TSN is your home for La Liga with a star-studded featured match this weekend. Canada internationals Tani Oluwaseyi and Tajon Buchanan and the rest of Villarreal host Real Madrid on Saturday. Then on Sunday, leaders Barcelona take on Oviedo.
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid, Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT on TSN+
In the world of football, much can change in only a week and Alvaro Arbeloa hopes he’s steadied the ship.
Named Real Madrid manager after the surprise sacking of Xabi Alonso earlier this month, Arbeloa received a baptism by fire as his team was embarrassed in a Copa del Rey defeat to Segunda Division side Albacete in his first match in charge. While fan unrest remains, some of it has been quieted by back-to-back wins for Real – a 2-0 win over Levante last Saturday in league play before a 6-1 demolition of Monaco at the Bernabeu in the Champions League with Kylian Mbappé scoring a brace against his former club.
At his pre-match availability this week, Arbeloa said the Monaco thrashing could represent a change of fortunes for his club.
“Hopefully, the game against Monaco will be the turning point we need,” the former Spain defender said. “Kylian said it and we commented on it before the game, that it was time for the players to step up and show the fans what they want to do, to fight together and bring them joy. It’s something very important and they did it, they did it, with a lot of effort, a lot of work and a lot of unity, which is very important to try to achieve our objectives. Hopefully, everything will continue like that.”
That new mindset will be tested on Saturday when Los Blancos take on Villarreal at El Madrigal. It’s a meeting of the second- and third-place teams in the table. Real sits second on 48 points, one behind leaders Barcelona, while the Yellow Submarine is in third on 41 but with a game in hand.
Historically, the rivalry between the two teams has been decidedly one-sided. In 54 matches, Real has won 31 games, Villarreal has taken six and points have been shared in 17. In October, Real won the reverse fixture at the Bernabeu by a score of 3-1 with Vini Jr. bagging a brace. The Yellow Submarine’s last win over Real came in April of 2023 as Villarreal claimed the league double over Los Blancos with a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu. But prior to that season, you would have to go back to 2018 for Villarreal’s last win over Madrid.
Even with the traditional dominance over the opposition, Arbeloa still sees Saturday’s match as a tricky one.
“[The] match is very important because of what it means, because of the opposition and because of three points that would give us a lot of confidence,” Arbeloa said. “It’s one of the toughest games we have in the league. We know that we’ll have to be at our best and play at a very high level if we want to get the three points. That’s what we’re focused on and that’s what we’ve been working on over the last few days.”
On the other side of the pitch will be a Yellow Submarine team coming off of two straight losses. After dropping a 2-0 decision to Real Betis in the league on Saturday, Villarreal fell 2-1 to Ajax in its penultimate Champions League fixture on Tuesday. Mississauga, Ont.’s Oluwaseyi scored the lone goal for the hosts with a fine volley. With only one match remaining, a trip to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, Villarreal is still looking for its first Champions League win. On a single point from a draw with Juventus in October, Villarreal sits 35th of 36 teams in the table.
“That’s football,” manager Marcelino said of the loss. “We’ve had several matches like this in the Champions League. We had chances. We could have wrapped it up in the first half. We left it open, also because their goalkeeper was decisive. We scored a goal, then we scored an early own goal, and afterwards, when we were pushing hard for the win, they made it 1-2.”
Marcelino, now in his third season at La Ceramica, didn’t try to sugarcoat his team’s performance in Europe this season.
“We’re disappointed,” he said. “We had a very poor Champions League campaign. We’ll try to win in Germany and focus on La Liga to try and play in this competition again next year.”
With the sting of the Ajax loss still fresh in their minds, Marcelino says his club must turn the page in a hurry to prepare for one of world football’s superpowers.
“We know they have enormous individual potential,” the former Marseille manager said of Real. “They’ve had ups and downs during the season, which led to a change on the bench, and whenever there’s a change of coach, the players get a boost. But the truth is that Real Madrid, regardless of all circumstances, have a lot of quality. Players of a very high level. And when they’re on it, focused, intense and playing collectively, they can beat anyone. We’re going to compete and we’re playing at home.”
While Villarreal might not suggest they are in a title race, they’re right there and a win over Real would demonstrate some real intent. The team has never won a La Liga title. The closest it came to one was a runner-up finish to Real in 2008. The Yellow Submarine ended the season eight points behind the champions.
Marcelino says nobody at the club is unaware of the challenge ahead of them on Saturday.
