La Liga Tips: Fermin Lopez to seize Barcelona opportunity against Villarreal | OneFootball

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Real Sociedad v Girona - Sun, 18:00

The final home game of the Imanol Alguacil era is sure to be an emotional one on Sunday. Though their season has been pretty disappointing by their elevated standards, Alguacil has overseen a fantastic period in charge of his lifelong club and will no doubt get a heart-warming reception at the Reale Arena; one which will condition how the game plays out.

In truth, La Real really need a lightened atmosphere without losing the feeling like they're playing for something at the same time. Their form and performance levels have been down for an extended period, and they come into this game on a dismal run in front of goal, failing to score in four straight league matches.

Though it's been particularly bad of late, that failure on the attacking end has been with them all season long. Only Real Valladolid and Getafe have scored fewer goals than Real Sociedad in La Liga this term, and they rank 14th in the division for xG, highlighting that their underlying creation hasn't been markedly better than what they've managed to put away.

As for opponents Girona, the fact they're now mathematically safe of relegation ought to bring them some much-needed serenity. Michel's side have been a shadow of the team they were last term and never managed to find the football he wants to play, but removing the threat of the drop might just be something that helps them to relax and start to play a bit more freely.

Overall, this looks like a good candidate to be a draw for me. Real Sociedad will try and push the game with it being Alguacil's home send-off, but it's hard to trust much in a team who've attacked as poorly as they have. Meanwhile, Girona have rarely looked like an attacking force this term, but still have the capacity to control a match and keep the opponent at arm's length.

Sevilla v Real Madrid - Sun, 18:00

Sevilla are safe from relegation, which is great news in the immediate sense. In the wider view, it's shambolic that it was ever even a threat against them. 2024-25 will go down as another wasted season for the club, who now look like a far cry from the team who sustained so much European success over the previous decade or so.

After abandoning the Garcia Pimienta project and bringing back the old head Joaquin Caparros to hopefully steer them to safety, it can be considered 'job done' on that front. The impact of Caparros has barely been felt, however, and it feels more like they've assured their place in La Liga next season by default. There's certainly not a lot to be optimistic about in the short term.

If there's one thing that does rouse the Sanchez-Pizjuan, though, it's the arrival of Real Madrid in town. Across the last nine times they've hosted them in La Liga, Sevilla have won (4) as many games as they've lost (4), and managed to avoid defeat in this exact fixture last term (1-1).

Notably, both teams have scored in nine of the last 12 league matches at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, and it's a fixture that has produced a good amount of goals. 44 have been scored across those 12 meetings, with very little between the two sides on the goal front (21 for Sevilla, 23 for Real Madrid).

I don't have much faith in the quality of football from Caparros's side, but they should at least be able to ride the crowd here and compete in spells, aided by a more direct style of play than that which they had under the previous management.

Ultimately, I'll opt for Real Madrid to win but both teams to score. Carlo Ancelotti's men need to finish the season strongly and with some honour, and even if their performances haven't been spellbinding of late, they'll want to ensure a noble ending for a manager who's given them and the club a tremendous service.

Villarreal v Barcelona - Sun, 18:00

The title is in the bag for Barcelona, and finally they can start to look towards next season without being mired in a schedule of having to compete to their maximum every three or four days. Granted, Hansi Flick isn't the type to start letting his team coast, but there'll naturally be some climbdown and taking care of his squad that'll start to occur from this point.

Indeed, it'd be logical for Barcelona to start resting some of their top performers from the season - specifically those in midfield and forward areas, and especially the 17-year-old Lamine Yamal who has played a huge amount of football for a player of his age (even if he's already one of the best in the world).

A name to look out for in this one, provided Flick does ring some changes and look to content the outer edges of his squad, is Fermin Lopez. The 22-year-old isn't quite as heralded as some of the other youngsters in this Barcelona team, but he's certainly a player with a big future ahead of him. Dani Olmo will not have an easy time next season assuring his place in the starting spot.

When Fermin plays, he rarely goes quietly. Just look at the impact he's had off the bench in Barcelona's last two games - were it not for a ricocheted handball against Real Madrid, he'd have delivered a truly iconic goal to seal the Clasico and remove their rivals from the title race. And then against Espanyol during the week, he capped off another cameo with a fine strike past Joan Garcia to finally wrap up their title win.

Though Barcelona might not be at their absolute sharpest in terms of a balanced performance here, one thing they won't do is back off their total commitment to attack. Flick's side are rarely in an uneventful game, and even with rotations on the menu, they'll still face Villarreal with intentions of doing damage on the offensive front.