LaLiga title race, Europe and relegation all decided on final weekend

Atletico and Real Madrid are tussling for the title, Europa League spots are yet to be decided while two teams will suffer relegation pain… ahead of the final round of LaLiga fixtures, there is plenty left to play for!

  • There is plenty still to be decided ahead of the final weekend of LaLiga action
  • Title race will go down to the wire with Atletico and Real Madrid fighting it out
  • Atletico travel to Valladolid while Real Madrid host European hopefuls Villarreal
  • Europa League spots are still up for grabs as well as Europa Conference League
  • At the other end of the table two teams will be relegated with Eibar already down

Another exciting LaLiga season reaches its climax this weekend with the title going down to the wire, which will see either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid crowned as 2020-21 champions.

Diego Simeone’s men have seen their 10-point gap at the top of the table dwindle in recent months and following Barcelona’s slip at the final hurdle, only city rivals Real can snatch the title this weekend, should results go their way.

With the four Champions League places all sewn up, with Sevilla joining Atletico, Real and Barca in next season’s competition, Europa League places are still up for grabs while a spot in the new Europa Conference League can still be claimed.

The LaLiga title will be decided on the final day, along with European places and relegation

Eibar – a town of roughly 27,000 inhabitants – saw their incredible seven-year stint in LaLiga come to an end last Sunday, after defeat by Valencia condemned the tiny club back to Spain’s second tier, with Getafe and Alaves securing top-flight football for another year.

However, two more sides still need to be relegated and the three clubs fighting for survival will learn their fate this weekend.

Here, Sportsmail takes you through what’s to play for on the final weekend of this LaLiga season and delves into what is at stake…

All to play for in the title race

As it stands, it’s advantage Atletico who are two points ahead of rivals Real and have a favourable game against relegation candidates Real Valladolid. 

Simone’s men only need to match Real’s result to win their first title in eight years, but can expect a fight from Valladolid, who are two points adrift of safety.

Real, meanwhile, have a much tougher test on Saturday, where they will host Europa League finalists Villarreal.

With Zinedine Zidane’s men trailing the current league leaders by two points, they must win if they are to have any hope of being crowned as champions while they would need a favourable result in Atletico’s game.

The title race between city rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid has gone down to the wire

Should Real pick up all three points and Atletico somehow lose, then Real Madrid will snatch the title at the death.

Should Real win and Atletico draw, then it will be Los Blancos winning the title on the head-to-head rule. Zidane’s side beat Atletico 2-0 in a home game back in December before the two sides shared a point following their 1-1 draw at the Wanda Metropolitano in March.

However, given Atleti’s opponents, it would be hard to bet against them when predicting a champion this weekend.

Who’s scrapping for the final European places?

Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla will finish in the top four no matter what.

However, there’s still the case of settling two Europa League places and the Europa Conference League berth.

As it stands, Real Sociedad are fifth on 59 points while Real Betis and Villarreal are a point behind them both with 58. While Villarreal boast a superior goal difference to Betis, it’s Manuel Pellegrini’s side that win in the head-to-head. 

The two sides drew 1-1 in their first meeting back in December before Betis walked away with a 2-1 win at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Valentine’s Day.

Europa League and Europa Conference League places are up for grabs this weekend

Real Sociedad, who are facing 11th-place Osasuna, just need to win to confirm their spot in the Europa League next season while Betis need to do the same against Celta Vigo, who are on a five-game winning streak at the moment.

Should Real Sociedad lose and Villarreal draw with Real Madrid, then La Real would still get the spot in Europa League, seeing how Sociedad and Villarreal’s head-to-head record this season resulted in two 1-1 draws.

As it stands, Sociedad boast a better goal difference than Villarreal, which would decide who gets a place in the Europa League.

Betis just need to match Villarreal’s result to advance.

Could we see five Spanish teams in the Champions League?

Yes, we could! The aforementioned Villarreal can still secure Champions League football next season by beating Manchester United in next Wednesday’s Europa League final in Gdansk.

Should they win the final and secure Champions League football for next season while finishing seventh, then there will be no Spanish team in the brand new Europa Conference League next season.

If they win the final and finish in the Europa League places, they will still get Champions League football and whatever team finishes seventh in LaLiga will get Europa League football.

Villarreal can still qualify for next season’s Champions League if they win the Europa League

And who’s facing relegation?

With Eibar relegated last weekend, the race to survive the drop saw Getafe and Alaves pull clear, leaving just three candidates to fight for one more spot to stay in LaLiga.

Huesca, Elche and Valladolid all find themselves in this fight for survival and none of them have easy games to beat the drop.

Valladolid, who are currently 19th and two points adrift of the other two teams in this relegation scrap, face leaders Atletico on the final day of the season, with that clash at Estadio Jose Zorrilla settling not only the title but relegation, too, so there will be a lot of emotions at full-time – contrasting or not.

Valladolid need to beat Atletico to have any chance of beating the drop while they need Elche and Huesca to lose. 

Elche need to win on the final day and hope other results go their way to beat the drop

Huesca just need to match or better both of the results of the teams below them to stay up

Should Valladolid win and the other two teams draw, Valladolid will still go down seeing as Huesca have a better head-to-head record against them this season.

If Huesca were to lose, Elche were to draw and Valladolid were to win, the 17th spot would then be decided on goal difference, given how Valladolid and Elche drew 2-2 and 1-1 this season. But there is only one goal in between them.

With Elche and Huesca currently level on 33 points, a draw or win for both would see Huesca beat the drop as they boast a better head-to-head record, winning 3-1 in their home game last month, with the reverse fixture ending in a goalless stalemate.




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