Week25: Top5 Saturday

Top 5 performers from tonight's games:

D. Aranzubía - Deportivo - Goalkeeper 25.00
I. Rakitic - Sevilla - Midfielder 17.50
Negredo - Sevilla - Forward 17.00
Koke - Athl Madrid - Midfielder 16.50
Pinto - Barcelona - Goalkeeper 16.00

Week25: Saturday night

Managed to get both A.Madrid goalscorers Koke and Reyes, and Pinto for Barca in goal, also great return from Angel for Gijon. Only Adebayor was a big dissapointment. Wish I had switched Tamudo for Sergio Garcia - I saw that one coming for Espanyol.

Tonights results

Mallorca 0 - 3 Barca
Deportivo 0 - 0 Real
A.Madrid 2 -2 Sevilla
Espanyol 4 -1 Sociedad
Gijon 0 -0 Zaragoza

My points from tonight:

Pinto, Barca, 16 pts

Adriano, Barca, 6pts
Jose Angel, Gijon, 13.5 pts

Ozil, Real, 8pts
Di Maria, Real, 9.5
Koke, A.Mad, 16.5
Reyes, A.Mad, 14

Adebayor, Real, 3.5
Tamudo, Sociedad, 8

Week25: what a difference a Xavi makes

New article published on forzafutbol: Xavi and Barca

Week 25 preview: The Outsiders

Barca youngsters Pinto (left) and Bojan (right) playing baseball

A look at some of the tempting fantasy football selections from La Liga this weekend in each position.

In Goal

The most tempting GKs have to be - in descending order::

1. Pinto, 9.66 - BARCA @ mallorca (playing in the place of injured Valdes)
2. Kameni, 10.46 - ESP v rso (get him while he's cheap!)
3. Catalyud, 10.11 - HER v get (Getafe v poor away from home)
4. Cuellar, 10.68 - SPORTING GIJON v zaragoza
5. Casillas 14.66 - RMAD @ dep. (Returning from suspension in what should be a routine week. A bit boring though)

Really, its hard to look beyond Pinto. Consider he is the cheapest keeper likely to start as well.

In Attack:

A lot depends on who you're holding on to, but for arguments sake, imagine you're starting from scratch this week:

Top outsider picks

1. S. Fernandez, 11.08, MALAGA v alm
Games involving Malaga tend to involve goals. Fernandez has 11 pts two weeks running from a range of areas (corners, shots, assists, yum)
2. David Barral, 6.59, GIJON v zaragoza
Why not reward this impish striker with a run out? Barral is Gijon's second highest scorer with 3 and 2nd highest SOTer with 11.  Zaragoza are rubbish too. If you're feeling really brave, why not Nacho Novo too. Valued 4.96!
3. Caicedo, 12, LEVANTE v Osasuna
Caicedo didn't get a sniff at the Bernabeau but the lanky Ecuadorian is solid at home. He has 9 goals in 17 overall. Osasuna are poor away.
4. Trezeguet, 14, HERCULES v getafe
The elegant frenchman has 8 in 14 this season. The scoring onus is on the striker with Nelson Valdes missing.

Midfield

1. Valdo and Juanlu for LEVANTE vs Osasuna.
Both at 8 and Levante's most effective attacking options from midfield.
2. Farinos, 7, HERCULE v getafe
A legend who is being legendary. 16 and 5 in his last two games makes this bargain player a massive temptation.
3. WHOEVER replaces Xavi for BARCA @ mallorca
Could be Affellay, but probably Keita. Both a bargain at 3.

Defence
1. Adriano, 7.33,  BARCA@ mallorca
Always does well when he replaces Alves.
2. Botia, 2.66, GIJON v Zgza
3. Ulfalesji, 7, AMAD v sev
4. Any Sporting Gijon or Levante guys.

My team?

GK. Pinto

D. Adriano - Barca
D. Del Horno - Levante
D. Jose Angel - Gijon

M Ozil (5.45) Impossible to drop at this value
M Di Maria (6.11) " " "
M Koke (4.69) a bargain, and a lot of fun
M Reyes (15) solid

(Despite his 400% return (4pts), Almeria's Mbami has to go I'm afraid)

F Adebayor can stay. (at 8.51) He shoots a lot even if he doesn't score. Just hoping Benzema's sudden determination to be good doesn't see the Man City loanee benched.
F Tamudo (11.5, now 15.) An outsider to score at Espanyol but doing a great job up front for RSO and deserves some faith. It will be all about the ex-ESP man.
F Trezeguet (14)

Week 25 preview: Atletico Madrid v Sevilla

Ok Koke?

