What to look out for in final La Liga weekend

La Liga's net weekend features deuce teams battling to avoid relegation and trey dreaming of qualifying for European rivalry, among other issues to solve.

AFP Sport picks out five key talking points ahead of this weekend's matches.

Although Real Madrid end the season without a major trophy, French striker Kylian Mbappe has scored 41 times across all competitions and leads La Liga's scoring charts with 29.

With champions Barcelona's striker Robert Lewandowski trailing by four goals, Mbappe seems to have sewn up Spain's Pichichi trophy for the league's top scorer.

Against Real Sociedad on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu he will be looking to find the net again and claim the European Golden Shoe.

Mbappe trails Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres by half a point in the standings, and a single goal would take him above the Swede, whose season is over.

Behind Mbappe lurks Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, who can also win if he outscores Mbappe by two goals against Crystal Palace on the Premier League's final day.

Luka Modric said Thursday that Saturday's game will be his final match at the Santiago Bernabeu after 13 years with Los Blancos.

The veteran Croatian, who turns 40 in September, has been a key player at Madrid since joining from Tottenham in 2012, winning six Champions Leagues and La Liga four times among other trophies.

Modric will play out his final Madrid games in the United States at the Club World Cup, but fans will give their captain an emotional goodbye this weekend.

There will be a fond farewell to coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is departing to lead the Brazilian national team.

Two of Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna will be packing their bags for a European tour next season, with one team set to reach the Europa League and another the Conference League.

Celta, who visit Getafe, have a one-point advantage on the other two clubs. Celta last played continental football in 2017, when they lost to Manchester United in the Europa League semi-finals.

Rayo Vallecano, hosting Mallorca, have come close to reaching Europe in recent years but have not done so since the 2000-01 season.

Osasuna, meanwhile, travel to face Alaves. They reached the Conference League play-off in the 2023-24 season but lost to Club Brugge.

If Celta Vigo and Rayo both win, they will take seventh and eighth, with Osasuna needing one of the two to slip up.

At the bottom, there are only two sides who could go down with already-relegated Las Palmas and Valladolid.

Espanyol are 17th, two points above Leganes in 18th. Leganes must win against Valladolid and hope Espanyol drop points at home against Las Palmas, both on Saturday.

The Madrid minnows have the superior head-to-head so if they finish level on points with the Catalan side, they will stay up.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak is poised to win the Zamorra trophy for La Liga's best goalkeeper for a record sixth time.

It is awarded to the stopper who concedes the fewest goals per game on average, having played at least 28 league matches.

Oblak leads Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois in the standings, with 0.83 goals conceded per game.

The Belgian, who has let in 0.97 per game, would have to keep a clean sheet, while Oblak must concede five at Girona on Sunday.

Oblak has conceded one more goal than Courtois but has played six more matches so has the lower average.

Friday

Real Betis v Valencia

Saturday

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad , Leganes v Valladolid, Espanyol v Las Palmas , Getafe v Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano v Mallorca, Alaves v Osasuna

Sunday

Girona v Atletico Madrid , Villarreal v Sevilla , Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona

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Manchester United

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