La Liga Week 33 Preview

This is the beginning of a massive two weeks for Spain’s giants. With Real Madrid and Barcelona separated by just four points and next week’s El Clasico sandwiched between two legs of Champions League semi-finals this will be a real test of nerve for both sides. At the other end of the table, with six games to go, it looks increasingly like the final three have been decided with a seven point gap now opened up between the bottom three and 17th placed Villarreal.

Real Madrid host doomed Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Sporting are marooned in 19th but gave themselves hope with an impressive 3-2 win over Levante on Wednesday night. They will still need a miracle to escape the drop now though and Javier Clemente’s side won’t have much of a prayer at the Bernabeu with the form Real have been in. Jose Mourinho’s side registered another emphatic victory in midweek as they crushed their local rivals Atletico 4-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo. Los Merengues are just three goals away from scoring 107 for the season and breaking the record number of goals for a Liga season set by John Toshack’s Real in 1989-90. Ronaldo also set his own record by becoming the only player in Europe’s top four divisions to score 40 goals in successive seasons. With the midweek Champions’ League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich coming up Mourinho will be tempted to rotate his side. Ozil, Marcelo and Higuain were all rested against Atletico and could be brought back in against Gijon.

Barcelona just need to keep on winning. They visit a Levante side sat in fifth and still very much in the hunt for a place in next seasons’ Champions League. On Wednesday, Pep Guardiola’s side cruised to a 4-0 victory over Getafe to make it ten wins in a row and are in fine fettle ahead of El Clasico. Levante caused a shock early in the season as they beat Real with a solitary Aruna Kone goal but they are 14/1 to repeat the feat against Barca. The Champions have no new injury worries and they received a boost this week as David Villa announced that he would be back in contention before the end of the season.

Unai Emery gave himself a reprieve as Valencia crushed Rayo Vallecano 4-1 in midweek to give themselves a two point cushion in third place above Malaga. The Turkish manager has come under criticism from Los Ches fans as his side’s form has dipped with Malaga and Levante threatening to steal automatic qualification to the Champions’ League. Valencia visit Espanyol on Sunday and need to keep up their momentum to keep the chasing pack at bay. The Catalunians’ hopes of qualifying for European football next season have taken a hit in recent weeks as they are winless in five. Valencia have also won four of the last five meetings between the two sides.

Malaga will be looking to get back to winning ways against Real Sociedad. Malaaga’s charge into the top four has been laboured and they would be third had it not been for recent upsets against relegation threatened Betis and Villarreal. The odds favour the home side and the likes of Cazorla, Rondon and Isco should feast on a leaky Sociedad defence. Malaga will be without keeper Idris Kameni who was sent off at Villarreal in midweek.

Weekend Preview

The winter break is at an end: all hail the return of La Liga! How will the christmas parties and new year celebrations affected our stars? Will they be waddling around, weighed down by three weeks of excess and booze? Will they be chomping at the bit, itching to grace the stage once again with gusto and verve? The big news is the return of Diego Simeone to replace Gregory Manzano as head coach at Atletico Madrid. His arrival has conincided with the only big-name transfer of the re-opened window: Jose Reyes' return home to Sevilla.



Elsewhere, bottom of the table Real Zaragoza put Javier Aguirre out of his misery and replaced him with AEK Athens coach, Manolo Jiménez, and Villarreal welcome José Molina to the helm to replace the outgoing Juan Carlos Garrido.

Leaders Real Madrid (1st) have been given the chance to ease it in gently with a kindly home tie with Granada (13th) at the  Bernabeu on Saturday. With Barcelona playing Sunday, Mourinho's men will surely extend their lead at the top to 6 points. Real welcome back Sergio Ramos from injury. Portugease centre-back Pepe is out with suspension. Di Maria is doubtful. Granada managed some great results in the first half of La Liga, including wins at Bilbao and Sevilla, and despite being one of the lowest scoring sides in the league, they boast one of the best defences. Goalkeeper Roberto is one of the outstanding performers in the league so far and will need to be at his best if Fabri González's side have any hope of taking anything from this game. This game will surely see Real hand out yet another multi-goal beating.

Prediction: 5-0. Ones to watch: Ronaldo, Di Maria, Benzema, Marcelo

Meanwhile, back in Catalonia, Barcelona have the awkward prospect of a visit to their neighbours Espanyol. Espanyol haven't enjoyed much luck against their illustrious neighbours down the years. Last year, they were crushed 5-1 in the same fixture. Barca come into the tie on the back of a 4-0 defeat of Osasuna in the midweek Copa del Rey, while Espanyol suffered a shock loss to Cordoba. The Periquitos have had an excellent first half to the season, and are further bouyed by the news that playmaker Romaric is to be available throughout January having been dropped from the Ivory Coast African Cup of nations squad.  However, Barca are bound to have too much once again for their neighbours.

