Juventus, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Monaco either have their league titles sewn up or are in the driving seat to be crowned champions, leaving little drama in their respective title races. In Spain, however, the title race is a real nail-biter of an affair. The race has swung this way and that, with Real Madrid and Barcelona often swapping places at the top.
However, we are ready to call the race with three games left for Madrid and two for their Catalan rivals. For the first time since they lifted the title in 2012, Real Madrid will add another Liga trophy to their bulging cabinet, and here are four reasons why:
Improved Mentality:
In the last title race, Real Madrid fell just short; they were unable to carry the burden of leading the race, and every time they managed to get into first, as they did four times in the early part of the season, they fell away, leaving themselves with too much to do.
Despite winning their last eleven games, they finished a point behind Barcelona. However, this season they seem to have improved their play under pressure and continue to keep the heat on Barcelona.
After Barcelona had scraped a win over Villarreal on Saturday, Madrid had to win to keep their destiny in their own hands; not only did they pass that test by beating Granda, but they cruised through it, winning 4-0. With an improved and confident mentality, Madrid seem to be ready and able to rise to any challenge.Â
Squad depth
Real Madrid’s last few league games have shown that they have quality throughout their side rather than just in their first eleven.
In their recent game against Deportivo and then in their game on Saturday against Granada, Zidane rotated his squad, making several changes.
He brought in James Rodriguez, Marco Asensio, and Alvaro Morata, amongst others, and they romped their way to two wins, scoring ten goals and only conceding two.
Madrid’s so-called ‘second team’ would surely be one of the best teams in the league and illustrates that if any of Zidane’s key players are having off days, he has a number of readymade replacements who can make a big difference.
Superstars are in the form:
Alongside a squad with great depth, Madrid’s star players are all in excellent form, particularly Ronaldo and Marcelo, who have been lighting up the Bernabeu.
Ronaldo has back-to-back Champions League hat tricks and scored in his last La Liga start against Valencia. Marcelo has arguably been Madrid’s best player recently; he scored the winner as they recovered from conceding an 82nd-minute equaliser to beat Valencia 2-1 just over a week ago.
With their top players in such great form, it’s hard to see Madrid not winning all their remaining games.
Fixture List:
Finally, a lot has been made of Madrid having a tougher fixture list than Barcelona. However, Madrid should be more than capable of winning their remaining matches.
The first one is Sevilla at home. When they hosted Sevilla in the Copa Del Rey, they won 3-0, and with Sevilla’s poor form, Madrid was confident of winning.
Then come Celta Vigo, who are drifting and will have little to play for when they host Madrid. Finally, on the last day, they travel to Malaga, where they have already been beaten in the league this season.
With their current form, Madrid should win their last three games and take their 33rd La Liga title.