(Football news) The La Liga table might look entirely different after the coming matchday. Barcelona and Atlético Madrid were knocked out of Europe midweek while Real Madrid and Villarreal made it to the UCL semi finals. Real Madrid would either extend their lead at the top of the table or Sevilla and Barcelona would close the game on the league leaders.

After a hard fought draw against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid were knocked out of the UCL quarter finals. They now take on Espanyol at home to try and keep their place in the top 4. Diego Simeone may be forced to make a few changes to replace tired legs of the players who ran a lot in the city game. Atletico will be without Hector Herrera and Jose Gimenez while Yannick Carrasco is likely to return to the side. Espanyol on the other hand will be missing Yangel Herrera. 

Table toppers Real Madrid will host 3rd place Sevilla to try and put one hand on the La Liga trophy. The two teams are currently separated by 12 points while Barcelona are level with Sevilla with a game in hand. Real Madrid will be without Casemiro who is suspended. Eduardo Camavinga would be a direct replacement while Carlo Ancelotti could choose to revert Fede Valverde to midfield and play Rodrygo on the wing. 

Ferland Mendy and Marcelo are both out with injuries which leaves Real Madrid without a left back. Nacho and Karim Benzema suffered minor injuries against Chelsea but should be back for the game. Madrid players will be battling fatigue after having to play 120 minutes on Tuesday. Sevilla will not get a better chance to close the point gap. Even though Real Madrid showed character to come back and qualify for the UCL semi finals they did concede 3 goals at home to Chelsea which is not a good sign. Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that his men can put that behind them and secure the La Liga title as soon as possible.

After a good run of form, Barcelona are back on planet earth. They were eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt from the Europa League after a 3-2 loss at home. People of Barcelona and socialites sold the majority of their tickets to German fans making the Camp Nou look like a neutral ground with as many Frankfurt fans matching or exceeding Barcelona fans. Xavi will be hoping that the atmosphere is somewhat different on Monday as they will host relegation-threatened Cadiz. Ronald Araujo is suspended while Pedri is out with an injury he picked up against Frankfurt. Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto remain injured while Gerard Pique is also a doubt after his recent injury that forced him out of the Europa League game.

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