Prediction: 0-2. Ones to watch: Messi, Fabregas.

Villarreal (17th) v Valencia (3rd): Last season this would have been an eagerly anticipated battle for 3rd place, but now, The Yellow Submarine languish in 17th place. With new coach Molina in charge, fans will be hoping hard for a change of  fortunes after a wretched first half to the season. The vultures are circling for stars such as Nilmar. Wakaso has a broken nose and Catalá is likely to miss another month with a knee injury. Joan Oriol is still out. Valencia are still without Canales, Maduro and Tino in the middle. Albelda is suspended. After their impressive win at Sevilla in midweek, Los Che can be expected to take all three points. Prediction: 1-0 Valencia. Ones to watch: Soldado

Fourth placed Levante host Mallorca (15th) with the home-side determined to continue their excellent run of form and prove it wasn't all just a dream. Levante suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Alcoron in the Copa del rey on Tuesday. Del Horno, Valdo and Juanlu are doubts while Nano and Javi Venta are suspended. Prediction: 2-0. Ones to watch: Barkero, Kone.

Osasuna sit in 5th and visit Real Sociedad (15th). Osasuna have a pretty poor away record, with just one win so far but Sociedad have just two home wins. Sociedad have been one of the most unpredictable Liga sides so far. Sociedad's manager Phillipe Montanier has coaxed some excellent displays out of Carlos Vela and the Arsenal loanee will be the key danger man for the home side. Prediction: 1-1. Ones towatch: Vela

Sevilla (6th) visit Rayo Vallecano (16th). Sevilla will be hurting from their defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey. Reyes will be the star attraction as he returns to the side where it all started, but is unlikely to feature. Manu del Moral is suspended while Kanourte is doubtful. Prediction: 0-0. One to watch: Varas

Malaga (7th) v Altetico Madrid (10th) is one of the most hotly anticipated games of the round. The last time Atletico Madrid had Diego Simeone on their payroll, they managed a league and cup double (1995-96).



Imagine that! The Argentinian hardman has naturally brought in a new wave of optimisim to the rojiblancos. However, he has his work cut out. Atletico have the worst away record in the league with 1 point. He will need to inspire the likes of Diego and Falcao against a strong Malaga side. Joaquin is out for Malaga. Prediction: 2-1. Ones to watch: Cazorla, Rondon.

In the best of the rest, Racing Santander (19th) host Zaragoza (20th) in the old fashioned relegation 6 pointer. A spicy start for new Zaragoza coach Jimenez. Prediction 1-0 Racing. Getafe (12th) host Bilbao (9th) and Betis (11th) host Sporting Gijon (18th). Predictions: both 1-1.

W17 preview

With Barcelona proving they’re the best team in the world by beating
useless sides no-one’s heard of in Japan this week, Real Madrid have
an ideal opportunity to reclaim their 3 point cushion at the top of
the Liga before the winter break. Egos in the Real dressing room are
bruised and battered after last week’s humbling in El Clasico. Despite
the increasing feeling that the power balance may have been shifting
at the top after years of Catalunian dominance, Barca’s 3-1 victory,
and Cristiano Ronaldo’s ineffective display were an all too familiar
return to the status quo. All Real can do in response is do what they
have been doing all season (before last week’s interruption) and win.

Sevilla have been awkward opposition for Los Merengues over the past
few years, having won four of their last six Liga meetings between the
two sides at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. Saying that, Jose
Mourinho bucked the trend when his side registered a 6-2 thrashing in
this fixture as recently as May this year with Ronaldo scoring four.
This season, Los Blancos have been devastating away from home with 21
goals from 8 games. However they come up against a Sevilla defence
that has looked far more organised this year and put in a magnificent
display to earn a clean sheet at Camp Nou earlier this term.

Real have no new injury worries, with just Ricardo Carvalho out
long-term. Sevilla’s Argentine winger Diego Perrotti is struggling
with a knock. This should be a victory for Real. 3-1 Real, look out
for a vengeful display from Ronaldo.

Third placed Valencia also had a wobble last week when they stopped
playing after 89 minutes and conspired to lose against Real Betis.
This week, It’s a case of “old money” (maybe that should be, “no
money”) versus “new money” as they take on the nouveau riche Malaga.
Los Che need to get back to winning ways with Levante rediscovering
their form and breathing down their necks in fourth place. Unai Emery
welcomed back the classy Ever Banega during the midweek Copa del Rey
visit to Cadiz and the Argentinian schemer could be back in the
starting line-up this weekend. I’ll tip a Valencia win. 2-1 Ones to
watch: Soldado and Tino Costa.

