Real Sociedad is taking on Elche live on Monday and the La Liga Spanish Primera División match will be streaming online live at 4 pm ET and should be a great matchup for both sides and comes as Real is 20 points back on the table and they along with everyone else are chasing Barcelona, Atletico Madrid as well as Real Madrid and this is the next chance to get some ground from Estadio Anoeta.
Real Sociedad comes into the match after a win in the Copa del Rey Quarter-finals over Racing Santander and after this they have the next leg of that matchup before picking up the La Liga schedule once again and they have matches coming up against Atletico Madrid as well as Levante and Malaga and those should be tough to get past. The club plays away after this match and on Monday it will be at Estadio Anoeta.
Barcelona and Real Madrid have the Champions League to worry about and that will be coming up soon and offers some of the best matchups in the world in the round of 16. Barcelona has a tough matchup with Manchester City and they will be playing against each other to start at the Etihad Stadium and that is the first leg, while Atletico Madrid is also into the next round and they have AC Milan and that comes after Barca plays on the first day of the next round. Real Madrid starts away with Schalke before the return trip and that comes as the last match of the second leg at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, while Barca will play at Estadio Camp Nou in March the day before.
The Champions League schedule is very anticipated this year and the matchups could be some of the best the tournament has ever seen, especially with the way that Barca and Arsenal are playing and Manchester United is also a team to watch, as they will be motivated to bounce back after losing to teams in the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup. Chelsea is also through to the next round and they will be a team to deal with, while the three La Liga clubs in Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all could end up advancing through and that would be huge for the league as the UCL schedule comes up and that is ahead of the finals way down the line in the spring.
Check here for the live coverage of Real Sociedad and Elche.
Here is a look back on some of the Spanish matches from the past month with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad, who won 1-0 over Villarreal. Messi hit a double as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-0 and qualified 6-0 on aggregate for the King's Cup quarter-finals but they lost Neymar to injury midway through the first half.
Messi and Neymar were returning to the starting lineup but the Brazil forward lasted less than 25 minutes as he twisted his ankle turning awkwardly by the touchline and was taken away on a stretcher.
It was Argentina captain Messi's first start since he injured his hamstring last November and he looked sharp in front of goal.
After slotting home his first in the run-up to halftime, he struck again after the break following a trademark mazy run when he hurdled several challenges and a dive by goal keeper Jordi Codina before tucking the ball into the net.
Xavi came on as a second-half substitute for a landmark 700th appearance for Barcelona.
Real Sociedad also progressed with a 1-0 win at Villarreal, having drawn 0-0 in the first leg of their last 16 tie.
(Reuters)