Real and Barca face resilience tests in La Liga

Real Madrid and Barcelona resume the race for the Primera Liga title this weekend needing to demonstrate their powers of recovery after being hit by body blows in the Champions League.

Leaders Real were dumped out of Europe by AS Roma after a 2-1 reverse at home on Wednesday while Barcelona lost forward Lionel Messi for six weeks after he tore a muscle in his left thigh in Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Celtic.

Bernd Schuster’s side host fifth-placed Espanyol on Saturday knowing that the Bernabeu is no longer the fortress it was. Their defeat there to Roma, their fifth in seven in all competitions home and away, came hot on the heels of a 1-0 loss to Getafe in Madrid on Feb. 24.

Ernesto Valverde’s men are out of the running for the title but they are in the unaccustomed position of chasing a top-four finish, and have already proved they can mix it with the best having beaten Real 2-1 in October.

They overcame Valencia 2-0 last weekend to end a miserable run of three successive league defeats and need to make up lost ground.

“I don’t like this idea that you go there to put on a good display and to put on a brave face when you lose. As the current champions and leaders Real are favourites, but that doesn’t mean they will necessarily win,” Valverde said.

Second-placed Barcelona lost 4-2 away Atletico Madrid last weekend to slip five points behind their arch-rivals.

Although they cruised through to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-2 aggregate win over Celtic, the injury to Messi has dominated the headlines.

The absence of the Argentina international, who has lifted the side since returning from a similar injury in January, will deprive coach Frank Rijkaard of his most effective player at opening up opposition defences.

“Messi’s absence leaves a big gap. He is unique and his abilities are above and beyond the rest,” Barcelona’s Iceland forward Eidur Gudjohnsen said.

Barca face high-flying Villarreal at the Nou Camp on Sunday, who are seven points behind them in third place. Like Espanyol, Manuel Pellegrini’s side have already inflicted a defeat on their hosts, having thumped Barca 3-1 back in October.

Elsewhere, Real Zaragoza’s fourth coach of the season, Manolo Villanova, will be looking for an immediate reaction from his relegation-threatened side when he takes charge for his first game at home to fourth-placed Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Zaragoza were expected to be challenging for a Champions League place this season, but are only kept out of the relegation places by goal difference after a run of four successive defeats.