Levante have a tricky visit to Granada but should prevail against the
promoted side who have one of the meanest defences in the Liga. This
is likely to be a low-scoring affair with Aruna Kone the best bet to
nick a goal.

Osasuna have had an excellent start to the season in stark contrast to
Villarreal who they host this weekend. The Pamplonans have been free
scoring and great entertainment value. They welcome back born-again
midfield maestro Raul Garcia this week, and in tandem with attacking
dynamo Alvaro Cejudo, Los Rojillos are more than capable of heaping on
further misery for the Yellow Submarine. 2-0: Ones to watch: Nino,
Ibrahima.

Espanyol and Sporting Gijon go head to head after both sides recorded
impressive wins last week. Expect a low score draw. Ones to watch:
Romaric (Espanyol), Nacho Novo (Gijon)

Athletic Bilbao take on the struggling Zaragoza at San Mames. This is
an ideal opportunity for Bilbao to get back to winning ways after a
stuttering spell in La Liga. Underachieving wing-wizard Jermaine
Pennant suffered some kind of anterograde amnesia in 2009 after he
signed for Zaragoza: he was always late; forgot where he parked his
car and seemed to lose all footballing ability during his stint on the
continent. A similar collective sickness appears to have gripped a
side who have become totally devoid of talent, ambition or desire and
are now rooted to the foot of the table. Bilbao are without suspended
captain Andani Iraola and Fernando Llorente is a doubt. 3-1 home win.
Ones to watch: Ander Herrera, Toquero, Muniain and Susaesta.

Atletico Madrid come galloping into their home tie with Real Betis off
the back of their triumphant Europa Cup performance in midweek.
Despite the fact their fans hate them, Gregory’s Manzano’s boys love
playing at home and with Falcao, Ada Turan and Diego all starting to
purr, expect another home win. 3-1 Atletico.

On paper, Mallorca versus Getafe may look like the sort of game that
any neutral would rather poke their own eyes out than endure. However,
it excites me, if only because Mallorca are starting to look like they
can win and this could be one of the most one-sided games of the
weekend. Getafe are useless. Victor knows how to score

Racing Santander versus Sociedad is up there in the tedium rankings.
Sociedad keep squeezing out the points and Carlos Vela is starting to
fulfill his potential as the poor man’s Lionel Messi. Racing Santander
can’t excite me unless Kennedy Bakiricoglu is playing, and he’s still
a doubt. A deathly 1-1. Snooze fest

This weekend. Clasisco, Valencia and more

Predictions and probabilites

Real Madrid v Barcelona

Whisper it quietly, but for the first time in a long while, Real Madrid feel like favourites for El Clasico.

Pep Guardiola is unbeaten at the Bernabeu since he took over in 2008, with two wins and a draw. However, Barca's current away form is poor by their high standards. They have only won two from six away Liga games, and their last outing ended in a humbling 1-0 defeat at Getafe.

Meanwhile, Real have gone through an unstoppable spell and are looking
for their 16th consecutive victory in all competitions. In La Liga,
they have scored 49 goals in 14 games, and have not dropped a point at
home all season.

However, Mourinho cannot boast the impressive home defensive record of his foes: while Barca have yet to concede at the Camp Nou, Real have conceded at least a goal a game so far at home this term.

In terms of personnel, both sides will be close to full strength having been able to rest their stars in midweek. Ricardo Carvalho (Real) and Ibrahima Affellay (Barca) are long term absentees. Adriano could return for Barca.

Mourinho has declared he will opt for one of Benzema and Higuain in a three-pronged attack with Ronaldo and Di Maria. Guardiola has something of a selection headache in attack,where the returning Pedro will be vying for a spot with the in-form Alex Sanchez.

Prediction: A win for Real, but Barca will score. Top picks: Ronaldo, Di Maria; Messi. 2-1

3rd place Valencia visit Real ”the slump” Betis. Valencia whimpered out of the Champions League after being given a good seeing to by
Didier Drogba and Chelsea in midweek. But that humbling is nothing
compared to that which Betis have received since daring to visit the
summit of the Liga standings in week 4. They are on a dismal downward
spiral and haven’t won since winning their four opening games – and
they’ve lost 10 of their last 12 meetings with Los Che. You get the
idea.

