UDG Tenerife eye third spot and Real Sociedad clash with Atlético Madrid as Barcelona entertain Eibar: Primera Iberdrola Week 21 Preview
UDG Tenerife will be eyeing third spot when they clash with Madrid CFF away at the Estadio Municipal Nuevo Matapiñonera on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts have been struggling this season and face the risk of relegation after losing nine of their last 10 matches and winning one whilst the visitors have won eight of their last 10 matches losing just two.
The teams have met four times at this venue and UDG Tenerife have won all of them, a statistic which gives them an upper hand in this fixture.
A win for Tenerife will take them to 40 points and their move to third place will depend on the outcome of an earlier clash between Real Sociedad and Atlético Madrid on the same day.
A defeat for Madrid CFF will give them an uphill task in their fight to survive relegation.
Elsewhere, second-placed Real Sociedad will clash with third-placed Atlético Madrid at home at the Centro de Entrenamiento Zubieta on Sunday morning.
The home side will be looking forward to collecting maximum points after losing 3-1 to Real Madrid whilst the visitors survived a late scare against struggling Madrid CFF to win 3-2 on Wednesday.
The teams have met 12 times at this venue with the home side winning four of them, the visitors winning six and the teams drawing two.
The home side won this season’s first leg fixture 1-0 away at Atlético Madrid in November last year.
A win for Real Sociedad would strengthen their hopes of finishing second whilst a defeat would leave them just two points above their opponents.
Defending champions, Barcelona, welcome struggling Eibar at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday afternoon as the hosts aim for their 20th win in this campaign.
Eibar, on the other hand, are aware of the marauding Barcelona forwards led by the in-form top goal scorer, Asisat Oshoala, with 16 goals in this campaign so far.
The teams have met three times and Barcelona won all them, scoring 15 goals and conceding just one goal.
A defeat for the visitors, who are currently on 16 points and only three points above safety, would place them in danger of relegation if those below them win their matches this weekend.
The hosts will be looking to extend their winning streak with the latest victory being a 4-1 beating of Levante on Wednesday.
Midfielder Alexia Putellas may return to the starting line-up after recovering from an injury. The Spaniard came on as a substitute in their 4-1 win over Levante on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old has been a shining beacon for Barcelona in midfield, with her goal involvement standing at 24, consisting of 13 goals and 11 assists, second only to forward Lieke Martens, who has 26 goal involvements consisting of 15 goals and 11 assists.
Three teams with outside chance of making it into the top three
Athletic Club visit Sporting Huelva for a clash at the Campo Federativo de la Orden on Sunday.
The visitors, just five points from third spot, are looking for their fourth win in a row after a 3-1 victory against Eibar on Wednesday whilst Huelva lost 1-0 to Tenerife, a result which left them in danger of relegation.
Huelva has the highest number of draws in the division, with most of them being recorded at home.
The teams have met 10 times at this venue with the visitors winning four times, losing two and drawing four.
A win for the visitors will take them to 36 points and hope that those above them will drop points whilst the hosts need a win to boost their chances of surviving relegation to remain in a division which they have been part of since 2011.
At the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, Real Madrid host Real Betis on Sunday afternoon, hoping to make it five wins out five matches having beating second-placed Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
A win for the hosts will take them to 32 points with two games in hand whilst Betis need a win to keep their fight for survival alive despite looking safe for now.
The hosts will be banking on the scoring form of forward Esther González, who scored a brace against Real Sociedad to take her season’s goal tally to 11 whilst the visitors will turn to the in-form Grace Asantewaa, who has been doing well in midfield and also chipping in with goals.
The teams have met twice at this venue and all the matches ended in stalemates, though overall, they have met four times and Real Madrid won the other two matches away at Betis.
Sevilla make a trip to Alavés for a clash at the Ciudad Deportiva José Luis Compañón on Sunday as they look to bounce back from their recent back-to-back defeats which derailed their fight for a top three finish.
The hosts, on the other hand, have been inconsistent and find themselves in eighth position having once been within touching distance of third position.
Alaves lost 4-1 to Real Betis in their last match whilst Sevilla lost 3-0 to relegation threatened Villarreal on Wednesday.
The teams have met just once; the first leg of this campaign which Sevilla won 1-0 at home in November last year.
Swim or drown as teams fight for survival
Buoyed by their 3-0 win against Sevilla on Wednesday, Villarreal look to make it two wins in a row when they welcome bottom-placed Rayo Vallecano at the Ciudad Deportiva on Sunday.
A win for the hosts will take them to 12th on the standings on condition Valencia and Eibar fail to win their matches.
Rayo Vallecano played to a one-all draw against Valencia on Wednesday and they hope to collect maximum points against their fellow Primera Iberdrola strugglers.
The teams have met once and the match ended 2-2 at Rayo Vallecano’s home ground in November last year.
Relegation threatened Valencia host Levante at the Estadio Antonio Puchades on Sunday evening.
Valencia have not won in their last five matches whilst Levante managed to collect four points from a possible 15.
The teams have met 12 times at this venue with Levante winning 10 and Valencia winning two.
Fixtures (Sunday): Real Sociedad vs Atlético Madrid (11:30); Madrid CFF vs UDG Tenerife (12:00); Barcelona vs Eibar (12:00); Sporting Huelva vs Athletic Club (12:00); Real Madrid vs Real Betis (12:00); Villarreal vs Rayo vallecano (12:00); Alavés vs Sevilla (12:00); Valencia vs Levante (17:30).
All times are in Central European Time (CET)