“I don’t think winning tomorrow is more important than winning at any other time, but it is important because it brings you closer to the highest level,” he said. “We know how difficult it will be, but we have to compete. We have arguments. We have to reach our best level. It will take an almost perfect match from us and a bad day from them, and we have to be clinical in front of goal.”
Real enters the match with no new injuries coming out of the Monaco match. Rodrygo, who missed the past three matches with a hamstring injury, is set to return. Long-term absentees Eder Militao (muscular) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (muscular) remain out. Antonio Rudiger (knee) and Ferland Mendy (muscular) are doubtful. France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is unavailable due to yellow card accumulation. Vini Jr. will be suspended for one match upon his next booking.
For Villarreal, winger Alfonso Pedraza is a question mark. He did not feature against Ajax after breaking his nose in the Betis loss. Midfielder Pape Gueye has returned to the club after Senegal’s triumph at the African Cup of Nations and Marcelino expects him to be available for selection.
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Barcelona vs. Oviedo, Sunday at 9:45 a.m. ET/6:45 a.m. PT on TSN+
Saturday’s match against Oviedo will be Barcelona’s ninth of 2026, but its first of the new year at Camp Nou. The league leaders welcome bottom-side Oviedo, who are looking to buoy their survival hopes against the Blaugrana.
Barca heads into action coming off a come-from-behind win in the Champions League on Wednesday. After falling behind 1-0 and 2-1, Barca battled back for a 4-2 win over Slavia Prague with Fermin Lopez scoring twice. It was the team’s eighth comeback win of the season.
“It wasn’t easy out there today,” manager Hansi Flick said after the win. “It was really cold and Slavia are a physical team. I said before the game that it would be physical and that they have some great players and it’s not easy to defend against them. I am really happy with the team’s reaction and in the end we deserved the three points, especially after our much better second half performance.”
With the victory in Czechia, Barca now sits ninth in the table with one match remaining. A ninth-place finish would mean Barca would enter the playoff round. Their final match comes at home on Wednesday against Copenhagen. The team knows that anything less than a win likely puts a top-eight finish and a bye out of reach.
“We have seen today how tough the Champions League is,” Flick said in Prague. “The most important thing is to win and next Wednesday all will be decided – we have to get three points and then see what happens.”
But before then, there is the matter of Oviedo. The Asturian side is back in the top flight for the first time since 2001 and their return has been a struggle. Through 20 matches, the team has won just twice and sits seven points behind Valencia for the final safe spot. Oviedo heads to Camp Nou in the midst of a 15-game winless run. The team’s last victory came all the way back on Sept. 30 against Valencia.
Goalkeeper Aaron Escandell acknowledges that the team is struggling mightily at present.
“It’s not pleasant for anyone, none of us are proud, and it’s our responsibility,” Escandell, known mononymously as Aaron, said. “But if you don’t face these matches with excitement… when you’re a kid, you dream of playing against these teams. We have to go in with enthusiasm.”
Last time out, the team fell 3-2 to Osasuna in a match that they led twice. Victor Munoz scored in second-half stoppage stoppage to give Osasuna the win after they had tied the match in the 75th.
Aaron says the loss was particularly bitter.
“It’s the defeat that has hurt the most this season. I left very frustrated,” he said. “We struggled to score goals, and now we do, we went ahead twice, and they turned it around. We were deeply affected.”
Barca won the reverse fixture in September by a score of 3-1. Oviedo actually led the match, opening the scoring in the 33rd through Alberto Reina, and carried the lead into the half. But Barca got second-half goals from Eric Garcia, Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo for the comfortable victory.
Flick’s side comes into the match with a fresh injury from the Champions League contest. Pedri is expected to be out of action for up to six weeks with a hamstring ailment. He joins Gavi (ACL) and Andreas Christensen (ACL) as long-term absentees. Ferran Torres picked up a muscular injury in last week’s 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad. While he is not expected to be out long, the Spain forward will not be fit in time to take on Oviedo.
Former England under-21 midfielder Ovie Ejaria remains out of action for Oviedo with an undisclosed injury. The Arsenal and Liverpool youth product last featured on Dec. 12.
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More La Liga action on TSN
– Rayo Vallecano vs. Osasuna, Saturday at 7:45 a.m. ET/4:45 a.m. PT on TSN+
– Valencia vs. Espanyol, Saturday at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT on TSN+
– Sevilla vs. Athletic Club, Saturday at 12:15 p.m. ET/9:15 a.m. PT on TSN+
– Atletico vs. Mallorca, Sunday at 7:45 a.m. ET/4:45 a.m. PT on TSN4/TSN+
– Alaves vs. Real Betis, Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET/11:45 a.m. PT on TSN+
