LaLiga is back! Re-evaluating the pre-lockdown team form guide
The return of the Bundesliga has already gone down a hit and now it is time for LaLiga to resume, with June 11th the date to pen down in your diaries. Spanish football returns with a bang on Thursday night, with the Seville derby between Sevilla and Real Betis kicking the 2019/20 campaign back into gear.
More than three months have gone by since Eibar lost 2-1 at home to Real Sociedad in the final match before lockdown and you'd be forgiven for forgetting which players and teams were in good form prior to the tragic Coronavirus pandemic.
Having already re-evaluated the most in-form players pre-lockdown, now is the ideal opportunity to re-assess which teams were flying before the break and those that weren't, just one day out from the return of the 2019/20 LaLiga campaign.
Interestingly, the top four teams in LaLiga where actually the most in-form sides. Barcelona currently lead Real Madrid by two points in the standings, with Sevilla third and Real Sociedad occupying the final Champions League qualifiaction spot in fourth. All four clubs occupy the same spots in our team form rankings.
Team form rankings are based on a six-game run, chronologically weighted so the most recent result carries the greatest impact. Barcelona won five of their final six league matches pre-lockdown, with their only defeat in the Clasico to Madrid to breathe some life into the title race.
Not only did Zinedine Zidane's side get the better of Barcelona but they also defeated city rivals Atletico at the start of their six-game sequence. Unfortunately, they couldn't cut the gap on Barcelona by more as they lost either side of their 2-0 Clasico victory.
The top four were not the only sides performing true to their position prior to lockdown. Real Betis, Levante and Alaves occupy 12th, 13th and 14th in the league, respectively, and also happen to rank 12th, 13th and 14th, respectively, in our form guide.
That was not the case for all teams, however. In fact, some clubs, like Valencia, were really struggling prior to the break. Los Che sit seventh in the league but only five teams were in worse form than Albert Celades' side (6.61 form rating). Valencia have won just two of their last six league matches and were beaten heavily 3-0 away to both Real Sociedad and Getafe in that run.
While Valencia may have welcomed the chance to reset over the break, particularly with a trip to the Bernabeu to come in their second game back, others wouldn't have shared the same sentiment.
For relegation-threatened Celta Vigo and Leganes, the three-month break came at a bad time. Leganes are second from bottom in the league but with only two defeats in their last six league games ranked 11th in our form guide (6.64 rating).
Celta Vigo, meanwhile, will resume the campaign one place above the bottom three but only five teams were in better form prior to lockdown (6.72 rating). Celta were unbeaten in five league matches before football was put on pause, drawing with Madrid and beating Sevilla in that sequence.
