La Liga Games Tomorrow
Barcelona have moved back up to second in the La Liga table thanks to a impressive 5-1 win at home to Alaves. Ronald Koeman’s side have looked a different outfit in 2021, with their victory over the Basque club their seventh straight win in league action. It brings them back to within eight points. Zinedine Zidane is preparing for Real Madrid's La Liga match against Atletico next weekend. AP Photo Omnisport 2021-03-01T13:16:11+05:30 Real Madrid Coach Zinedine Zidane Adamant Atletico Can Be. Spain La Liga 2020/2021 table, full stats, livescores. League, teams and player statistics. Check La Liga 2020/2021 page and find many useful statistics with chart. In three European games over three days, La Liga teams. A debate for today quickly forgotten tomorrow, no time for patience still less a plan, there is a bit more to it than just the melodrama.
Soccer Games Tomorrow La Liga
Zinedine Zidane insists Atletico Madrid can be caught at the top of the table, with the Real Madrid coach adamant the title is not out of reach for Los Blancos nor Barcelona. (More Football News)
Atletico lead the way in Spain's top flight and until recently looked to be running away with it, but their position has become a little less commanding after dropping points in three of their previous five league games.
A win at Villarreal on Sunday will put Atletico five points clear of Barca once again while still having a game in hand – Madrid, one point further back, will have also played one match more than their local rivals after Monday's visit of fifth-placed Real Sociedad.
Zidane is also seemingly not ruling out Sevilla despite the fact Julen Lopetegui's side lost 2-0 at home to Barca on Saturday, meaning they could end the weekend 10 points adrift of the summit.
While some are framing Atletico's position at the top as the most pressured, Zidane prefers to see it as Diego Simeone's men having an advantage, as the two Madrid giants prepare to tussle next weekend.
'Now the league [title race] is three, tomorrow it will be two and then four again,' Zidane told reporters on Sunday.' Everyone has their opinion.
'LaLiga is open to all and whoever is ahead has the advantage, but there are many points left and we are going to continue with our business.
Our 21-man squad for the match against @RealSociedad! #RealMadridRealSociedadpic.twitter.com/LECYnS9H79
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) February 28, 2021'We do our thing. What's going to happen tonight, I don't know, and we don't even have to watch it – I will watch it as a fan.
'There are 42 points at stake and it is our objective is to add the maximum possible points.'
Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard returning from injury would surely improve Madrid's fortunes, with the Frenchman last playing on February 14 and the former Chelsea star a month into his layoff with a thigh issue.
While both are getting closer to a return, Zidane still does not have a return date for either.
'Benzema and Hazard are better, but they are not ready,' he said. 'I cannot give a date, they will recover later than those who have already returned. I can't give an exact date.'
Sergio Ramos is another player Madrid have had to cope without recently, with the captain absent since mid-January with a knee injury – not that it has stopped the centre-back dominating many of Zidane's news conferences since.
day to go!
@RealSociedadEN#RMCity #RealMadridRealSociedadpic.twitter.com/ihbKw44yf3
Ramos' contract is up at the end of the season and it remains to be seen if he will agree to an extension, which, to Zidane's frustration, is becoming a regular topic.
'You always ask me the same thing – he's an impressive man. I want him to get fit, but apart from that, nothing else. Tomorrow we have a game,' Zidane said.
Zinedine Zidane has said Real Madrid will stay in the La Liga title race whatever happens in Sunday's derby with leaders Atletico.
Madrid go into the match at the Wanda Metropolitano five points behind Atletico, who also have a game in hand.
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La Liga Games Tomorrow 2
'It's a final, but like every other game,' Zidane said in a news conference on Saturday. 'When we play, we always have to win. Whatever happens tomorrow, we'll be alive in the league.'
Madrid have won five of their last six games in all competitions, recovering from a January slump that saw them knocked out of the Spanish Supercopa and Copa del Rey and beaten in La Liga by Levante.
They are yet to taste defeat at the Wanda since Atletico's move there in 2017, and were comfortable 2-0 winners when the teams last met in La Liga in December.
'That doesn't mean anything,' Zidane said. 'This is another game, another story. The past won't help you at all.'
Zidane also confirmed that Madrid's top scorer Karim Benzema is available for selection after being out through injury since Feb. 14.
'He is important to our system of play, above all when we have the ball,' he added. 'We won't take a risk, if there's a doubt, a player can hurt themselves and be out for longer. You'll see [if he starts] tomorrow.'
Benzema aside, Madrid have struggled for goals this season, and their next highest scorer in La Liga is defensive midfielder Casemiro with five.
Atletico had a 10-point lead at the top of the table a month ago -- but that gap has steadily shrunk since then, as Diego Simeone's team drew twice and lost once in February to give both Madrid and Barcelona hope.
'It's a match-up between two teams who are in similar situations, but they're three points,' Simeone said on Saturday. 'There's a lot at stake, but that's also true on Wednesday and next Saturday.
'10 or 12 games ago we were talking about a huge gap, a season that hadn't been good for Real Madrid and Barcelona, and now they're competing well. It's a long season. We have to keep going.'
Full-back Kieran Trippier is expected to return for Atletico after his 10-week ban for breaching Football Association betting rules came to an end.
'He's looking forward to playing,' Simeone added. 'He's an important player with quality and experience, and he gives us a lot.'