MADRID, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Teams in Spain have no time to draw breath as La Liga moves directly the 33rd round of matches this week to allow for next weekend's Copa del Rey final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to be a stand-alone fixture.
League leader, FC Barcelona plays on Tuesday night at home to seventh place Mallorca, with the chance to again pile the pressure on a Real Madrid side that plays away to Getafe on Wednesday night.
The timing of the two matches has again caused controversy, with Barcelona getting 24 hours more to prepare for the Cup final, although it's probably a toss-up to decide whether Flick would rather his players had 24 hours extra rest ahead of Tuesday or Saturday.
Despite a miracle fightback from 3-1 down at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday, Barca looked flat for 65 minutes of the game after its Champions League tie away to Borussia Dortmund last Tuesday.
Flick also lost top scorer Robert Lewandowski to a muscle injury with the Polish striker missing Tuesday's game and almost certain to be unavailable for the Cup final.
Left back Alejandro Balde is also sidelined with a muscle problem and Flick will be crossing his fingers that nobody else is injured.
Ferran Torres will probably start against Mallorca, with Lamine Yamal back in the side and Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia probably starting in central defense to rest Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi (although Garcia could also push into midfield).
Tuesday's second match sees Valencia host Espanyol in a meeting between two sides that have hit form at the right time to escape the relegation dogfight and a win for either would all-but assure their top-flight survival for another year.
Real Madrid visits Getafe on Wednesday night, while Athletic Club Bilbao is at home to Las Palmas, Celta hosts Villarreal and Alaves is at home to Real Sociedad in a Basque derby, with the remaining fixtures on Thursday. ■
