Teams hoping to see Barcelona trip up during Robert Lewandowski’s three-match suspension were sorely disappointed, since they continued to rack up the points with Lewandowski now returning in midweek.
Real Madrid will need to bring their best to keep pace given they host third-place Real Sociedad on Sunday. And the Basque side has a point to prove of their own that they belong among the contenders.
At the bottom of the table, Sevilla have earned back-to-back wins to give them some breathing room, while Cadiz secured three more important points as they continue to recover from those five straight losses to start the season. Valencia will need to be careful, since they’re just three points from the drop zone.
MORE: Updated La Liga top scorers for the 2022/23 season
La Liga table, standings 2022/23
Updated as of Saturday, January 28.
La Liga title race
Barcelona got the early start this weekend and moved out to a six-point lead at the top of La Liga with Real Madrid in action at home on Sunday against third-place Real Sociedad.
Could we see a third team enter the race for the La Liga title? Real Sociedad are managing to hang around and they can send a statement of intent with a big result at the Estadio Bernabeu.
MORE: When is the next El Clasico? Schedule for Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
La Liga European places
La Liga earns four direct places to the UEFA Champions League group stage (they go to the top four finishers), and the usual big-budget names of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid will be in the mix. The other teams that are challenging are Real Betis, Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, and a resurgent Villarreal.
Those that come up short of a top-four Champions League place will have the consolation prize of a Europa League berth (5th place), or Conference League berth (6th place).
The Spanish Copa del Rey winner gets the other available Europa League ticket. But if the Copa del Rey champion happens to be a top-four La Liga team — thus earning a more lucrative Champions League berth — then that second Europa League berth would instead be transferred to the 6th-place team in the table. That would in turn push the lone Conference League automatic berth down to the 7th-placed finisher.
La Liga relegation
While it’s looking bleak for bottom side Elche, still winless at the halfway point of the season, there’s a race to avoid the other two trap doors down to the second division with six teams within three points.
Celta Vigo weren’t expecting to be in the bottom three and they have serious work to do to extract themselves. They happen to have a brutal stretch coming up against four teams in the top 10.
Meanwhile, back-to-back wins for Sevilla see them move four points from the danger zone, while a big victory over Mallorca gives Cadiz’s survival hopes some real life.
How to watch La Liga 2022/23 TV channels, live streams
USA: ESPN holds the broadcast rights to every La Liga match in the USA with both English- and Spanish-language streams available on ESPN+. ABC, ESPN, and ESPN Deportes televise select matches, with all those channels streaming on fuboTV.
Canada: TSN carries La Liga in Canada with select matches televised on the TV network. The other matches are available to stream on TSN platforms.
Australia: Optus Sport is the home of La Liga matches for fans in Australia.
