Real Madrid aim to bounce back as Barcelona, Levante seek to march on: Liga F Week 24 Preview

Second-placed Real Madrid will be aiming to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Barcelona last week when they face struggling Levante Las Planas at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Friday night.

Real Madrid will be looking to use home advantage to collect maximum points having failed to win in their last three matches, managing only a draw.

They will be hoping that forwards Esther González, Naomie Feller and midfielder Caroline Weir are in their best form to provide goals to ward off the challenge of third-placed Levante in their bid to finish second with their aim to topple Barcelona at the top increasingly looking beyond their reach.

Las Planas, on the other hand, will be aiming to avoid a defeat in their bid to avoid relegation as they are just three points above the relegation zone after having drawn their last four matches in a row.

The teams have met once with Real Madrid winning the match.

Meanwhile, Barcelona will continue with their eyes set on finishing the season with another 100% record as they meet relegation-threatened Alhama CF ElPozo at the Campo de Fútbol José María Soriano Muñoz on Sunday evening.

The Blaugranes will be aiming to collect maximum points on the road and might have a hugely changed side with a need to rest some players after their 5-1 midweek drubbing of Italian side AS Roma in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) quarter-final second leg at the Spotify Nou Camp on Wednesday. Forward Salma Paralluelo might retain her position in the team with forwards Geyse and Ana-Maria Crnogorčević being called back after starting on the bench during the midweek match.

Alhama, on the other hand, picked three points in their last match to move out of relegation though still tied on 17 points with the team occupying the last relegation spot.

The teams have met once with Barcelona winning the match.

Third-placed Levante have a tricky tie away to Madrid CFF at the Estadio Fernando Torres on Saturday afternoon.

Levante have been in red hot form this season and Liga F leading goal scorer Alba Redondo will be looking to add to her 22 goals in the race for the Pichichi as she leads second-placed Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala by three goals.

Madrid CFF, on the other hand, will be hoping that their top goal scorer Racheal Kundananji is in her best form to add to her 16 goals in the league.

Levante will be motivated by the opportunity to go second with a win, provided that Real Madrid fail to collect maximum points.

The teams have met 10 times with Levante winning seven, losing two and drawing one.

Atlético Madrid will be looking to keep pushing as they prepare to meet visiting Valencia at the Centro Deportivo Alcalá de Henares on Saturday evening.

Atlético have managed a consistent run of results in their last five matches which have kept them in the run for a top three finish. They trail Levante by 10 points with seven matches to play.

Forward Rasheedat Ajibade has been scoring goals in their last matches in the absence of first choice forward Ludmila who has a knee injury and will be expected to steer the team to a crucial win.

Valencia, on the other hand, will be aiming to bounce back from two consecutive defeats and fight for a top six finish.

The teams have met 23 times with Atlético winning 14, losing two and drawing one.

UDG Tenerife will be hoping to continue with their fine run when they meet Villarreal at the Ciudad Deportiva on Saturday afternoon.

Forward María José Pérez González has hit top form at the right time after scoring in Tenerife’s last two matches coming from the bench on both occasions whilst the hosts will be banking on inspirational skipper and midfielder Sheila Guijarro to lead them to victory.

Villarreal will be aiming to utilise home advantage to collect maximum points and move further away from relegation as they are only three points above the drop zone.

A win for Villarreal will take them to 23 points which will be a huge boost in their relegation fight whilst a win for Tenerife might see them move to sixth position if Sevilla and Valencia fail to win their matches elsewhere.

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

Sevilla will be aiming for maximum points when the clash with bottom-placed Alavés at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Saturday afternoon.

Forward Inma Gabarro and midfielder Rosa Otermín will be the trump cards for Sevilla as they look to use home advantage to keep Alavés in the murky waters of relegation.

Alavés, on the other hand, were unlucky to concede an own goal last weekend against Atlético and they will once more bank on forward Carla Armengol for a third week running to provide the much needed goals for them to collect maximum points.

A win for Alavés may take them temporarily out of the relegation zone if the teams above them fail to win their matches.

The teams have met thrice with each team winning once and drawing twice.

Two struggling sides Real Sociedad and Athletic Club square off at the Instalaciones de Zubieta on Sunday afternoon.

Real Sociedad will be hoping for home advantage in their bid to push further up the log standings as they find themselves ninth on 30 points.

Athletic Club, on the other hand, have been struggling, finding themselves just four points above the relegation zone.

Sociedad boast of midfielder Nerea Eizagirre who is ranked highest on the assists charts in the league with 12 but cannot score enough goals to finish off matches.

The teams have met 29 times with Real Sociedad winning six, losing 19 and drawing one.

Battle for survival is on the cards as Sporting Huelva clash with visiting Real Betis at the Campo del CD Lamiya on Sunday afternoon.

Betis find themselves occupying the final relegation spot though tied on points with their weekend opponents both on 17 points and a win for either team will move them out of relegation.

Betis failed to finish off Villarreal last weekend and allowed them to force a one-all draw whilst Huelva lost 2-0 to a rejuvenated Tenerife side.

The teams have met 12 times with Betis winning five, losing three and drawing four.

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Fixtures (Friday): Real Madrid vs Levante Las Planas (21:00)

Fixtures (Saturday): Madrid CFF vs Levante (12:00); Villarreal vs UDG Tenerife (12:00); Sevilla vs Alavés (16:00); Atlético Madrid vs Valencia (18:15)

Fixtures (Sunday): Sporting Huelva vs Real Betis (12:00); Real Sociedad vs Athletic Club (12:00); Alhama CF ElPozo vs Barcelona (18:00)

All times are Central European Time (CET)