Soccer on TV: Real Madrid looks to stay on winning streak
League races are over in Spain and England and almost finished in Italy. Scoring races and relegation battles are still raging in all three leagues, however, highlighting the top televised soccer games from Europe this weekend.
La Liga: There is little left to be decided on the final day of the Spanish season. Behind goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’ 18 shutouts, Real Madrid (26-3-8) already has won its first title in three seasons. Espanyol and Mallorca are slated for relegation. Real will take a 10-game league winning streak into its final game at Leganes (8-18-11) on Sunday (BeIN Sports, noon PT), a match Leganes will enter 18th in the standings. It can escape relegation, however, with a win or draw and a Celta Vigo loss or draw at Espanyol. Barcelona (24-6-7) will finish second in the standings behind the play of Lionel Messi who, with 23 goals, likely will win his fourth straight Golden Boot, the award given to the top goal scorer. But there is some drama left because Messi, who comes in against Deportivo Alaves (10-18-9) on Sunday with league-record-tying 20 assists, can break the record he shares with former teammate Xavi.
Serie A: Atalanta (21-5-7) has never finished as high as second in Italy’s first division but that is within the 112-year-old team’s reach with five games to play. It trails second-place Inter Milan by a point and is a point ahead of fourth-place Lazio heading into a road match with Hellas Verona (11-11-11) on Saturday (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 8 a.m. PT). Juventus has a comfortable six-point bulge atop the standings but the scoring race is tight with Lazio’s Ciro Immobile’s 29 goals just one more than Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo. Those teams meet Monday.
EPL: Watford (8-17-10) and West Ham (9-19-7) are tied for the final spot just above the relegation zone heading into their match Friday at London Stadium (NBCSN, noon PT). Bournemouth (8-21-7) has a chance to catch whichever team falters if it can beat Southampton (13-16-7) on Sunday (NBCSN, 6 a.m. PT).
