LaLiga: when it returns, fixture schedule, dates of games

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez gave the green light on Saturday for the return of professional football the week of 8 June, which coincides when most of the country’s provinces will be in phase 3 of the lockdown easing. With the starting pistol now set, and LaLiga’s top clubs taking their places on the blocks, we consider how the final 11 matchdays will take us to the finish line.

LaLiga’s completion calendar

Barcelona lead the way with a two point advantage over Real Madrid, there's just five points separating the next five places, and it's almost as tight down the bottom, as the next set of fixtures, matchday 28, looms. We the approval now being given, those game should be played the weekend of 12-14 June, just as LaLiga authorities had wanted, and it will make 90 days since the state of alarm was initiated.

The safety protocols will be in place, including the games being played behind closed doors and five substitutions being allowed per team, and there will be the excitement of the Seville derby to get things going. Sevilla vs Betis is expected to be the one to resume the championship following the coronavirus break.

Confirming the schedule

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, just after hearing the news sent out a message of satisfaction and acknowledged that there was still no confirmed date for the restart of the competition. "We will arrange it in the next few days and we will sit down to coordinate the details before announcing the exact date," he said.

The idea that has been gaining ground is to finish the league the weekend of 25-26 July, to leave the month of August solely for European competitions. UEFA chief Ceferin had asked leagues to have their business tidied away by 29 July so this would be met.

A gap of 72 hours must be kept between games of the same club and this could well be achieved to allow the penultimate round offixtures to be played 17-19 July. Teams would then have one week before playing the final game of the season, on 25 July. The remaining 11 matchdays completed in 43 days.

Time slots are another factor that we await confirmation of - considering that it will be in the Spanish summer heat - but many believe that in the more northerly regions games could be played around 18:00 while in the hotter areas kick-offs could be as late as 23:00. No doubt the additional substitutes will be welcome additions, as would water breaks.

Check out the full fixture list and LaLiga table.