Atletcio Madrid 9th v Seville 7th

A massive game for two of the liga's most unpredictable sides. Both sides having an up and down season, with inconsistent form, although both scrapped 1-0 wins last week. Some are billing this as a Europa Cup 6 pointer. A win for either side would be a massive boon.

Predictions:
Atletico are favourites.

• Reyes is a persistent threat even when Atletico struggle, and especially at home. Has scored 20+ in three of his last seven appearances.
• Aguero is back amongst the goals, but expensive at 22.
• One outsider it may be worth taking an inexpensive punt on is Koke. This youngster had a great game at Zaragoza last week and may well have more responsibilities if Forlan misses the game with injury. He's had four appearnaces, averages 3, and got 3 pts last week. Priced only 4.68.
• For Seville, the main temptation would have to be GK Varas, but only if he was drafted in for 4.8 the week before last. He kept a clean sheet and made a few saves to earn 16pts. Palop has a knock.

Fantastic statistical forecast here at Accuscore

Predicted score: 2-0. Goals for Kun and Reyes.

Week 25 preview: Espanyol v Real Sociedad

The first preview for Week 25

Espanyol 6th v Real Sociedad 8th

• Espanyol have slumped to 6th while RSO have been climbing to 8th.
• Espanyol have lost 4 in a row - seeing the once imperious GK Kameni's value plumet to 10.
• But Espanyol have only lost thrice at home to Barca, Madrid and Villarreal
• RSO have lost only 1 in 4 (at the Bernabeau)
• Callejon and Duscher are carrying knocks for ESP
• Tamudo scored for Espanyol the last time that Espanyol lost at home to RSO (8 years ago)

Predictions

An Espanyol victory has to be a slight favourite, but they have been struggling with goals and can expect fierce resistance from RSO. Many ESP players' value have sunk due to their recent poor run. Tempting bargains include:

Forward, Sergio Garcia, 7.9
Forward, Luis Garcia, 12.95
Defender, E Galan, 1.00
GK, Kameni, 10.

For RSO, there are few temptations to be had with a good solid run of form for the team all round. It seems worth hanging on to Tamudo if you have him for cheap. I got him in at 11 his value has soared to 16. A good shout for a goal against his old side. Prieto is good value but will have to go though after his dissapointing display last week.

Predicted score: 2-1 goals for Callejon for ESP and Tamudo for RSO

Week 24: team of the week - return of the Kun

Messi and Kun: http://gol.footblog.fr/

Messi was the man of the week, while two of those young talents who live in the star's shadow - Aguero and Benzema - ran him close. Elsewhere, Osasuna, Seville and Real dominated the XI and mystery man Pinillos of Racing Santander made an appearance, as this week's second most deadly defender.

Messi wins the week thanks to his late goal in Barca's 2-1 win over a resolute Atletico Bilbao. Hot on his heels was the heir apparent Sergio "Kun" Aguero, who also grabbed valuable Match Winning Goal bonus points as Atletico Madrid ended their four match losing streak with a 1-0 win at Zaragoza. Real Madrid and Osasuna both had 3 in the week winning 11: Benzema and Carvalho the unlikely goal heros, and Di Maria having a stormer to score 14.5 pts with shots, crosses and an assist as Real eased passed Levante at the Bernabeau.

Osasuna's trio capitalised as they crushed Espanyol 4-0 in the shock result of the weekend. All Osasuna's goals came directly or indirectly from crosses from the right wing. It may be worth keeping an eye on corner taker Masoud Shojaei who earnt a respectable 9 pts from his contributions from the wing this week.


szólj hozzá: Os4-0Es[matchhighlight.com]HL

Varas, who I was adamant would start last week, came in for the injured Palop this week and did the business as Seville got back to winning ways against Hercules through new signing Nekounam.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: 24
player, team, position, wk24 value, wk 24 pts

L. Messi.Barcelona.Forward.47.56 23.50
S. Agüero.Athl Madrid.Forward.23.77 22.50
K. Benzema.Real Mad.Forward.18.03. 20.00