Valencia are big favourites and the only tricky bit will be
predicting the right players for the win. Tino Costa is loving it in
central midfield after getting more regular starts and is a reliable
pick. Roberto Soldado can be expected to net. Prediction: Away win 0-1

A fairly titillating tie involves Valencia’s plucky neighbours,
Levante. The fourth placed upstarts take on a sparkling Sevilla side in one of the most exciting games of the weekend. If Sevilla were to win, they would leapfrog their opponents into 4th.

The southerners have only scored three away from home all season, but they’ve only conceded two so they will provide awkward opposition to a Levante side with a healthy home record.

Neither side have any new injury worries. Levante have to be sure to suppress Ivan Rakitic and Jesus "the chosen one" Navas who were devastating in Sevilla’s 3-0 defeat over Getafe last weekend.

Prediction: low score draw: 1-1. Ones to watch: Aruna Kone and
Barkero; Rakitic, Negredo.

Malaga v Osasuna is the next match of interest, and by my calculations should be the most one sided fixture of the round. Malaga like to score, and Osasuna tend to concede away from home. Don’t get me wrong, Osasuna love to pull a shock win as much as Malaga like to pull a
shock defeat but the stats favour the home team.

Malaga have a number of injury problems with Wellington, Julio Baptista and Joaquin all confirmed as unfit for the game, but have the squad to cope. Osasuna are missing midfield maestro Javad Nekounam through suspension. Prediction: a win by a couple for Malaga. Ones to watch: Cazorla, Isco, Rondon. 3-1

Espanyol v Atletico Madrid. A close match to call with both sides
stumbling along inconsistently. While Atletico are healthily placed in
8th, they have terrible away form and Espanyol know how to scratch out
the home wins. It’s going to be tight.

Atletico welcome back first teamers Arda Turan, Diego "the liability" Godin and Thibaut Courtois. Espanyol are without Manchester City loanee Vladimir Weiss and the injured Javier Marquez. A home win is expected but a surprise upset could be worth a punt: 1-0

Atlethico Bilbao should ease back in to winning ways against Racing
Santander, but star striker Fernando Llorente is doubtful. The onus
will be on the likes of Iker Muniain and Markel Susaeta to bring the pain. 2-0

Rayo Vallecano v Gijon. A home win for Vallecano. Look out for goals
for Michu and Raul Tamudo. 2-0

Getafe v Granada. Granada and their mean defence have been on a tidy
run, lifting them to 12th. Getafe are missing Dani Guiza and Pedro Leon. Should be a slim home win but Granada more than capable of an upset. 1-0. Getafe's Miku and Castro to star.

Villarreal v Sociedad. Two of this season’s slow starters trying to
claw their way up the table. Javier Garrido welcomes back Nilmar and Cani from injury, but defender Mussachio is suspended. 1-1. Look out for: Ruben, De Guzman and a goal from the half-way line for Sociedad's Inigo Martinez.

Real Zaragoza v Mallorca. A grim prospect for the neutral but look out for forgotten Portugeezer Helder Postiga. 1-0

Jornada 14 Liga Preview: A visit to the capital for Barca, Madrid and Valencia

The predictions are in. Real Madrid are going to win by a massive margin, Barcelona are going to win too! Lots of wins this weekend. In order of the most likely to win:

Real Madrid
Levante
Bilbao
Barcelona
Malaga
Espanyol
Betis
Sevilla
Mallorca
Valencia

So you may like to pick players from those top sides! But of course, as its a double week for Barca only, you will be choosing as many Barca players as possible. In squeezing in Villa, Fabregas and Messi I have very little wriggle room for anyone else of note. I'm hanging on to Diego cos I reckon he's going to be a force for the rest of the season and he could sneak a few points as Real seem to go to sleep for at least 10 minutes or so every game.

If it wasn't a double, I'd love to have more Bilbao and Espanyol chaps. Bilbao's success is very enjoyable and I would like some Llorente and Muniain action this weekend.

Malaga would be a good side to go for too with Cazorla and A.N Other; Isco would be a laugh. A Levante fellow such as Aruna Kone would be fun, just for moral support. I like the speedy Ivorian.

So here's my team anyway. A bit dull. All eyes on Rui Forte.

Here's an extended preview if you have the time and inclination:

All the action will be in Madrid this weekend. The top three all come into their respective games on the back of eye-catching displays in the Champions League, with Barca and Real booking their places in the knock-out stages. Leaders Real host neighbours Atletico, while Barca face a visit to the Madrid suburbs to meet struggling Getafe. Valencia have an awkward trip to Rayo Vallecano.

As ever, Real will be overwhelming favourites against Atletico, who have not won this fixture since the last millenium.


