La Liga Week 32 Schedule, Fixtures & Stream: Lionel Messi, Barcelona Play Valencia; Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid Fight For First Place

By Damon Salvadore First Posted: Apr 17, 2015 11:07 AM EDT

Another exciting week of Spanish League soccer is here.

After a slump in March, Real Madrid has once again found their winning ways. Real Madrid has won their last three consecutive games, and sit just two points behind Barcelona in the standings. James Rodriguez in the back in the lineup, and Carlo Ancelotti has his team peaking at the right time.

Cristiano Ronaldo has a La Liga-high 38 goals this season. If Ronaldo can score 13 goals in the final seven games, he would overtake Lionel Messi's 50 goal season of 2011-12. Real Madrid will take on Malaga this week, who they defeated in Week 13. If Real Madrid can defeat Malaga, and Barcelona lose this weekend, Real Madrid will automatically become the first place team.

Real Madrid can also finish Week 32 tied for first place if they win their game, and Barcelona ties against Valencia.

Barcelona won't have it easy this weekend against Valencia, which has allowed the second fewest goals against in the league thanks to goalkeeper Diego Alves. It's unlikely Valencia can win this year's Spanish League title, but they are in fourth place, and they're not giving up yet. Thankfully for Barcelona, they will be playing Valencia at home this weekend.

Last week was very disappointing for Barcelona. What looked like a an easy three-point victory quickly turned into a one-point draw against Sevilla. Lionel Messi and Neymar scored early goals, but Kévin Gameiro found the net in the 87th minute to tie the game. With that draw, Barcelona sits in first place with 75 points, just two ahead of Real Madrid.

Messi leads the team with 34 goals and 15 assists, but Luis Suarez has been playing fantastic lately. The South American trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez have a combined 62 goals and 29 assists. Chilean-born goalkeeper Claudio Bravo leads all of La Liga in minutes played, clean sheets and goals against average. Regardless of how talented Barcelona's roster is, this is easily a must-win game for them.

Atletico Madrid sits in third place in the standings with 66 points, and they will take on Deportivo on Saturday. It's extremely unlikely they will repeat as champions, but they still have hopes of winning the ongoing Champions League.

The La Liga week will end with Elche and Real Sociedad on Monday. Neither of those teams rank in the top 10 in the standings, and have no chance whatsoever of winning the Spanish League Championship. Sorry, Monday Night Soccer isn't always what it's cracked up to be.