I. Rakitic, Sevilla, Midfielder,7.41, 17.00
J. Nekounam, Osasuna, Midfielder, 10.31, 17.00
Di María, Real Mad, Midfielder, 14.61 14.50
F. Soriano, Osasuna, Midfielder, 7.75, 13.50

R. Carvalho, Real Mad, Defender, 8.49, 17.00
P. Pinillos, Racing, Defender, 8.73, 13.50
N. Monreal, Osasuna, Defender, 11.49, 12.00

J.Varas, Seville, Goalkeeper, 16.00

Forza Futbol Team of the Week

Pinillos

Pinillos: a chance to learn

Pablo Pinillos did the business for Racing Santander with a last gasp penalty as Kennedy Bakircioglu's side  snatched an invaluable 1-0 win at Getafe. The defender had a stormer with the cyphering a clean sheet, penalty, match winning goal and a couple of tackles to boot.

The odd thing is that the guy hardly seems to play. He's either had a few injuries or been out of favour. Scored minus two weeks in a row before this. He will need to be watched over the coming weeks if he is given PK responsibilities

Real Madrid 2 - 0 Levante: goal for Carvalho

No surprises. Real beat these chaps 8-0 last time they met in the league. The only surprise about this result was that Ronaldo failed to score and Benzema and Carvalho did. Despite his slip up for the 2nd goal, Munua had an excellent game for Levante, making 9 saves and scoring 10 pts (only 2 less than Adan in goal for Real).

The performances of centre backs Carvalho and Albiol provided a suprise in fantasy terms. These two have been surprisingly low value all season: consuming far too many fouls and yellow cards.

This week, Carvalho returned over 3 times his value and Albiol nearly 6!

Yahoo Fantasy Football Stats: La Liga - Fixtures (Week 24)

Great data set ahead of this week's games:

Yahoo Fantasy Football Stats: La Liga - Fixtures (Week 24): "Plenty of fantasy football managers will have taken notice of loan signing Emmanuel Adebayor. If stats match reality, Real Madrid should c..."

Week 24 Liga preview: RealMadrid v Levante

Real have won all 11 games at home this season but have been stuttering of late. Apart from their 4-1 defeat of Sociedad, they have not managed more than 1 goal in the past 5 liga games. Levante have been fluent, picking up three wins on the trot without conceding a goal.

Levante's most recent four games (Levante's score first)

1-0 Almeria
1-0 @ Villarreal
2-0 Hercules
1-4 @ Seville

Real Madrid 1 - 0 RCD Mallorca
Osasuna 1 - 0 Real Madrid
Real Madrid 4 - 1 Real Sociedad
RCD Espanyol 0 - 1 Real Madrid La Liga

Munua is not Levante's number one but has kept three clean sheets in a row for Levante since he returned to the first team three weeks ago. He had not played since week 3, starting the season with three negative FF scores in a row. However, his excellent run is of course largely owed to the defence in front of him. He has only had to make 7 saves in these three wins.

Realistically, Levante haven't got a prayer, but they have an inkling of hope in that Real are likely to field a weakened side ahead of their upcoming CL clash. They have little choice but to give Antonio Adan his home debut in La Liga with captain Iker Casillas suspended.

Adan was outstanding last week with 5 saves. Many came away from Real's meeting with Espanyol giving the Catalan's keeper Kameni the plaudits having made 9 saves to keep Los Blancos at bay.

Levante 1 - 0 Almeria - Highlights

Levante 1 - 0 Almeria - Highlights: "Levante 1 - 0 Almeria - Highlights"

Week 24 Liga preview: Goalkeepers

Gustavo Munua - great form

• Levante's Munua is the second most valuable keeper (valued 15.17) and has been on an excellent run of form since returning to the first team fold in week 21: 10, 18, 16.5
• But Levante come up against Real at the Bernabaeu this week for whom Antonio Adan will be making his first league start. Adan registered a week high of 20 pts at Espanyol last weekend. Good value at 13.65
• Of last week's losers, several high flying keepers are now representing tempting value. Seville's Palop had a mare at Santander and is now 7.58, Valdes dropped to 18.96, and Atletico's De Gea dropped to 11.45. Palop has a relatively straight forward home tie against Hercules, while De Gea's out of form side travels to Zaragoza.
• Reliable home picks include Ricardo at home for Osasuna against Espanyol, Diego Lopez
  at home for Villarreal and Sociedad's Bravo at home to Mallorca.