The omens do not look promising for Gregorio Manzano’s side: their hosts simply cannot stop scoring while Atletico currently have the worst away record in their league. Their notoriously shaky defence face the almost impossible task of holding back the irresistible attacking forces of Ronaldo et al. The Portuguese forward will be refreshed after sitting out of the demolition of Dinamo Zagreb in midweek and will surely return to the front line. There will be some speculation about who will accompany the top scorer. Mourinho will rotate his side, opting for a more attacking line-up than the one that edged Valencia at the Mestaella last weekend, and Higuain is often preferred to Benzema to spearhead the attack at the Bernabeau. Carvalho is out with a back injury, and Kaka and Arbeloa are struggling with knocks. Marcelo and Di Maria have both recovered from recent injuries.

Atletico have talked about “winning ugly” but hope will lie in the trickery and talent of the diminutive Diego who is at the heart of everything good they do going forward. Falcao is still missing through injury so Atletico’s own Portuguese star, Pizzi could well continue to lead the line after scoring last week.

Barca’s patchy Liga away form is the reason they are 3 points behind Real. With three drawers and two unimpressive 1-0 wins at Granada and Gijon, there is pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side to up their game away from the Nou Camp. Having just edged the fearsome tests of two of La liga’s lowliest sides, they now have another gimme in a matchup with the struggling minnows Getafe. Iniesta and Adriano are doubts but Pedro is ready to return. Whatever the line-up, this will surely be a prime opportunity for Messi and co to fill their boots and keep up the pressure at the top.

While Getafe have a couple of home wins, they have little to no form. Their Venezuelan star Miku carries the main - if not their only - attacking threat. He misses the creativity that Daniel Parejo (now at Valencia) provided from midfield last season, and his new foil, Dani Guiza is still trying to remember how to play in La Liga. On Loan Pedro "the lion" Leon is still missing with injury.



Valencia face an awkward tie with the mysterious Rayo Vallecano. Rayo have enjoyed some excellent wins and some unpleasant beatings but look healthy in 10th place in the standings. Valencia have not been prolific away from home but have been tidy, picking up three wins from five. The 7-0 thrashing over Genk will no doubt have gone some way to helping them recover from the home loss to Real last week. Valencia have no new injury worries and it’s tempting to go for a low scoring win for Unai Emery’s side.

Despite having lost three in a row, Levante are still the envy of most sides in La Liga, sitting just one point behind Valencia in fourth. The Andalucians have the perfect opportunity to get their season back on track with a home tie against Sporting Gijon. This is surely the ideal time to stop the rot and anything other than a win against the rojiblancos would be a bitter pill to swallow for the home fans after their fantastic start to the season. The likes of Aruna Kone and Ruben Suarez have to lead from the front and take their chances.

Fifth placed Malaga can be expected to take all three points against Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine’s troubles have been well documented, while Malaga are hanging in there and making a nuisance of themselves in fifth. This will most likely be one of the most one sided matches of the weekend. Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Rondon are misfiring and Iscoand Seb Fernandez are the form front men for Malaga.

The rest of the match ups should go with the home side this weekend with Betis, Espanyol and especially Atletico Bilbao picking up wins. Sevilla need to win at Zaragoza, while likewise Mallorca severely need the points at home to Racing Santander.

Tuesday night action: Granada 0 - 1 Barcelona, Sevilla 2-2 Racing

Key points:

• 1 goal from Xavi.
• Lots of bookings and cards all round
• Good points for Barca defenders. Notably Maxwell.
• Barca youth striker Cuenca played 90 mins but not available for FF selection yet.
• Fabregas back from injury. Played 71 mins.
• Out of form Pedro now injured.
• Granada seem pretty handy at keeping the scores down.

Teams and FF points scores:

Barca team and individual FF scores v GRN

Granada team and individual FF scores v Barca

Predicted number of goals:

Barcelona to score 1 and Granada to score 0 was the most likely outcome.


Sevilla 2-2 Santander

Predictions

Sevilla were expected to score 2 goals or 1, with an 81% chance of winning the tie. Santander were heavily favoured to score nothing so upset the odds with their 2 away goals. Essentially, for FF pickers, the sensible money would have been on goals and points for the home side players, which came through in the shape of Rakitic, Manu. Trochowski was the value pick, the former Hamburger Pole scoring 12 pts from a value of 4.

Day 10 preview

Barely time to pause and reflect on the weekend's action. Especially if you've been off-line in Tallinn all weekend. The predictor has put in a sound performance though. The major shock only really being Varas' astonishing GK performance for Sevilla (although, Kaka's ability to score 0pts as Real routed Malaga 4-0 caused some consternation. The Real Betis bubble seems well and truly burst with their dour home defeat to Vallecano. Raul Garcia is quickly becoming an undroppable demi-god for Osasuna. I need him




Key points for Matchday 10.

