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This weekend the 33rd round of matches of the Spanish championship ("La Liga") will be played. Three will take place on Saturday, while the remaining seven matches will be played on Sunday. Below are brief previews of these matches.
Saturday
Start: 19:00 Lithuanian time "Deportivo" coach Javier Irureta will most likely decide to give some of his key players a rest, as next week they will play in the Champions League semi-finals, where they will face Edgaras Jankauskas' "Porto" club. Meanwhile, "Valladolid" is in 16th place and still has not secured their place in the league, so they will definitely not be an easy opponent for La Coruna's footballers.
Start: 21:00 Lithuanian time "Athletic", after last week's victory against "Racing", is in a position that gives them the right to play in the UEFA Cup next season. However, this weekend they will face a tougher opponent - "Zaragoza", who have only lost once in their last eight away games. "Athletic" will welcome back Joseba Etxeberria, who has recovered from an injury, but they will be without goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia.
Start: 23:00 Lithuanian time The main event this weekend will be the Madrid derby. "Real" trained for three days last week in the south of Spain, with more than a thousand fans watching each training session. The Royal club's form in the last month has been tragic - they lost an eight-point lead in the Spanish championship, were eliminated from the Champions League by losing to "Monaco", and were defeated in the Spanish King's Cup final by a starless team from "Zaragoza".
Sunday
Start: 18:30 Lithuanian time Vigo's "Celta" must win this match if they want to avoid relegation from La Liga. The Galician team, which has not won a single match in the last eight games, will have to play without the injured Wagner and Peter Luccin and the suspended Jose Ignacio.
Start: 18:30 Lithuanian time Even if led by John Toshack, "Murcia" players would be doomed to relegation if "Mallorca" defeated "Villareal". "Betis" players, who have not won any matches in the last eight games, will try to win and revive their hopes of playing in the UEFA Cup or Intertoto tournament next season.
Start: 18:30 Lithuanian time The situations of these teams are completely different - 5th-placed Osasuna is fighting for a place in the UEFA Cup, while "Espanyol" players are trying to climb out of 18th place, which would see them relegated from the league. "Osasuna" is currently on the rise - in the last round they crushed "Real" players from Madrid 3-0.