Team of the week 23: Joaquin - phoenix from the flames

Player, team, position, value, points.
The highest scoring team possible this week in la ligafantasy football

Joaquin - return to form

R. Tamudo, RSO, Forward, 11.19, 24.50
D. Trezeguet, HER, Forward, 10.06, 16.00
Ronaldo, Real Mad, Forward, 43.83, 16.00

Joaquín, Valencia, Midfielder, 9.99, 27.00
J. Reyes, Athl Madrid, Midfielder, 14.49, 20.50
Farinós, HER, Midfielder, 3.06, 16.50 11.00
M. Arana, Racing, Midfielder, 7.09, 13.00

Marcelo, Real Mad, Defender, 13.57, 26.50
A. Lopo, Deportivo, Defender, 7.37, 21.00
Arbeloa, Real Mad, Defender, 6.21, 11.00

A. Adán, Real Mad, Goalkeeper, 8.43, 20.00


szólj hozzá: atlético-valencia 1-2


Special mentions:
G. Munúa, LEV, Goalkeeper, 12.30, 16.50
Toño, Racing, Goalkeeper, 8.46, 14.50


Key Points:

Adan - saved the game for Real

• Real Madrid have 4 in the top scoring XI
• 3 are defensive players, including a keeper. Espanyol gave them a good battering but they held on!
• 23 yr old Antonio Adan made his league debut in goal after Casillas was sent off. He made 5 saves - more than any other keeper this weekend - to help secure all three points for Mourinho's men.
• Nice to see Joaquin top score in a very mediocre period for him
• Amazing to see former multimillion pound man, Farinos register a mighty score for Hercules, and valued at a measly 3. This will need further investigation

My team?

• I got a high scoring front 3 with Adebayor, Tamudo and Rondon but was a bit disastrous elsewhere. 
• Prieto was suspended, Di Maria was substituted early on, and Barca had a defensive mare.
• Also Trezeguet had a great week despite my reservations

Week23: Gijon break Barca's record

Sporting Gijon 1-1 Barcelona
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Sporting Gijon 1 - 1 Barcelona

Last night, Gijon did the unthinkable and had the audacity to not lose to Barcelona. The game, which included two exquisite goals, ended Barca's 16 game winning streak. Forzafutbal have a great follow up piece telling us that we should not be all that surprised as Gijon have a wonderful ability to stick such spanners in the works. Of course, before their 3-0 defeat at Bilbao last week, they had previously thrashed Mallorca 4-0 in their own back yard and gave Atletico a surprise defeat courtesy of David Barral (see week 20). It was Barral again who gave Gijon the lead in this game, only for Villa to restore parity 10 minutes before time.

The fantasy stats from the game suggest Gijon truly snuffed out the Barca threat with the champions barely mustering a shot on target. It is a rare occasion where no Barcelona player scores more than 15 pts and a  few negative Fantasy Points records were broken for Barca:

Dropping Pedro a big mistake

• Victor Valdes (-5.5) and Pedro (eulogised by Sid Lowe this weekend) (-1.5) scored negative points for the first time of the season. 

It was the first time since week 15 that Pedro didn't manage a shot on target. Pedro started the game on the bench in the place of new signing Ibrahim Affellay. The dutch winger posted a negative return of -3. Pedro replaced Affellay at half time, but didn't manage any better. Dani Alves also scored a dismal 2.5, his worst score of the season.

All in all, the stats suggest Gijon did something tactically excellent in nullifying Barca's wing attack: something Arsenal will need to look at if they have any hope of overcoming Barca in their upcoming Champions League meetings.

• Messi scored 13 points. His lowest total in a game he's started since week 13.

• Also, despite scoring a goal, David Villa only got 10.5 points, on a return for a player worth 25. He's only scored more than 15 pts once since week 16.

Messi v Ronaldo

Click to enlarge

Week 23: in the hands of Calatans

Xabi Prieto. Due a big game

Great info at Simply Football

Real Sociedad v Osasuna

From Simply Football: "Osasuna have only 2 pts from a possible 33 on the road this year." Although, they do have one of the league's most stubbornly good GK's in Ricardo.

