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La Liga - D-Day for Beckham

 
/2007-06-15/

La Liga - With everything still up for grabs, the season is guaranteed to end in a nailbiting finish.

The fight for the championship will go to the wire, with Real Madrid and Barcelona level on 73 points.

Madrid have staged an amazing comeback this season, and now have the title in their hands, as their superior head-to-head record against Barca means they will top the table if both teams win their final match, giving David Beckham the perfect send off.

Double UEFA Cup champions Sevilla are still in the hunt, only two points behind, but they must win their game and hope that the other two slip up if they are to pick up their first title since 1946.

Madrid could certainly have had a tougher test than playing a home fixture against Real Mallorca, currently lying 12th in the table and settling to mid table mediocrity a long time ago. They will also be boosted by the fact that both Robinho and Mahamadou Diarra have been relieved of their international duties and are available for the match.

Likewise, Barcelona will make the short trip to fellow Catalunians Gimnastic, a team that is already relegated having been rooted to the bottom of the table for most of the season.

However, things could prove to be less straightforward. With Lionel Messi saying this week that he sees nothing wrong with Barcelona offering incentive payments to the Mallorca players if they beat Madrid, it seems that the Islanders may have more than just pride to play for.

For Barca, playing the worst side in the league may sound like three points in the bag, but any local derby is a tough prospect, especially with the Nastic players wanting to go out on a high.

Sevilla, who will have star striker Fredi Kanoute back but miss Brazilian Dani Alves, will entertain one of the leagues form sides, Villareal.

The Yellow Submarines have shot past Atletico Madrid into sixth place, and look odds on to join Real Zaragoza in the UEFA Cup next season.

Lying in fifth for much of the season, Atletico have capitulated as only they can, and are now two points off the pace in seventh.

Their away match against UEFA Cup semi-finalists against Osasuna must end in victory with either Villareal losing to Sevilla or Zaragoza going down to Recreativo for them to save their season from disaster.

At the bottom, there are still four teams fighting to avoid the two remaining relegation spots.

Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad are currently in the drop zone, with 36 and 34 points respectively.

Celta are fortunate enough to host Getafe, who have nothing in the league to play for and will have one eye on their Copa del Rey final against Sevilla later in the month.

Sociedad have no such luck, however, as they make the long journey south to face Valencia, whose Champions League place for next season is secured.

Real Betis (away to Racing) and Athletic Bilbao (at home to Levante) are both on 37 points, meaning a draw would be enough to see them safe for another year.

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