Sociedad and Villarreal aim to stay as top contenders

MADRID: Real Sociedad and Villarreal face each other this weekend looking to continue their rare run for the Spanish League title.

League leader Sociedad hosts third-place Villarreal on Sunday, with Barcelona and Real Madrid continuing to struggle.

Sociedad won the league in 1981 and ‘82 but hasn’t finished beter than second since 2003, while Villarreal’s lone second-place finish in 2008 was its best campaign ever.

Atlético Madrid, the only team to have won the league other than Real Madrid and Barcelona in the last 16 seasons, has been doing its part to remain in contention. Second-place Atlético trails Sociedad by three points, and leads Villarreal by one point, but has played two fewer games than both teams.

Real Madrid is in fourth place with a game in hand but is coming off two winless games in the league. Barcelona, which has only one win in its last six league matches, is 13th with two games in hand. The Catalan club is six points behind Madrid and nine points behind Atlético.

Sociedad will host Villarreal without one of its top playmakers, David Silva, because of a muscle injury in his let leg. The former Spain international has been key for Sociedad since joining from Manchester City this season. Sociedad also won’t have midfielder Jon Guridi because of a muscle injury.

The Basque Country club is one of the hotest teams in Spain, having won sixth straight league games and outscoring opponents 17-2 in that run.

Villarreal, which finished fith in the league last season, is unbeaten in 10 matches in all competitions since a league loss to Barcelona in September. It has seven victories and three draws since then and is coming off a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid at home.