From Accu score: "There is a 29.7% chance of a draw. In simulations where the game is not a draw Real Sociedad, at 40.2%, are solid favorites to beat Osasuna who have a 30.1% chance. In simulation wins, Osasuna upsets Real Sociedad by averaging 10.1 shots and 3.7 shots on goal. They average 2 goals in simulated victories vs just 0.4 in simulation losses. Overall, the average simulation score is Real Sociedad 1.3 to Osasuna 1."

Star picks:
Tamudo, Forward, 11.19
scored 9.5 pts last week and a goal the week before.
Xavi Prieto, midfield, 10.39
Midfield maestro does all Sociedad's best work. This team's top scorer for season with 170.5, avg 7.75. Got first negative points of season last week, hence price drop.
Mark Gonzalez, defender, 3.19
Nice and cheap and this guy scored 16 pts a couple of weeks back.

Malaga v Getafe

Arnau could be a good value keeper at 8.64, coming into the Malaga goal. While Malaga are at the foot of the table, they earned a solid 0-0 draw last week with Seville.

Also, Malaga Rondon, forward at 13.84, scored last time these teams met.

Espanyol v Real Madrid

A tricky tie for Mourinho's men. Espanyol have won 8 from 10 at home but have been struggling with injuries. Star striker Osvaldo is still out and keeper Kameni and forward Sergio Garcia are doubts suffering knocks this week. Real have not won their last 2 away outings.

It's worth hanging on to a bargain Adebayor (8.51, now 10.81) and bargains Ozil and Di Maria but not worth splashing out on Kaka and Ronaldo for this one.


Sporting Gijon v Barcelona

Another formality for Barca. Gijon had a bit of a plucky revival recently but were simply crushed by Bilbao last weekend. Messi is coming into superlative form with another hattrick last week and it would make sense to squeeze him in. Pedro did the unthinkable and got a below 10 score last week along with David Villa who still feels unreliable priced at 25.

All Barcelona defenders would be welcome though. Dani Alves scores well away from home. Puyol may return but Abidal was great last week, so he may be saved for the midweek CL tie with Arsenal.

Deportivo v Villarreal

Should be plenty of points here for Villarreal players. Depor are very poor and, despite having a knack of grinding out low scoring matches, they were thumped 4-1 by Getafe last week.

Villa will be looking for vengenace after their great season took was railroaded last weekend by local rivals Levante. After this defeat, a lot of players dropped value so it will be a good time to bring them in. Any from Nilmar, Rossi, Cazorla, Cani and Valero should provide good returns.

Levante v Almeria

Two relegation threatened sides, but very tempting to plump for Levante players after their impressive win at Villarreal last weekend.

Winger Valdo has scored two games on the trot. Can he do the trick again.


Mallorca v Bilbao

Bilbao are on a great run of form so it would be prudent to bring in some of their big hitters. David Lopez, Toquero, Muniain and GK Iraoriz all represent reasonable value priced around 15 and they have been the most consistent performers for the Basques in recent matches


Atletico v Valencia...

is being billed as one of the most entertaining prospects of the weekend though. Valencia have been grinding out results without being overly convincing, while Atletico have been grinding out defeats in a similar manner.

There is no obvious value to be found in either side, although Adruiz offers consistency in the Valencia forward line. Atletico forwards like Reyes, Aguero and Forlan are all too pricey to be truly tempting.



Racing Santander v Seville

Kennedy Bakiricoglu's side have a new manager this week. After being in great form recently, Seville suffered the ignominy of a 0-0 draw with bottom side Malaga last week. Anything could happen in this week but probably sensible to leave well alone.

Hercules v Zaragoza.

Hercules are in dissaray, while Zaragoza have won 3 in their last 4 matches. There is one point separating the two sides. Roysten Drenthe is appealling as most of Hercules' best attacking play goes through the attacking fullback/winger. He represents reasonable value at 10. Striker Nelson Valdez is 13 while homesick David Trezeguet is unlikely to start.

Great Spanish site

Really enjoy this sites weekly reviews. Nice attention to Iker Muniain

In Focus: Gaizka Toquero

Bilbao striker Gaizka Toquero scored his 3rd goal in two matches rather stealing the limelight from that supposed bohemeth of the Basques and team mate Fernando Llorente. These are Toquero's first goals of the season in 16 appearances. Before last week, he had only scored more than 5.5 fantasy points on one occasion (a 9 in week 15). Goals for the journeyman centre forward  have come against Gijon and away at Atletico Madrid. According to Wikipedia, "he is blessed with few technical skills but a tremendous hard-worker"



A PES thread gives us further insight into his abilities. According to brazilianpesfan:

"Gaizka Toquero, the new star of Athletic. Toquero is a fighter and intelligent support striker that has become a fan favourite due to his high work rate and willingness to help the team, and sometimes the crowd sings together "Ari, ari, ari, Toquero Lehendakari

Attack/Defense: He is improving day to day here. He lacked here the last season but now he knows where to be and how to use his positioning. On defence, he tracks back a lot to press.

