From top to bottom: A sixty-point chasm between Barcelona and Valladolid

Bottom versus top. Relegated against near-champions. However one chooses to frame it, the gulf between Valladolid and Barcelona is vast.

In fact, the history books confirm it: this is among the most significant disparities ever recorded prior to kick-off in a La Liga fixture — specifically, the fourth largest.

There are 60 points between the two sides: Barcelona sit on 76, while Valladolid languish on just 16. Hansi Flick's men have racked up 24 wins, while Alvaro Rubio's side have suffered 25 defeats. They fall just short of the all-time record, which stands at a 66-point difference.

66 points: Granada vs Real Madrid

And one needn't look too far back. In La Liga matchday 35 of last season, Real Madrid travelled to Los Carmenes with 87 points, while Granada had only managed 21 — though they at least avoided the foot of the table (Almeria held that spot with 17).

Despite fielding a heavily rotated side ahead of their Champions League tie against Bayern, the already crowned champions strolled to a 4-0 win.

64 points: Cordoba vs Barcelona

Second on this unusual podium is Barcelona. Again, it was matchday 35, this time in the 2014/15 season.

The Catalans arrived at the Nuevo Arcangel with 84 points — 64 more than Cordoba, who were rooted to the bottom. Fighting neck-and-neck with Real Madrid for the title, Luis Enrique's formidable MSN attack dismantled Jose Antonio Romero's side in an 8-0 thrashing.

61 points: Granada vs Real Madrid

Though it might sound like an error, the third largest point gap came in another Granada vs Real Madrid clash — this one during the 2016/17 campaign.

Granada, again in penultimate place, hosted a Madrid side sitting second. The 61-point gap translated into another routine 4-0 win for the visitors.

60 points: Barcelona vs Valladolid

Which brings us to this weekend's protagonists. The fourth widest margin previously occurred on the final day of the 2009/10 season, when Barcelona hosted Valladolid at the Camp Nou.

The hosts had 96 points; Valladolid, under Javier Clemente, had 36. Barcelona needed a win to clinch the title, while Valladolid needed a miracle to stay up.

It ended 4-0 — celebration in Catalonia, heartbreak in Castile. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, hoping for a Barcelona slip-up to steal the crown, were up against Malaga — a team 59 points below them in the standings.

On paper, history suggests this weekend's encounter should result in another comfortable win for the league leaders.

Yet this is football — and football rarely follows the script. Barcelona, after all, have one eye firmly fixed on their upcoming Champions League semi-final second leg against Inter, with key players missing and others being rested. But football, as always, is a story waiting to be rewritten.