With matters at the top end of the table all but concluded after the penultimate round of fixtures, the focus of attention in Spain has now alighted on those sides at the business end of results during La Liga's final weekend.
Champion Barcelona will field a second-string side at Malaga, which has already secured its safety in the top division. For Pep Guardiola, it is a welcome chance to relax and retain a few of the hairs Jose Mourinho has left him.
Real Madrid, with automatic Champions League qualification secured, will go about ensuring that Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the long-held goal-scoring record of Hugo Sanchez and Telmo Zarra of 38 league goals in a season. Ronaldo equaled that mark -- despite the protests of pro-Madrid Marca that a goal accredited to Pepe in match week 3 should be CR7's goal -- last weekend with a brace against Villarreal. In Real's past three games, Ronaldo's teammates have been laying on the service for the forward to bang in the goals; do not expect Ronaldo to return any of those favors in what will surely be a one-man show against dead and buried Almeria.
The last semblance of interest in the top half of the table lies in which order Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico will occupy fifth to seventh. But the real action this weekend is at the foot of the table, where six teams will battle to remain in the top division in concurrent kickoffs Saturday. Zaragoza, Deportivo, Getafe, Osasuna, Real Sociedad and Mallorca are the candidates to occupy the final relegation place, and lose their place at the Liga ball, before the clock strikes midnight.
Real Sociedad vs. Getafe
It is said that the Championship playoff in England is the richest match in the world, with the winning team pocketing anything between 20 and 40 million pounds for a single game of soccer.
Getafe faces a singular situation as it faces Sociedad in a must-win encounter for both sides. La Real challenged Real Madrid for the title in 2003 and enjoyed Champions League action the next season before dropping into the endless night of Segunda in 2007. Of all the teams in danger, Sociedad is the best equipped to bounce straight back, especially if Xabi Prieto stays on, as he did during the team's last descent.
Getafe, meanwhile, potentially has 70 to 90 million euros resting on this game. The details of the recent purchase of the club by the Royal Emirates Group have not been fully disclosed, but it's almost inconceivable that there is no relegation clause written into the deal. Plenty of Liga clubs are available for that sort of cash should the buyers decide to pull the plug and move on if Getafe goes down.
Levante vs. Zaragoza
Another team with recent Segunda experience, Zaragoza earned a lifeline against Espanyol last weekend and must cling to it desperately to avoid being drowned anew in the hungry waves of Segunda. Levante may be an amenable opponent, its own safety having been secured with consecutive points against Barcelona and Valencia. Zaragoza must avoid defeat in the Ciutat de Valencia stadium to have any chance of staying up. In the case of a tie and Deportivo and Getafe picking up points, Javier Aguirre's team will go down just the same.
Osasuna vs. Villarreal
Osasuna's goal difference of minus-2, its home form throughout the season and its opponent's latent disinterest in the fixture gives it a considerable advantage in the fight to stay up. Only a thrashing of epic proportions could tip Osasuna into the abyss.
Deportivo vs. Valencia
Relegation would be a crushing blow to Deportivo, which has been a fixture in La Primera for two decades, champion in 2000, Champions League semifinalist in 2004 and runners-up four times, with a pair of cup victories as well. However, it is the only club in the mix with a financial plan in place to soften the fall, and the only team with several players other teams might actually want to buy. There is little except a sold-out Riazor working in Deportivo's favor, and it will require a monumental performance -- or an indifferent one from Valencia -- to escape.
Mallorca vs. Atletico
The long-held notion that 40 points is a barrier between Segunda and survival has been dashed this season, to the detriment of 13th-placed Mallorca. Levante has 45 points and is safe; Mallorca has 44 and could still go down. Fortunately, Michael Laudrup's side welcomes imploding Atletico to the Ono Estadi. Atletico's outgoing coach, a dropped and sulking World Cup Golden Ball winner and the possible final match of its much-coveted goalkeeper should all conspire to Mallorca's benefit.
Hercules vs. Sporting
Nothing rests on this match: Hercules is already relegated; Sporting again assured another season of Primera status. But honorable mention to the Alicante-based club, which arrived in Primera through some questionable methods that were caught on tape as part of a wider investigation into high-level political corruption, yet subsequently dismissed largely because match-fixing only became a criminal offense in Spain last December.
Few will mourn the passing of a club that allegedly buys results but does not bother to pay its players regularly. It will be interesting to see whether Hercules can drag itself out of Segunda next season, or if it will buckle under the weight of what eventually proved to be a financially crippling promotion. In fact, it emerged Tuesday that Hercules faces administrative relegation to Segunda if it cannot raise at least 14 million euros toward its 35 million euro debt by August.