He lives from the balls headed by Llorente before a long pass, and fights for each one."

He sounds like an old fashioned English forward. I thought only the English played "the long pass".

At 26, Toquero is not a prospect in the mold of the 18 year old starlet Muniain, but he seems to be blossoming this year and looks set to have big say in who is going to be playing European football next year. As Just Football's weekend review tells us "it’s not often you’ll find a coach changing everything around to make sure Gaizka Toquero is involved, but there you go."

Team of the week 22: Valdo sinks Yellow Submarine!

Colunga - goals

L. Messi, Barcelona, Forward, 49.82, 38.00
C. Ronaldo, Real Mad, Forward, 43.83, 34.50
A. Colunga, Getafe, Forward, 16.36, 27.50

H. Bernardello, Almería, Midfielder, 10.59, 25.50
J. Gavilán, Getafe, Midfielder, 16.50, 18.50
D. López, Athl Bilbao, Midfielder, 17.59, 17.50
Kaká, Real Mad, Midfielder, 15.29, 17.50

M. Silva, ALM, Defender, 5.44, 11.50
M. Flaño, OSA, Defender, 8.70, 11.50
Weligton, MGA, Defender, 9.56, 11.00

G. Munúa, LEV, Goalkeeper, 12.30, 18.00

On the bench:
G. Toquero, Athl Bilbao, Forward, 15.28, 18.00
Miku, Getafe, Forward, 12.44, 18.00
Valdo, LEV, Midfielder, 11.65, 17.50

Round 22
5 Feb 11 Athletic Bilbao Sporting Gijon 3 - 0
5 Feb 11 FC Barcelona Atletico Madrid 3 - 0
5 Feb 11 Zaragoza Racing 1 - 1
5 Feb 11 Getafe Deportivo 4 - 1
5 Feb 11 Villarreal Levante 0 - 1
5 Feb 11 Almeria Espanyol 3 - 2
5 Feb 11 Osasuna Mallorca 1 - 1
6 Feb 11 Valencia Hércules 2 - 0
6 Feb 11 FC Sevilla Malaga 0 - 0
6 Feb 11 Real Madrid Real Sociedad 4 - 1

Total goals 28
Goals per match 2.8
Home wins 6
Draws 3
Away wins 1

(http://www.soccerstats.com/)

Team of the week in YFF: Alfonso FC

The boring news out the way: Barcelona 3-0 Atletico Madrid - Messi hattrick. Ronaldo gets brace, and Adebayor scores on first league start in Read Madrid 4-1 Sociedad.

Far more intriguing; the continuing excellence of Atletico Bilbao and Levante's Valdo.

Levante pulled off the shock result of the week, winning at Villarreal in the Valencian derby. Levante were 19th; Villarreal were unbeaten at home and on an excellent run of form with 5 wins in their last 7 games.

Somehow Valdo popped up to score in his second game in a row to steal the points. Super show.



Also Getafe got back to winning ways at long last against plummeting Deportivo. Deportivo are the out of form team in La Liga at the moment - a far cry from the days of Albert Luque and Juan Valeron in his pomp.

Great site for stats and tips

Football Addicts

Weel 22 preview: Can Madrid help Madrid?

Can Madrid help Madrid?

Banana skins afoot this weekend. There are several fixtures which should be easy on paper but... but. In form Bilbao should beat Gijon, but Gijon are also in fine form (see last 3 weeks). Villarreal should hand a pasting to Levante, but this is a local derby, anything could happen. Real Madrid must surely get back to winning ways against Sociedad, but Sociedad have been handy away from home recently. And every neutral would like to see Barcelona slip up against Atletico Madrid, if only for a hope the title race, could re-open.

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid

Atletico are wobbly. No reason for Barca not to score 4 or 5. Any of Barca's front three could do the trick. Pedro is on a hot run of form.

