La Liga Tips: Toni Kroos to lead Real Madrid in final Bernabeu appearance | OneFootball

Osasuna v Villarreal - Sat, 13:00

Villarreal know they'll finish 8th in La Liga this season whatever happens at El Sadar, although you can bet they're not making this trip with the idea that nothing is in play beyond personal pride. Following his incredible four-goal haul against Real Madrid last time out, their front man Alexander Sorloth stands on the verge of making a considerable bit of history.

The Norwegian has netted 23 goals in La Liga this season, which currently squares him in pole position to be named this season's 'Pichichi' - an award which has honoured the top scorer in every season since 1952-53, named after former Athletic Club striker Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno.

The last player to win the award while not playing for either Real Madrid or Barcelona was Diego Forlan all the way back in 2008-09, while only one Villarreal player has ever scooped the award in the club's history. That also happens to be Diego Forlan, who did so on the back of a 25-goal haul in 2004-05 when they finished third in the table.

Going into the weekend, Sorloth (23) leads his closest challenger Artem Dovbyk (21) by two goals. However, with Girona's final game coming at home to already-relegated Granada and being at Montilivi where they've scored for fun this season, you can be sure they've not thrown the towel in on the Pichichi yet - it'll still be very alive in the mind of Dovbyk.

If you're starting to think I've overblown the importance of all this, some wonderful footage on Spanish TV last week captured the likes of Sorloth, Dovbyk and Jude Bellingham all being very obviously attuned to the state of the Pichichi race during their respective games. And although the latter's probably out of reach now, the battle will certainly resume between Sorloth and Dovbyk this weekend.

While Villarreal and Sorloth go on the attack to try defend his lead, I'll back Osasuna to fashion some chances of their own while fighting back and get themselves on the scoresheet too. The visitors have kept just four clean sheets in their last 29 in La Liga, and played out a 4-4 thriller versus Real Madrid last time out.

Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid don't have much to play for on Sunday - neither can move up or down in the table - but we can still expect an intense game of football at the Reale Arena. Imanol Alguacil and Diego Simeone simply don't know any other way.

It's been a challenging season overall for La Real, who saw their league form suffer while trying to compete in the Champions League. After an outstanding performance in the group stage, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Paris Saint-Germain and saw their campaign fall a little flatter than they'd like, especially with surprise package Girona removing any real chance of them being able to solidify themselves as the fourth-best team in Spain and get closer to the 'big three'.

Things have picked up towards the end of the season, however, and Real Sociedad have now assured their place in the Europa League next term. After big wins over fellow European rivals Valencia and Real Betis, they could now equal their longest winning run of 2023-24 in La Liga in their final game of the campaign (3).

For Atletico Madrid, they've ticked the box of Champions League qualification but not many Atletico fans will be asking for the 2023-24 season review any time soon. A big summer is coming for Diego Simeone's side, and one would imagine they're looking forward to going back to the drawing board and trying to improve their possibilities next term.

Although the Colchoneros have been poor on the road this season, I expect them to compete and put in a prideful performance on the final day. It might not be enough to win, but games at the Reale Arena are rarely open and often fought on fine margins, so a close encounter might well be in store.

Without picking a winner, I'll opt for Brais Mendez to score or assist anytime here instead. The 27-year-old has been in fine form of late and looks refreshed after returning from an injury lay-off, while he's either netted or set a teammate up in five of his last seven outings.

A Saturday night game at the Santiago Bernabeu to close out a title-winning season will be a festival in itself, and even more so with it being the final send-off before they go to Wembley in search of another European Cup. However, the biggest topic might well be that it's the final time Toni Kroos will play for the club at the Bernabeu.

It's hard to convey just how big a loss Kroos will be for the club. His time in the Spanish capital has been filled with glory and his honours list has swelled considerably, but even at 34 years of age, the German has very arguably played his best ever season in 2023-24. Indeed, his farewell on Saturday night will be about celebrating one of Real Madrid's greatest ever midfielders, but also with the sentiment that the people are seeing a player truly go out at the top level.

Within the party atmosphere, I'll back Kroos to either score or assist in this game as part of a treble. He'll no doubt be plenty encouraged by the crowd to try get on the scoresheet, and he's notched an impressive eight assists in La Liga this term in any case.

Even if Real Madrid don't need much help in terms of winning games in La Liga, it's hard to look beyond all that's surrounding this game and think it ends up with anything other than a home victory. Carlo Ancelotti's side have won their last seven home league games by an aggregate score of 22-2, while Real Betis will likely arrive in the capital missing a number of key players too.

Betis' player of the season Isco will miss out on a trip back to his old side, while the spine of their team could also be missing with Guido Rodriguez and German Pezzella both injury doubts. Along with a Real Madrid win and Kroos to score or assist, I'll add in 2+ fouls for Marc Roca who could well deputise in midfield for the visitors, and who has the highest fouls conceded per 90 rate for Betis in La Liga this term (2.3).

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