Match preview: Deportivo La Coruna vs Real Madrid

Madrid find themselves one point behind Barcelona ahead of the 38th and final gameweek of the Spanish season, with their inferior head-to-head record meaning the Catalans will scoop the prize if the pair finish level on points at the top. The capital club have done brilliantly to climb back into the race with 11 consecutive triumphs in the league and, while the championship could be beyond them, Zidane and his players deserve an awful lot of credit for putting enough pressure on Barcelona to remain in contention for the trophy right up until the final day of the campaign.

Deportivo, meanwhile, have also done well to steer clear of the relegation zone despite a substantial slump in the second half of the season. Victor Sanchez’s charges have won only two games since the middle of December, drawing 12 and losing nine in that time, but an impressive 2-0 victory away at Villarreal last time out made absolutely sure of their top flight status for another year. There is clearly work to be done next term to avoid the negative momentum continuing, but Deportivo can look back with pride on a season in which they once again ultimately realised their principal goal of staying in La Liga two years after their promotion from the second tier.

Madrid should prove too strong for the Branquiazuis on Saturday afternoon, particularly given that Deportivo are in poor form and have nothing left to play for. With a two-week gap between their last league game and the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in Milan, Madrid will be fully focused on the task in hand and should make reasonably light work of defeating Deportivo as they wait to see whether Granada are able to help them out by taking vital points from table-toppers Barcelona.

Taking everything into account, the odds on a 3-1 Madrid victory look to be the best that are available in the correct scoreline market. Indeed, both teams are likely to find the back of the net given the fact that, despite their excellent recent results, Madrid have kept only one clean sheet in the top flight in their last 11 outings away from home.