At. Bilbao v Sporting Gijon

Both sides in great form, but Bilbao have been particularly strong on the stat scoring front in recent weeks. Llorente and Muniain up front through to Iraoriz in goal should all post good returns. If Gijon win this, it will be another shock.

Real Madrid v Sociedad

Surely Madrid will pick themselves up and get back to winning ways against the Basques. A good chance that Adebayor will start after his goalscoring feat in the cup on Wednesday and he represents excellent value at 8.4 in Fantasy world. Expect lots of shots from Ronaldo as per usual.

Villarreal v Levante

A local derby, but a match of the ilk of Bilbao v Gijon: the home side could easily be in for a shock. Villarreal have no new injury worries and Rossi is on hot, hot form. Sensible money would be on Villarreal and any of their attacking players.

Osasuna v Mallorca

Would expect a home win for Osasuna on the back of last week's triumph over Real. Mallorca however, will have been wounded by their shocking 4-0 turn around at home to Gijon. This match will show whether that was a blip or whether the islanders are on the slide. Osasuna's Ricardo surely a solid pick in gk.

Sevilla's Javi Varas. Great value

Special Bargain of the week:

Seville's J. Varas represents the bargain of the week at 4.46. At home to Malaga, the GK can expect a score well in place of the injured Palop.

Sat, Feb 5 Athl Bilbao v Sporting
Sat, Feb 5 Barcelona v Athl Madrid
Sat, Feb 5 Zaragoza v Racing
Sat, Feb 5 Getafe v Deportivo
Sat, Feb 5 Osasuna v Mallorca
Sat, Feb 5 Villarreal v LEV
Sat, Feb 5 Almería v Espanyol
Sun, Feb 6 Valencia v HER
Sun, Feb 6 Real Mad v RSO
Sun, Feb 6 Sevilla v Malaga

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SPORTS: SPANISH FOOTBALL | THE IN - OUT | SPANISH LEAGUE C...

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SPORTS: SPANISH FOOTBALL | THE IN - OUT | SPANISH LEAGUE C...: "The transfer “2011 Winter Market” ended at 00.00 today with the following moves in Spanish Football & with the Spanish League Clubs. Bel..."

Week 21: team of the week. Valdo invited to Messi's party

Buried under all this tedious transfer titilation, was the news last night that Week 21's action was rounded off with an ill-tempered 1-1 draw between Racing Santander and Valencia. The stats suggest Tino Costa and Ever Banega were the men of the hour for Valencia. Costa got a goal and 8 points, while Banega did crosses, corners and assist to get 9 points.


Racing Santander 1-1 Valencia
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Kennedy Bakircioglü got 3.5 for Santander. Goalscorer for Racing was Ariel Nahuelpán with 10pts.

We are now able to announce the team of the week:

L. Messi, Barcelona, Forward, (value)46.46, (points)33.00
G. Toquero, Athl Bilbao, Forward, 14.10, 26.50
A. Negredo, Sevilla, Forward, 16.51, 20.50

Duda, Malaga, Midfielder, 20.96, 21.00
Valdo, LEV, Midfielder, 9.34, 19.00
D. Castro, Sporting, Midfielder 15.48, 18.00
André Castro, Sporting, Midfielder, 7.01, 15.00*

I. Ansotegi, RSO, Defender, 9.20, 18.00
Dani Alves, Barcelona, Defender, 20.39, 17.50
A. Iraola, Athl Bilbao, Defender, 13.89, 17.00

G. Iraizoz, Athl Bilbao, Goalkeeper, 15.62, 24.00

There were three midfielders on 15 points:
N. Bertolo, Zaragoza
D. López, Athl Bilbao
J. Camuñas,Osasuna

Andre Castro deserves the accolade because his current stats suggest he never set foot on the pitch:

So mainly the big hitters, but plenty of new names to learn about, and many of the points concentrating around a few games and teams:

3 from Bilbao @ A. Madrid
2 from Barca @ Hercules
2 from Sporting @ Mallorca

(new feature) Who are you and why were you good?

Valdo 19pts

Valdo - great  week

The Levante midfielder had one hell of a game:

1 Match Winning Goals
1 Goal
2 Successful crosses
1 Corners won
3 Fouls won
3 Shots on target
5 Passes intercepted

Great for a guy who was worth 4.63 at the start of the week. This, along with a sparing Wikipedia entry, suggest it was a one off, a blip. Find out more.