• The huge favourites are Real Madrid, Sevilla and Levante 
• Where do I trust the goals be: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Seville, Mallorca.
• I haven't had time to change my team this week, but if I had, I would have liked any from:
• Barcelona: Iniesta, Villa, Messi, Fabregas
• Sevilla:Rakitic, Manu, Navas
• Real Madrid: Ronaldo, Ozil, Higuain, Kaka
• Levante: Kone, Juanlu, Valdo
• Mallorca:Hemad, Castro, Nsue
  

Week 8 review: Postiga!

The results are in. Higuain has broken my heart, but there is little else to complain about. Forgetting my own lack lustre performance, there's plenty to enjoy about jornada 8's action.



The spreadsheet predicted a 4-1 demolition for Real Madrid over Betis and the Madridistas duly delivered. Higuain lashed 40pts and rendered Ronaldo a bystander with the portuguese notching a paltry 10.5pts. The Argentine was great value at 26.  



Kaka got the fourth and was good enough to prove me right in one sense, continuing his good form and getting me a goal, meeting his 16 pt value with 16 pts. The Brazilian has-been was also top scoring mid of the week.

Messi gave a tidy return of 31.5 for his 45.2 value. Barca cruised to a 3-0 win, not doing quite as well as the 7-0 drubbing predicted and not doing much to get excited about. I had Thiago and Pedro who got paltry scores of 1.5 and 7 respectively.

For me, the most exciting attacking display of the weekend came in one of the most uninspiring fixtures as ex-spurs man, Helder Postiga banged a brace and 24 pts from a value of 9 as Zaragoza overturned Real Sociedad 2-1. Dreamy. If only I could have been brave enough.

It is nice to see Reyes back doing what he does best and scoring loads of points without getting a goal. The ex-Arsenal forward got 15.5 pts and 4 sots as Atletico and Granada bored everyone to tears in their 0-0 draw. Reyes and his buddies were good enough to see that Granada's GK Roberto was the highest scoring keeper of the round giving him 8 saves and 24 pts.

Roberto is now tied with Roberto of Real Zaragoza for the most number of saves made in the league this season with 36. Spooky

Check out this hugely stimulating footage of failed goal attempts from both sides:



Romaric is starting to shine at Espanyol and is the third highest scoring midfielder of the week. Having done nothing all season, the former Sevilla schemer put in a match winning performance as the Catalans upset Vallecano 1-0. Romaric got the only goal and 14.5 pts. See how calmly he slots it in:



Espanyol got their first away win in 9 month. In goal for the Catalans, the bargain Alvarez got a delightful 12.5 from a 1pt value.

The final midfield magus was Bilbao's Gabilondo who pumped in his second of the season and scored 14.5 pts as Bilbao impressively eased past Osasuna 3-1.

In defence, Valencia's Rami invites us to marvel at his mastery in defence with a goal to give his side a 1-1 drawer at Mallorca.

Sevilla's Caceres got the match winner and 15 points as the Orange eaters beat Gijon 2-1 to keep the southern side sniffing around the top spots.

Getafe's Cata Diaz is the final defender in the line up scoring 12 points without a goal. Always a nice touch. Getafe held Villarreal 0-0 at home.

Levante's stunning 3-0 crushing of Malaga is the actual story of the week but didn't throw up a lot of points to get excited about.

Team of the week:

Higuain, 40
Messi, 31.5
Postiga, 24

Kaka, 16
Reyes, 15.5
Romaric, 14.5
Gabilondo, 14.5

Rami, 15
Caceres, 15
Cata Diaz, 12

Roberto, 24

La Liga Week 8 Predictions

Obvious winners the top two. Of the rest, I like the look of Vallecano v Espanyol and fancy midfielder Michu to do well. I also expect Getafe to do one over Villarreal - or at least score a couple. The home side have been high scoring unlucky losers in recent weeks. Miku is solid up front, Pedro Leon is good value in midfield and striker Guiza is surely due a goal. Sevilla should cruise past Gijon but their forward line is unpredictable with form man Negredo injured. I like Sevilla defenders, like Coke. Although the maths says Levante Malaga will be 0-0 these sides are both unpredictably good at the moment. I like the look of Aruna Kone for Levante, a bargain striker whose already done for Real Madrid this season. Are Bilbao now going to hit a bit of form after two wins on the bounce? Muniain and Llorente should do well in this one.

From Barca, sure go for Messi and Villa. Pedro is a bargain. Pique is back. Fabregas is out, but Thiago might do something.

For Real, Benzema is injured. Not sure if Higuain will be tired. Kaka and Ozil are nice midfield options.

