Real Madrid needs some outside help if they hope to leapfrog over Spanish La Liga leaders Barcelona and win the title on the final weekend of the season. Real pays a visit to Deportivo de la Coruna on Saturday, May 14th and the league will be decided then as Barcelona visits 16th-place Granada the same day. Real trails Barcelona by one point and can capture the league championship if they win and Barcelona draws or loses. If Barcelona should lose and Real draws then Barcelona will clinch the title unless they lose by six goals or more, which is highly unlikely. It’s a must-win game for Real at the Estadio Municipal de Riazor no matter what Barcelona does in Granada.
Deportivo de La Coruna vs Real Madrid – bet365 Soccer Betting Line:
- bet365 currently lists Real Madrid as the firm favorites at 1/6 with Granada 12/1 and a draw at 13/2
Deportivo de La Coruna vs Real Madrid – Head to Head:
- Real has beaten Deportivo five consecutive times in the league over by a combined score of 21-5 including a 5-0 shut out at home in January. Real is unbeaten in the last 10 encounters with nine wins and a draw. Deportivo’s last victory was 2-1 at home in August of 2008. The two sides have met 23 times since 2002 with Real winning 14, losing seven and drawing the other two.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could all finish the campaign with 88 points, but just Barcelona and Real Madrid have a realistic shot at the title. If the three teams happen to end up tied at the end of the day the tie breaker will be goal difference. Barcelona currently leads this category at plus-80 while Real Madrid is plus-74 and Atletico is plus 43. Real has 87 points from 27 wins, six draws and four losses with 108 goals for and 34 against. Deportivo has eight victories, 11 draws and 18 defeats for 42 points and sit in 13th place in the 20-team league.
Deportivo beat Villarreal 2-0 away from home last weekend at the Estadio El Madrigal to halt their recent six-game losing skid. They’re six points ahead of the 18th-place team and the relegation zone so are safe for at least one more season in top tier of Spanish soccer even if they get hammered on Saturday. Real snuck past Valencia 3-2 at home last weekend at the Bernabeu, but could fall just one point short of the league title this year. However, they will meet cross town rivals Atletico Madrid in the European Champions League Final in Italy on Saturday, May 28th.
Real will be relying on Portuguese international striker Cristiano Ronaldo to lead the way on Saturday. The captain of Portugal is a goal scoring machine who netted twice last week, but his scoring prowess may not be enough for Real to capture their 33rd Spanish league title. The last time the world’s richest soccer club won the crown was four years ago in 2011/12. Since then, Barcelona has won it twice and Atletico Madrid has triumphed once. Deportivo heads into the game with a poor recent home record as they’ve managed just one win in their past nine outings and have lost three in a row in their own stadium. On the other hand, Madrid has won 11 straight league matches.
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