Second-tier football returned to Spain on Wednesday. Now the top flight is set to resume, with Sevilla hosting Real Betis in the Seville derby on Thursday (21:00 BST).
There is plenty at stake in the remaining 11 rounds of this season’s La Liga with the title race, European places and the battle to avoid relegation all wide open.
Games will be played behind closed doors every single day so the pace will be frantic, and there are a host of compelling storylines, such as Uruguay’s Luis Suarez returning from injury for leaders of Barcelona, who are two points clear of Real Madrid.
A tight title race is in store, with Barcelona two points ahead of Real Madrid.
But neither team has convinced. Barca have particularly struggled away from home, dropping points on 11 occasions on their travels in all competitions. Financial problems are forcing coach Quique Setien, appointed in January, to work with a threadbare squad containing only 18 senior professionals (excluding Ousmane Dembele, who is out indefinitely through injury).
Setien’s resources are especially stretched in defence. With Clement Lenglet suspended and Samuel Umtiti returning from the latest of many injuries, Gerard Pique could be the only available central defender for Saturday’s trip to Real Mallorca.
Young Uruguayan Ronald Araujo, who was sent off 14 minutes into his only previous first-team appearance, could be thrown in at the deep end.
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Barca’s strength, of course, lies at the other end of the field. Lionel Messi is once again the league’s leading scorer (19 goals in 22 appearances), and a huge bonus is the return of Luis Suarez, who was set to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury before the pause in action allowed him to recover.
But it will take more than the magical Messi-Suarez combination to secure the title, and Barca were looking disjointed and disconnected both on and off the pitch before the break.
Repeated speculation over the futures of midfielders Arthur, Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal will hardly help restore unity, and guiding a small, aging and dissatisfied squad through a hectic schedule (there is already concern over Messi after he picked up a knock in training) will be a severe challenge for Setien, who has never won a major trophy.