Betis slip. Barca grind. Levante march on. Week 7 review

Barca have reclaimed their spot at the top of the pile snatching the lead away from the precocious Real Betis scraping 1-0 win at Gijon, thanks to a goal from full back Adriano. The fixture was generally a pain for fantasy pickers as returns from the champions were slim. Only Valdes, Messi and Adriano broke 10 points. Bargain bin Fabregas also broke down and will be out for the next 3 weeks. 2 of those will be internationals, leaving managers fretting over whether to stick or twist on his return to domestic action. Barca will surely dish out a multi-goal meat beating at home to Racing in week 8.

Juanlu mobbed by his mates (France24.com)

Real Betis went down at home 1-0 in the top of the table clash with Levante. Yes, Levante, who are now joint top, have picked up where they left off last season and are motoring along. Even though they have lost last season's top scorer, Caicedo, they continue to go from strength to strength. Munua contines to be one of the best keepers in the league, and midfielder Juanlu made it into the team of the week with his match winning goal. Defence is tight under the super Ballesteros and returning ex-Chelsea man Del Horno. Bargain striker Aruna Kone has to be a tempting pick against high fliers Malaga when the season resumes after the break.

Bargain man Alvarez (fourfourtwo)

Real Madrid, Malaga and Valencia are now all tied in third after victories. Real heaped misery on the many managers who have Espanyols 1million gk Alvarez with a hattrick from Higuain - if only we knew he was going to start. Will Madrid continue to deliver the beatings when Betis come to town next?

Malaga laboured to their 3-2 win over Getafe. Getafe always seem to score. Van Nistelrooy finally got his first goal (hooray for my team) but the Beast Baptista stole his thunder with a 19.5 point mwg performance. Could be a watershed moment for the AMC. Sadly, the uncanny conceding of 2 goals left many disappointed fantasy managers as Mathijsen and Demichelis had been solid so far this season.

Canales Mobbed

Valencia slithered to a 1-0 victory against struggling Granada thanks to the hotly tipped bargain that is the marvellous Canales - the only player who seemed to benefit from playing two games this week. Guaita - perhaps motivated by Diego Alves' midweek heroics - reminded everyone that he is also an awesome keeper by being the top scoring stopper of the week with 20 pts, making 5 saves. Hedwigs Maduro made a noteworthy 10.

Atletico Madrid and Sevilla cancelled each other out in a tedious 0-0 draw which didn't benefit anyone. Reyes gave a characteristically solid 9.5, while Turan continued his solid form with a 6. Diego remains tantalisingly cheap at 4.42.

Real Sociedad stumbled in the Basque derby, and Fernando Llorente capitalised with a heroic match winning brace to give Bilbao their first win of the season, and book himself a place in the team of the week.

The other Cejudo

Mid table maniacs Real Mallorca and Osasuna battled it out for an exciting 2-2 draw. Osasuna dominated, with the prodigal son Raul Garcia scoring his second in two games and the mecurial Cejudo notching his first of the season. Cejudo continues to fascinated and delight. He has 12 successful crosses, 11 tackles won and 5 shots on target already this year. He is everywhere. No Mallorcans scored over 7.5 which is odd considering they got 2 goals.

Villarreal continue to wade through treacle, flopping to a 2-2 draw at home to Zaragoza. Rossi managed a manly 20 pt performance which will be some solace to fantasy managers. De Guzman got an encouraging 10 from midfield without doing anything. And, who is Hernan Perez? A Paraguayan midfield maestro who scored with his first performance of the season on his debut. Most of the yellow lads did alright.

Santander and Vallecano delivered the most forgettable result of the week with a 1-1 draw. It is worth noting that Rayo's Michu again did well with 11.5 points without a goal and Tamudo was again amongst the goals.

Team of the week 7

Higuain. 33.5 (espanyol 0-4 REAL MADRID)
Llorente. 27 (real sociedad 1-2 ATLETICO BILBAO)
Rossi. 20 (VILLARREAL v real zaragoza)

Raul Garcia. 25. (OSASUNA v mallorca)
Canales. 22.5 (VALENCIA v granada)
Juanlu. 15 (betis v LEVANTE)
Cejudo. 14.5 (OSASUNA v mallorca)

Adriano. 21.5 (gijon 0-1 BARCA)
Inigo Martinez. 15. (REAL SOCIEDAD 1-2 bilbao)
Arbeloa. 11.5. (espanyol v REAL MADRID)

Guaita. 20 (VALENCIA v granada)

Liga weekend predictions: Sunday May 15th

The predictor shows heavily favoured wins for Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia and Sevilla. The only one I'm dubious about is Bilbao who are up against in form Malaga. I know the Basque side have one of the best home records in the league but Malaga have the best form playing anywhere in the league at the moment.

