La Liga 2024-25: Four things to look out for in Spain's matchday 28

Madrid (Spain), March 14 (IANS) La Liga goes into its last round of matches before the first international break of 2025. Former champions Barcelona will be hoping to extend their lead by adding to their current tally of 57 points from 26 matches. Real Madrid are also on 57 points but have played an extra match as have Atletico Madrid, who have 56 points from 27 matches. 

Athletic Bilbao are in the fourth spot with 49 points as the teams are stacked together in a close race for the title in Spain. As the teams gear for matchday 28 in La Liga, here are some things to look out for this weekend in Spain:

1. Can Atletico recover from penalty heartache?

It's hard to imagine a crueler way to go out of Europe than Atletico Madrid suffered against Real Madrid on Wednesday night, reports Xinhua.

After being the better side over both ties, Atletico lost on penalties after Julian Alvarez's penalty was ruled out because he was deemed to have touched the ball twice as he netted in the shoot-out.

After 120 minutes of intense football along with suspension for Angel Correa, it seems Atletico isn't in the best shape to entertain FC Barcelona on Sunday.

In contrast to Atletico, Barcelona were able to rest key players for the closing minutes of their Champions League win at home to Benfica, and the fact that the game was played on Tuesday evening means Hansi Flick's men have enjoyed an extra 26 hours of rest.

Atletico will need to show something special to get something from a must-win match.

2. Villarreal to meet Real Madrid

Real Madrid got the morale boost of again beating their neighbors in Europe on Wednesday night, but the Real players all made the same physical and mental efforts as Atletico and the fact they visit Villarreal on Saturday and not Sunday means there is very little recovery time against one of the in-form teams in LaLiga.

Carlo Ancelotti's side has looked jaded in recent matches, and with just two days to recover and prepare to visit a rival that has players such as Alex Baena, Yeremy Pino, and Ayoze Perez to lead their attack, he will have to carry out important squad rotations.

3. Corberan lifting Valencia towards safety

It has been a long time since Valencia have had the luxury of going into a weekend outside of the relegation zone. Carlos Corberan's side sits in 16th place ahead of the visit to play Girona.

Things looked bleak for Valencia as it was thrashed 7-1 at home to Barcelona at the end of January, but its performance in the league is seemingly back on track with just one defeat (at home to Atletico Madrid) in its last six league matches.

Former West Brom boss, Corberan has made Valencia much tougher to beat, with the return of Mouctar Diakhaby after injury and the signing of Umar Sadiq making it stronger in defense and more effective in attack. Survival now looks a lot more likely.

4. International break welcome

For sides playing in Europe the period between the start of the New Year and the first international break is arguably the most intense month and a half of the season, with the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercup also affecting sides such as Real Sociedad, Betis and Athletic Club Bilbao, along with the 'big-three'.

Players have started to pick up muscle injuries due to the intensity of the schedule, and the international break will give coaches the chance to carry out recovery work and prepare their squads for the big push towards the last two months of the campaign.