Madrid (AFP)

Champions League goal: after skating at the start of the season, Atlético Madrid, now third and qualifying for the C1, hopes to confirm its return to form against the relegated Mallorca, Friday at the opening of the 34th day of Liga (22:00) .

Engaged in a reconstruction season, the Madrid club suffered at the start of the championship but coach Diego Simeone took advantage of the interruption linked to the coronavirus to revive his team.

As they waded beyond European places in February, the Colchoneros returned to form after three months of forced break: in six games since the recovery, they have totaled four wins and two draws, the last against Barça losing speed, Tuesday (2-2).

The men of Simeone, 3rd in the ranking (59 pts), stay too far from the two mastodons Barça (2nd, 70 pts) and Real Madrid (1st, 71 pts), but are on track to grab a place in the Champions League this season next.

Enough to nurture beautiful European ambitions for the current edition of the C1, which should end in August: Atlético will be present in mid-August in Lisbon for the quarter-finals of the Champions League after eliminating the tenant of the Liverpool title (1-0, 3-2) in eighths.

Among the other posters of the La Liga weekend, the title race will be the center of attention.

The leader Real Madrid, opposed to Getafe on Thursday evening (10 p.m.) at the end of the 33rd day, will have another major challenge to take up on Sunday at 12 p.m. GMT against another candidate for European places: Athletic Bilbao.

For Barça, on the other hand, the objective is quite different: the men of Quique Setien, in doubt, hope to find colors on Sunday at 22:00 in Villarreal, solid fifth in the ranking and also a candidate for Europe.

Note also, a duel of the red zone between the last, Espanyol Barcelona, ​​and the penultimate Leganés Sunday (17:00), which could be decisive in the race for maintenance.

Program for the 34th day of the Spanish Championship:

Friday:

(10 p.m.) Atlético Madrid - Mallorca

Saturday:

(5:00 p.m.) Celta Vigo - Betis Seville

(7:30 p.m.) Valladolid - Alavés

(10 p.m.) Granada - Valencia

Sunday:

(2:00 p.m.) Athletic Bilbao - Real Madrid

(5:00 p.m.) Espanyol Barcelona - Leganés

(7:30 p.m.) Osasuna - Getafe

(10 p.m.) Villarreal - FC Barcelona

Monday:

(7:30 p.m.) Levante - Real Sociedad

(10 p.m.) Sevilla FC - Eibar

© 2020 AFP