Real to play Kuwait on May 16 Messi, Madrid looking to break marks in last round

MADRID, May 10, (AP): Spanish champion Real Madrid will play a friendly match against Kuwait on May 16.
Madrid says on its website it will close the season against the Kuwait national team at the Kaifan Stadium in Kuwait City during the club’s first visit to the oil-rich Gulf nation.
Madrid won its record 32nd league title this season.

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MADRID: Lionel Messi will look to add to his record for goals in a season in the last round of the league, and champion Real Madrid can do the same as it bids to become the first Spanish club to earn 100 points in a season.
Barcelona travels to Real Betis on Saturday with Messi having scored a record 50 league goals and 74 overall. Madrid’s 117 goals are also a record, and the team can reach 100 points by beating Mallorca on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid will look to follow up its victory in the Europa League final on Wednesday by stealing the last Champions League qualifying place from fourth-place Malaga. Mallorca, Levante and Osasuna are all chasing European places.
There are still two relegation spots to be confirmed, with Granada, Villarreal, Rayo Vallecano, Zaragoza and Sporting Gijon all looking to avoid joining Racing Santander in the second division next season.
Messi has already scored an unprecedented 72 goals. At Betis, he can widen the gap to Cristiano Ronaldo’s former mark of 40 goals in a season. The only other player to have scored 70 goals in a first-division season was Archie Stark of Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League in 1924-25.
Barcelona will play without defender Carles Puyol due to injury. The Spain defender will also miss the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25 and the European Championship next month to recover from surgery on his right knee.

Barcelona is also without Chile striker Alexis Sanchez. Midfielder Seydou Keita is a doubt, while Gerard Pique and Isaac Cuenca are available. Xavi Hernandez is also likely to return only for the cup final as the club looks to extend its own record goal scoring season. The Catalan team has 112 so far this season.
Ronaldo will add to his own career season as his 45 league goals have propped up his 59 scores in all competitions. The Portugal forward would become only the sixth player to surpass 60 goals in a European league season with a goal against Mallorca.
Madrid is at 97 points, two away from the 2010 Barcelona record at 99.
Mallorca is among a handful of teams looking to close the season in the European spots, with the Balearic Island club winning four straight to sit just three points off Malaga.
Malaga will secure its place in the qualifying round of Europe’s top-tier competition with a victory over Sporting on Sunday. Sporting is certain to drop with anything less than a victory and favorable results from other matches.

A Malaga draw could provide an opportunity for Levante to sneak in as it looks to capitalize against an Athletic Bilbao coming off the disappointment of its 3-0 Europa League loss to Atletico. Atletico must win at Villarreal to maintain its own hopes.
Malaga has 55 points, Atletico is on 53, Levante and Mallorca share 52 and Osasuna has 51.
Granada is without suspended players Dani Benitez, Moises Hurtado, Guillherme Siqueira and Alex Geijo for Sunday’s game against Rayo Vallecano due to their altercations with the referee at the close of their last league game.
Granada has 42 points, Villarreal has 41, Rayo is on 40 alongside Zaragoza, and Sporting has 37. Zaragoza, which has won three straight, travels to Getafe looking to cap an improbable turnaround to a season in which it spent nearly half of its time in last place.
Third-place Valencia plays Real Sociedad in coach Unai Emery’s last game in charge, while Osasuna faces Santander and Espanyol plays Sevilla.

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