Levante eye UWCL spot, fight for survival intensifies: Liga F Week 28 Preview
Levante just need a draw in their clash against visiting Valencia at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia on Sunday evening to be assured of a top three finish.
The hosts want another dance in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) and avoiding defeat will be enough to see their hopes fulfilled.
They will be hoping that Liga F top goal scorer Alba Redondo, who intends to snatch the Pichichi from co-holders Asisat Oshoala and Geyse, comes to the party once again.
The visitors, on the other hand, have been struggling of late but will be buoyed by last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Alavés.
A win for Levante will take them to 65 points and boost the possibility of them finishing second if second-placed Real Madrid drop points elsewhere whilst Valencia can take their points to 39 if they manage a win.
The teams have met 24 times with Levante winning 12, losing seven and drawing five.
Meanwhile, Barcelona, after wrapping up the league title last weekend, will be clashing with hosts Real Sociedad at the Instalaciones de Zubieta on Saturday evening.
The visitors have not lost a fixture against the hosts and will look to maintain that record whilst the hosts will be aiming to break the jinx and record their first win against their opponents.
The champions will be hoping that Oshoala focuses on giving a last minute chase on Redondo who leads the top scorers charts with 24 goals with three rounds of matches left.
The visitors will also be taking the opportunity to play returning skipper and midfielder Alexia Putellas to afford her the much needed match fitness ahead of their UWCL final against Wolsfburg of Germany in Eindhoven on 3 June.
Sociedad, on the other hand, will make it five matches unbeaten if they avoid defeat against the champions and will be banking on skipper and forward Nerea Eizagirre to unlock the Barcelona defence with her defence splitting passes that have seen her lead the assists charts with 12 so far. She is closely followed by Real Madrid midfielder Caroline Weir and forward Mayra Ramírez who are both on 11.
The teams have met 27 times with Barcelona winning 22 and drawing five.
Second-placed Real Madrid will be looking to finish as strong as they can when they play hosts Sevilla at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Friday night.
The visitors will be hoping to see midfielder Caroline Weir push herself to challenge for the golden boot as well as the top assists chart. She trails Redondo by seven goals and Eizagirre by a single assist.
Sevilla, on the other hand, have gone five matches without a loss and will look to use home advantage to maintain the unbeaten run whilst the visitors will be aiming to record their fifth win in a row.
A win for Sevilla will take them to 39 points and will give them hope to fight for a top six finish whilst a win for the visitors will ensure that they finish the season in second position and keep the gap to the top team respectable.
The teams have met six times with Real Madrid winning four, losing one and drawing one, despite the visitors not having won away from home in this fixture.
Having seen a top three position slip through their hands, fourth-placed Atlético Madrid will be focusing on just winning their weekend clash against visiting Levante Las Planas at the Centro Deportivo Alcalá de Henares on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will be hoping that forward Lucía Moral Ruiz continues in her purple patch as she has been scoring crucial goals for her side of late whilst the visitors will be placing their hopes in young forward Irina Uribe for goals to steer them out of the murky waters of relegation.
A win for Atlético will take them to 56 points whilst a win for Las Planas will take them to 23 points and ease their relegation worries, at least for the weekend, as they are just a point above the relegation zone.
The teams have met five times with Atlético Madrid winning all of them.
Bottom-placed Alavés clash against visiting UDG Tenerife at the Ciudad Deportiva José Luis Compañón on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts are aware that a defeat will just but confirm their drop form Liga F as it will be a toll order to getting maximum points from their final two games as they find themselves on 18 points after 27 matches.
Tenerife, on the other hand, will be hoping to bounce back from their last two defeats at the hands of Real Betis and Levante respectively, to mount a top six charge.
The visitors will be hoping that experienced forward María José Pérez González uses her experience to lead them to victory supported by forwards Jassina Blom and Gift Monday whilst the hosts will be banking on forward Lice Chamorro for goals and midfielder Gema Soliveres to pull the strings in the middle of the park to steer the team to victory.
A win will take the hosts to 21 points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 39 points.
The teams have met three times with Tenerife winning one and drawing two.
The visitors have not won at this venue and the hosts will look to use that record to avoid defeat.
A resurgent Athletic Club side will be looking forward to continuing with their good run as they face visiting Real Betis at the Instalaciones de Lezama Campo 1 on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors have managed to steer themselves away from the relegation zone after picking eight points from a possible 15 in their last five matches. The hosts, on the other hand, have managed three wins in a row and will be hoping to make it four.
The visitors will be banking on forward Rinsola Babajide and midfielder Grace Asantewaa to steer them to a win.
The hosts will be hoping that they score more as they have won their last three matches on a one-nil scoreline and managed one-all draws in their two draws that preceded the wins.
A win for the hosts will take them to 34 points whilst a win for Betis will take them to 27 points.
The teams have met 14 times with Athletic Club winning five, losing and drawing six.
Athletic Club have not won this fixture since October 2019, giving Real Betis hope to get something out of it.
Fifth-placed Madrid CFF will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing 3-2 narrow defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in their local derby last weekend when they face struggling Alhama CF ElPozo at the Estadio Fernando Torres on Saturday afternoon.
The Madrid side will be hoping that their top goal scorer Racheal Kundananji is more clinical after missing a glut of chances last weekend despite being on the scoresheet whilst Alhama will place their hopes in experienced forward Jade Boho for inspiration.
A win for Madrid CFF will take them to 50 points whilst a win for the visitors may move them out of relegation zone.
The teams have met once with Madrid CFF winning the match on a 3-0 scoreline in November last year.
Hosts Sporting Huelva clash with Villarreal at the Campo del CD Lamiya on Sunday afternoon.
The teams are tied on 20 points and a win for either team will take them to 23 points and give them breathing space to plan for the last two matches of the season in their survival bid.
The hosts will be hoping that Icelandic forward Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir continues with her goal contribution as she has been on the scoresheet in the last matches whilst Villarreal will once again place their survival hopes in inspirational skipper and midfielder Sheila Guijarro.
The teams have met three times with Huelva winning one and drawing two in tightly contested duels.
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Fixtures (Friday): Sevilla vs Real Madrid (20:00)
Fixtures (Saturday): Alavés vs UDG Tenerife (12:00); Atletico Madrid vs Levante Las Planas (12:00); Madrid CFF vs Alhama CF ElPozo (16:00); Real Sociedad vs Barcelona (18:15)
Fixtures (Sunday): Athletic Club vs Real Betis (12:00); Sporting Huelva vs Villarreal (12:00); Levante UD vs Valencia (18:00)
All times are Central European Time (CET)