atlético Madrid.

Eibar, however, are struggling and find themselves in a precarious position on 16 points and a win for them will boost their hopes of survival.

The teams have met in five competitive matches with Eibar winning one, losing three and drawing one.

Fixtures (Saturday): Real Madrid vs Athletic Club (17:00)

Fixtures (Sunday): Sporting Huelva vs Rayo Vallecano (12:00); Madrid CFF vs Valencia (12:00); Alavés vs Barcelona (12:00); Real Sociedad vs Eibar (12:00); Atletico Madrid vs UDG Tenerife (12:00); Villarreal vs Levante (16:00); Sevilla vs Real Betis (17:00)

All times are Central European Time (CET)