Barcelona, Nov 27 (IANS) After thrashing Real Madrid 4-0 La Liga and destroying AS Roma 6-1 in a home Champions League game, FC Barcelona intends to take advantage of its happy group to seek another big win against Real Sociedad on Saturday in the domestic competition.
They will continue to lead the standings if they secure three points at the Camp Nou stadium and widen the gap ahead with the second-placed Atletico Madrid, reports Efe.
Barcelona is buckling up for Sociedad’s clash on Saturday with strikers Neymar and Luis Suarez up front, who have scored 12 and 11 goals, respectively, over the past 12 rounds of the matches, while superstar Lionel Messi is also getting ready to lead the roster after making a full recovery.
It seems that Barcelona coach Luis Enrique intends to give no quarter against Real Sociedad, which is struggling to escape from the shadow of the relegation zone, in light of the absence of its midfielder Asier Illarramendi due to suspension.
As for Atletico Madrid, Argentine manager Diego Simeone looks forward to winning its upcoming game against Espanyol at their Vicente Calderon stadium, despite missing defender Gabriel Fernandez Arenas.
Real Madrid hope to escape from its humiliating defeat against Barcelona during the previous round, as well as the painstaking 4-3 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, when they meet Eibar on Sunday.
This upcoming away clash will not be an easy job for their coach Rafael Benitez, who will have to figure out how to fill the defensive gap with Sergio Ramos, Isco, Marcelo and Varane absent.
Elsewhere, Villarreal will be aiming to win when they visit Getafe on Sunday.
Celta Vigo will have an easy task against Sporting Gijon following last week’s 0-2 shocker against Deportivo La Coruna, who will be playing against La Palmas.
Valencia will be visiting Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in what promises to be an intense match.
The La Liga weekend will also witness a match between Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Bilbao, with both teams seeking at least to secure their positions in the middle of the table.
Levante and Real Betis will play against each other on Friday night, while Malaga and Granada will be taking part in a match in which they will strive to escape the relegation zone while the season approaches the end of its first half.