Who'll take it?
Whilst the 3 CL places 've been decided. One is yet to be determined. The Last Jornada will decide who heads in to the Champions League playoffs.
This is how they stand:
4. Malaga 55pts
5. A.Madrid 53
6. Mallorca 52
7. Levante 52
Realistically, there are 3 contenders - Malaga, A.Madrid and Levante (as Malaga holds the H-H advantage over Mallorca).
The Likely scenarios
1. Malaga wins - They finish 4th irrespective of the other results.
2. Malaga draws and Atlético Madrid wins - The Madrid club goes ahead of Malaga on H-H.
3. Malaga Loses, A.Madrid Loses/draws and Levante wins - Levante goes ahead of Malaga on H-H.
The Fixtures
Malaga host Sporting de Gijón, who are fighting for their lives. The latter HAVE to take 3 points for any chance of survival. They are coming on the back of a win, whilst Malaga have suffered consecutive losses (a bit unlucky for having a goal disallowed in the last one). The stakes are high for either sides. Expect this to be hard fought intense 90 mins, resulting in a heartbreak for atleast one set of fans.
Atlético Madrid travel to El Madrigal 4 days after having played the Europa League final. The Yellow Submarine is fighting relegation, a loss for them could still keep them up but its dependant on other results, which is y they'd hope to take all 3 points to assure their LL run. And whilst fatigue could play a factor for the Madrid side, they've been on the up, with luck playing its part. A.Madrid would know getting a win could yet get them in Europe. Another hard fought match, with both teams looking for nothing less than 3 points.
Levante play host to Athletic Bilbao. Bilbao have their EL place secured, and have nothing to play for. And going by their domestic results post EL outings (this time they've the finals), I expect Levante to take all 3 points here.
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Whilst Levante have done remarkable this season. Finishing 4th (as much as the majority Liga folks here are cheerin' for it to happen) would prove fatal to their LL campaign next season. They don't 've the resources to compete on two fronts. i.e if they even manage to qualify to the GS. Atlético Madrid would probably just crash out of the group stages. Easy group, hard group, they'll just find a way to embarass the league somehow. (same goes for Los Che as well actually)
Malaga would be the best bet. A European place would enable quality reinforcements, and if not in the immediate term, they can build on the experience, and eventually prove to be a better LL representative in Europe, both for the competition and the League's coefficient in the long run.
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So Ladies and Gents, who'll finish 4th?
Whilst the 3 CL places 've been decided. One is yet to be determined. The Last Jornada will decide who heads in to the Champions League playoffs.
This is how they stand:
4. Malaga 55pts
5. A.Madrid 53
6. Mallorca 52
7. Levante 52
Realistically, there are 3 contenders - Malaga, A.Madrid and Levante (as Malaga holds the H-H advantage over Mallorca).
The Likely scenarios
1. Malaga wins - They finish 4th irrespective of the other results.
2. Malaga draws and Atlético Madrid wins - The Madrid club goes ahead of Malaga on H-H.
3. Malaga Loses, A.Madrid Loses/draws and Levante wins - Levante goes ahead of Malaga on H-H.
The Fixtures
Malaga host Sporting de Gijón, who are fighting for their lives. The latter HAVE to take 3 points for any chance of survival. They are coming on the back of a win, whilst Malaga have suffered consecutive losses (a bit unlucky for having a goal disallowed in the last one). The stakes are high for either sides. Expect this to be hard fought intense 90 mins, resulting in a heartbreak for atleast one set of fans.
Atlético Madrid travel to El Madrigal 4 days after having played the Europa League final. The Yellow Submarine is fighting relegation, a loss for them could still keep them up but its dependant on other results, which is y they'd hope to take all 3 points to assure their LL run. And whilst fatigue could play a factor for the Madrid side, they've been on the up, with luck playing its part. A.Madrid would know getting a win could yet get them in Europe. Another hard fought match, with both teams looking for nothing less than 3 points.
Levante play host to Athletic Bilbao. Bilbao have their EL place secured, and have nothing to play for. And going by their domestic results post EL outings (this time they've the finals), I expect Levante to take all 3 points here.
-----------------------------
Whilst Levante have done remarkable this season. Finishing 4th (as much as the majority Liga folks here are cheerin' for it to happen) would prove fatal to their LL campaign next season. They don't 've the resources to compete on two fronts. i.e if they even manage to qualify to the GS. Atlético Madrid would probably just crash out of the group stages. Easy group, hard group, they'll just find a way to embarass the league somehow. (same goes for Los Che as well actually)
Malaga would be the best bet. A European place would enable quality reinforcements, and if not in the immediate term, they can build on the experience, and eventually prove to be a better LL representative in Europe, both for the competition and the League's coefficient in the long run.
----------------------------
So Ladies and Gents, who'll finish 4th?