El Clásico on cards as Villarreal, Granada seek consistency: Liga F Week 18 Preview

Barcelona will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing one-all draw against third-placed Levante on Wednesday when they host Atlético Madrid in the women’s El Clásico at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday afternoon. 

Barcelona versus Atlético Madrid is the female version of the El Clásico.

The defending champions dropped the first points at home after 79 matches midweek, bringing their perfect run to a screeching halt. 

The weekend clash with fifth-placed Atletico will be another acid test for the log leaders as they look to consolidate their grip at the top and will be hoping that their forwards are more clinical and ruthless to dismantle their opponents. 

The visitors, on the other hand, will be hoping their leading top goal scorer forward Sheila Guijarro is available after she was taken off against Real Madrid on Wednesday when she was hit by an elbow resulting in a bruised eye. 

A win for the hosts will take them to 52 points whilst a win for the visitors will move their points tally to 35. 

The teams have met 34 times, with Barcelona winning 20, losing four and drawing 10.

Meanwhile, second-placed Real Madrid will be looking to collect maximum points and close the gap at the top when they clash with visiting UDCA Tenerife at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Sunday afternoon. 

The hosts will be buoyed by their one-all draw with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday night to put their opponents under the sword whilst the visitors will be looking to bounce back from their 1-0 loss to Levante last weekend. 

The hosts will be banking on the ruthlessness of forwards Caroline Møller and Signe Bruun for goals whilst the visitors will be hoping that forwards Jassina Blom, Gift Monday and Rinsola Babajide are at their best to cause problems for defenders Kathelen and Ivana Andrés. 

A win for the hosts will move them to 43 points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 23 points. 

The teams have met eight times in competitive matches, with Real winning three, losing two and drawing three.

Visiting Levante have an opportunity to build on their epic one-all draw against log leaders Barcelona on Wednesday when they square off with SD Eibar at the Municipal de Ipurua on Sunday afternoon. 

The visitors are still bubbling after they became the first team to collect a point at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in 79 matches and will be aiming to collect maximum points against their struggling opponents to strengthen their top three finish hopes. 

The visitors will be placing their hopes on forwards Alba Redondo and Gabi Nunes as they await the return of forward Nataša Andonova who is injured whilst the hosts will be hoping to build on their one-all draw with Levante Las Planas as they seek to move away from the relegation threat. 

A win for Levante will take them to 41 points whilst a win for Eibar will take them to 17 points and boost their hopes of survival. 

The teams have met five times in competitive matches, with Levante winning four and drawing one.

A battle between draw specialists looms with Madrid CFF squaring off with visiting Levante Las Planas at the Estadio Fernando Torres on Sunday evening. 

The hosts will be looking to end their three-match run of draws and collect maximum points against a side that has mastered drawing matches, having the highest number of draws this season with seven. 

The hosts will be banking on Arsenal loanee Giovana Queiroz, Lucía Pardo and Luany, who is coming back from suspension. They lost their prized asset Racheal Kundananji to National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) expansion side Bay Football Club on a world transfer record. The visitors, on the other hand, will be placing their hopes in forwards Jessica Martínez and Irina Uribe with support from midfielders Anissa Lahmari and Yasmin Mrabet.

A win for the hosts will move them to 36 points and maintain their hopes to sneak into the top three whilst a win for the visitors will move them to 22 points and ease their relegation worries. 

The teams have met three times, with Madrid CFF winning twice and drawing once.

Visiting Sevilla will be looking to bounce back from their 3-0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona last weekend when they clash with Granada at the Ciudad Deportiva del Granada CF on Saturday afternoon. 

The visitors saw their 10-match unbeaten run end last weekend and will be looking to return to winning ways with a win over their opponents and will be hoping that forwards Cristina Martín-Prieto, Inma Gabarro and goalkeeper Esther Sullastres are at their best to inspire their team to victory. 

The hosts, on the other hand, will be looking to build on their three-match unbeaten run to fight for survival and will be looking up to forwards Carlota Suarez and Edna Imade for inspiration to lead the team to victory. 

A win for the hosts will move them to 14 points and possibly out of relegation zone whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 32 points. 

The teams have met three times, with Sevilla winning all the matches.

Athletic Club will be looking to utilise home advantage when they clash with visiting Real Betis at the Lezama Facilities on Saturday evening. 

The hosts will be looking to continue collecting full points, building on last weekend’s 2-1 win over Sporting Huelva, as they seek to finish in the top half of the table whilst the visitors will be hoping to break their losing streak that is now on eight matches in the league. 

The hosts will be hoping that forward Nahikari García continues with her goalscoring form to inspire the team to another victory whilst the visitors will be hoping that their forwards are clinical after missing glorious chances against Real Madrid last weekend and got punished. 

A win for the hosts will take them to 26 points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 16 points and possibly stay out of the relegation zone. 

The teams have met 16 times in all competitions, with Athletic Club winning six, losing four and drawing six.

Villarreal will be looking to make it four wins in a row when they host Real Sociedad at the Ciudad Deportiva on Saturday evening. 

The hosts will be looking to build on their 1-0 win over Valencia last weekend and collect another set of maximum points whilst the visitors will be looking to continue with their unbeaten run that is now on 10 matches. 

The visitors will be banking on their reliable forwards Sanni Franssi and Synne Jensen who have been scoring crucial goals during their unbeaten run whilst Villarreal will be banking on exciting midfielder Claudia Iglesias to supply clean balls to the rejuvenated forward Kayla McKenna and the hardworking winger Maria Llompart. 

A win for the hosts will take them to 21 points and provide a huge boost on their relegation fight whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 29 points. 

The teams have met six times with Real Sociedad winning all the matches.

Struggling Sporting Huelva will be looking to collect their second set of maximum points when they host fellow strugglers Valencia at the Ciudad Deportiva Decáno del Fútbol Español on Saturday afternoon. 

The visitors will be looking to end their poor run of results, which have seen them collect four points from a possible 33, with a win against their bottom-placed opponents. 

The hosts, on the other hand, will be hoping that slick winger Isina and attacking midfielder Sandra Castello are at their best to stretch the visitors’ defence. 

A win for the hosts will take them to seven points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 18 points. 

The teams have met 26 times, with Valencia winning 11, losing 10 and drawing five.

Fixtures (Saturday): Sporting Huelva vs Valencia (12:00); Granada CF vs Sevilla (14:00); Athletic Club vs Real Betis (16:30); Villarreal vs Real Sociedad (18:30)

Fixtures (Sunday): SD Eibar vs Levante (12:00); Barcelona vs Atlético Madrid (13:30); Real Madrid vs UDCA Tenerife (16:00); Madrid CFF vs Levante Las Planas (18:00)

All times are Central European Time (CET)