La Liga preview: Barca out to make a point

Barcelona can wrap up a third successive La Liga title on Wednesday, needing only a draw at 10th-placed Levante to be crowned champions.

With three games remaining, Barca are eight points clear of fierce rivals Real Madrid but even if Real win their home match with struggling Getafe on Tuesday, a point would be enough for Barcelona to retain the title because of their superior head-to-head record against Jose Mourinho’s side.

Should they be successful on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side would become the first team to win three successive La Liga titles since the exceptional Barca side of the early 1990s, which won four successive Primera Division titles between 1991 and 1994.

And if they can win all three of their remaining games, Barca could become the first side to reach the 100-point mark in a La Liga campaign, breaking their own record of 99 set last season.

Other interest will centre around the top of the goal-scoring charts – with Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo scoring four in his side’s 6-2 demolition of Sevilla on Saturday to move to 33 league goals for the season, two ahead of Barca superstar Lionel Messi.

As well as Real’s clash with Getafe, other games on Tuesday see Deportivo La Coruna host Athletic Bilbao at Estadio Municipal de Riazor.

Deportivo are desperate for a win to escape the drop zone, while fifth-placed Bilbao need a win to help them hang on to their Europa League qualifying berth.

Sporting Gijon travel to Malaga, and Racing Santander host seventh-placed Atletico Madrid who will be keen to keep the pressure on sixth-placed Sevilla and Bilbao in the race for the Europa League places.

Joining Barcelona in action on Wednesday, Villareal can make sure of fourth and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers with a win over already-relegated Almeria, and Valencia – who are five points clear of Villarreal – can claim third on their trip to Espanyol.

Hercules need maximum points when they host Mallorca if they are to avoid relegation that has looked likely for much of the campaign, and Real Zaragoza could be in the bottom three if they fail to win at Real Sociedad.

Sevilla need three points from their visit to Osasuna if they are to maintain their Europa League push, while Osasuna are just two points clear of the drop zone.