Suarez’s form, Depor’s poor record give leaders Barca chance to pull further away
>> MADRID: Real Madrid’s Club World Cup commitments mean Barcelona, Valencia and Atletico Madrid have a huge chance to put even more distance between themselves and the European champions this weekend.
If Barcelona dispose of Deportivo la Coruna at the Camp Nou tomorrow, they will take a commanding 11-point lead over Real.
Next weekend, Barca travel to the Santiago Bernabeu as the Catalans and Real Madrid end their year with El Clasico.
Even with a game in hand to come, Madrid have never overcome such a deficit to win the league and to remain in the title race would realistically need to inflict Barca’s first defeat since they last visited the Bernabeu back in August to win the Spanish Super Cup.
Further aiding Barca’s bid to regain the title is Luis Suarez’s return to form after a poor start to the season.
Suarez struggled for both form and fitness after rushing back from a knee injury suffered as Barca fell to Madrid in the Super Cup.
However, the Uruguayan has scored in his last two outings against Celta Vigo and Villarreal with the latter strike in particular displaying the touch and speed of movement of Suarez at his best.
Deportivo also tend to bring the best out of the former Liverpool striker as he has netted six times in his last three meetings against the Galicians.
End 2017 strongly and Atletico Madrid could be very much in the title race come the new year with nearly 100 million euros of talent in Diego Costa and Vitolo finally freed up to play from January.
Victory over Alaves in their final home game of the year today will see Diego Simeone’s men sleep just three points off the top and open up a fivepoint lead over city rivals Real.
However, despite still languishing in the relegation zone, Alaves pose a potent threat with Abelardo Fernandez in charge, who has masterminded two wins from two since being named the Basques’ third coach of the season.
With Girona hosting Getafe before Villarreal’s trip to Celta Vigo tomorrow, a win for either side will take them into the top six for a few hours at least despite having two of the five smallest budgets in the division.
“Money isn’t everything, with humility Girona are competing very well,” said Girona boss Pablo Machin after Monday’s 1-0 win at Espanyol.
In their first ever season in the top flight, Girona’s tiny budget on paper is aided by Manchester City’s part ownership of the Catalans with five players on loan from the Premier League leaders.