Real Madrid look to win La Liga before Man City return

• Ancelotti’s men need at least a point against Espanyol for their 35th Spanish title

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti suggested he will rest several regular starters for today’s La Liga game against Espanyol as they prepare to host Manchester City in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final a few days later.
Real will be looking to overturn a 4-3 deficit from the first leg in order to reach their 17th final in the competition. The La Liga leaders need at least a point against lowly Espanyol, who have lost three of their last four league games, to guarantee their 35th Spanish title with almost a month of the season remaining.
“The idea is to rest the players who are in need of resting,” Ancelotti told a news conference yesterday. “At this stage of the season, the player’s opinion is very important, but the decision is made by the coach. However, I have not found many players who have asked me not to play because they are tired.”
The Italian will have to make changes in defence anyway as Nacho and Eder Militao are suspended and David Alaba is still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered in Manchester last Tuesday. Ancelotti added he will wait and see if striker Karim Benzema is fully recovered from a minor Achilles tendon injury that was bothering the player after scoring two of Real’s three goals at the Etihad.
Despite the rotations, Ancelotti insisted he would put out a team on Saturday to win the match and clinch the title in style.
“Our fans want two things: to win tomorrow and to win on Wednesday. We want the same,” he said. “Nobody thought that we would now have a 15-point advantage against our closest opponent. The team has done very well, winning in very difficult stadiums: Seville, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Barcelona... We have made the difference this season and what could happen on Saturday is a consequence of that hard work.”
Given they have been top since November, there will be no surprise about Madrid clinching a league they have dominated for months, but dips in form from Barcelona and Sevilla have offered the chance for an earlier confirmation than expected.
Should Real lose to 13th-placed Espanyol, they could still seal the title if both Sevilla and Barcelona fail to win, with Sevilla playing Cadiz at home before Barca host Mallorca on tomorrow night.
That scenario seems particularly unlikely but Barca have tailed off in recent weeks, their loss at home to Rayo Vallecano last weekend making it three consecutive defeats at the Camp Nou. “We deserved more but we didn’t show the personality we needed to show,” said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez after that game. “We’re in a difficult situation. We’re still in the race for the top four but we’ve made it hard for ourselves. We have to keep fighting.”
Barca should still have enough to qualify for next season’s Champions League as they have a six-point advantage over Copa del Rey winners Real Betis in fifth. But second place is very much up for grabs, with Sevilla level with Barca on points while Atletico Madrid, in fourth, are only two points behind. Atletico play away at Athletic Bilbao today.
“There are five games left, it will be very hard and whichever team has more energy will take the prize of playing in the Champions League,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone last weekend.
Betis will look to keep their hopes of finishing in the top four alive by overcoming Getafe on Monday night. Manuel Pellegrini’s team will have to refocus after they won the club’s first trophy since 2005 today by beating Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey. Villarreal, who lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Anfield in midweek, travel to Alaves today, three days before the return leg at La Ceramica. Real Sociedad, in sixth, play away at Rayo Vallecano tomorrow.

Fixtures (times GMT)
Today: Alaves v Villarreal (1200), Real Madrid v Espanyol (1415), Valencia v Levante (1630), Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (1900)
Tomorrow: Elche v Osasuna (1200), Granada v Celta Vigo (1215), Rayo Vallecano v Real Sociedad (1630), Barcelona v Mallorca (1900)
Monday: Getafe v Real Betis (1900)