Will the battle for fourth become competitive in La Liga?

Will the battle for fourth become competitive in La Liga?

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As the European season begins to wind down, many clubs are looking at their league positions and how they plan on improving them.

In Spain, the top three looks set with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid respectively while Villarreal currently occupy the all-important fourth position.

Heading into game week 29, the Yellow Submarine travel to the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan to face fifth-placed Sevilla.

If there is to be any movement in the top four, it will likely begin with this match.

Sevilla are Spain’s premier Europa League team, having won the competition in the last two seasons; but being in Europe’s second tier competition is not where they would hope to be.

The Champions League, with all the riches it provides, is the platform that all clubs hope to reach and would have been the goal of Unai Emery’s men at the beginning of the season.

READ MORE: UEFA Champions League qualification crucial for Sevilla

The same goal can be attributed to the teams currently in fourth, sixth and seventh: Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo.

As the table stands, Villarreal have an eight-point gap on their nearest rivals but with 10 matches still to play, and with the Yellow Submarine having recently tasted their first defeat in 15 league games, that gap is not insurmountable.

Should Sevilla fall at home to their visitors, they will likely put all their focus on winning the Europa League again as that becomes their passage into Europe’s premier club competition.

The interest comes though if Sevilla can make it back-to-back defeats for Marcelino’s side and close the gap to just five points.

Villarreal have held their spot in the top four for the entirety of the season and will not be looking to relinquish their spot, but a bit of inconsistency is creeping into their game.

Against Las Palmas on matchday 28, the Yellow Submarine looked flat, devoid of ideas and nothing like what a perceived Champions League team should be. Not for the first time, they were tactically bettered by a side that did not let them play the counter-attacking football their season has been built on.

In truth, Sevilla have looked below standard from the off this season and their inability to win away from home, a feat they are yet to achieve, has held them back from their aspirations.

Los Rojiblancos at home are one of the best sides in the league. Constant attacking threat, solid in defence and entertaining for the fans. On the road, they look scared, tired and fearful of another defeat or draw.

That away form opens the door for Bilbao in sixth, or even Celta in seventh, to leap past them.

Bilbao are a team that relies heavily on their attacking threat, but what a threat it is. The timeless Aritz Aduriz leads the line for the Basque team and with the raw talent of Inaki Williams and the intelligence and drive of Raul Garcia, they are a side to be feared.

Celta Vigo are another team whose attack is its best attribute, with displays this season sometimes resembling those of the top two tridents in Spanish football, Messi-Suarez-Neymar and Bale-Benzema-Ronaldo.

Nolito, Iago Aspas, and Fabien Orellana may not be as household names as those leading the line for Barcelona and Real Madrid but have combined this season to at times be just as effective.

Celta can score goals, but can ship goals just as quickly, and to a worrying extent. They have conceded the most goals in the top half of the table and only four clubs in the Spanish top flight have given away more.

Villarreal are in prime position to take the final Champions League place, and look the most likely to do so. If they are to continue the run that has been momentarily halted by Las Palmas, they will cruise into fourth.

Sevilla will need to defeat Marcelino’s side to stand any chance of overtaking them, while if Bilbao and Celta can tighten up their defences, they too might still have a shot.

If Villarreal beat Sevilla, we can almost say they are Champions League bound and the battle for fourth will effectively be over. The Yellow Submarine hold all the cards and have their fate in their own hands, Sevilla need to take that away, and that starts with a victory this Sunday.

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