Either way, it would be prudent to pick up Bilbao's bargain GK Iraizoz at 6. The only other temptation for me might be Muniain. Malaga, I don't fancy any Malaga guys. The form men, Duda and Baptista too expensive.

Barcelona will be in a party mood and it could be a question of how many at home to Depor. I'm tempted to go with Messi even though he has really slowed down in scoring. I have a feeling his teammates will be helping him score as many as poss to catch Ronaldo. Elsewhere I'm hanging on to Keita and Affellay who are still great bargains.

Valencia and A.Mad should both cruise to home wins. Valencia will want to secure that 3rd place. Soldado, Jonas and Banega tempt. For Atleti I fancy Aguero. This could well be his last home game and Hercules will be despondent following their confirmed relegation. I quite like the idea of Koke as well. Possibly Diego Costa on the cheap.

Sevilla, while heavy favourites could be upset by a Sociedad side in a bit of form and in need of points. With Negredo's price ballooning following his scoring run, there's no great value to be had with the southern side. Maybe Capel, possibly Romaric at a stretch.

Outside of the heavy favourites, i'll be staying away from Villarreal v Real Madrid as both teams have little to play for. I like the look of Almeria at home to Mallorca following their excellent 0-0 with Villarreal. GK Esteban and striker Piatti are worth a punt. Getafe need a result more than Osasuna and I expect a win with Parejo heavily involved.

My temptations:

GK
Leo Franco, RZG, 4
Esteben, Alm, 9
Iraizoz, Bil, 6

Defs
F. Amorebieta, Bil 1.00
X. Castillo, Bil, 1.3

Mids
Affellay, Bar, 1.9
Keita, Bar, 4.8
Parejo, Getaffe, 10
Castro, Spo, 5.9
Banega, Val, 7.9
Reyes, A.Mad, 15
De Las Cuevas, Gjon, 10.4
Boutahar, RZG, 5.8
Acosta, Sev, 1.9
Capel, Sev, 7.9

Att
Kanoute, Sev, 10
Piatti, Alm, 13
Muniain, Bil, 10
Soldado, Val, 19
Jonas, Val, 13
Getafe, Miku, 9
Aguero, A.Mad,25
Villa, Bar, 20
Messi, Bar, 36

Team of the week - midweek games:

Ronaldo, R.Madrid, 35.5
Negredo, Sevilla, 22.5
Kike Sola, 21.5

Sendoa, Hercules, 21.5
Kennedy, Racing, 18
Eliseu, Malaga, 17.5
Gabi, 16

Galan, Espanyol, 14
Luna, Almeria, 13.5
Marcelo, Real Madrid, 11.5

Esteban, Almeria, 15

Jornada 36: La Liga predictions 10th/11th May

This week's predictions see Barcelona and Real Madrid heavy favourites as ever. The only other sides give a 50%+ chance of a win are Villarreal at Almeria and Osasuna against Sevilla. However, it is the business end of the season and the relegation threatened sides are starting to fight like mad to survive the drop, adding more unquantifiable variables to the mix. Only Almeria's demise has been decided and any two sides from 8th placed Espanyol down could still be relegated.

Apart from wins for the top 2 the only result I feel confident about is a Malaga win. Malaga majestically defied last weekend's predictions and are one of the form teams in the league and should ease past Gijon. The rest could be chaos and there should be plenty of goals. Hercules have to win. They will need big performances from Valdez, Trezeguet et al.

In summary:

Barcelona will win the league tonight.
Real will hammer Getafe out of pure fury.
Malaga will beat Gijon to all but secure safety.
Hercules will beat Mallorca to keep breathing.
Villarreal and Valencia will win.
Osasuna will beat Sevilla
Sociedad v Zaragoza, A.MAd v Racing and Deportivo v Bilbao will all be massive scraps.

It will be difficult to predict the Real lineup but at least Guadiola has said that he will not play a reserve side until they have secured the liga title.

My team this week:

My team!

More team news from Football 365

Team of the week: jornada 35

This is the best performing star XI from La Liga's games of week 35 (May 7th/8th) according to Yahoo Fantasy Football.

3-4-3 formation

Strikers

Ronaldo, Real Madrid, 49
Flat-track bully takes out his frustrations on Sevilla with 4 goals in 6-2 victory

Adrian, Deportivo 26
2 goals for U21 star almost gave Deportivo a much needed win. 2-2 draw at Gijon

Negredo, Sevilla 25
2 goals as Sevilla lost 6-2 at home to Real

Mids

Gio Dos Santos, Racing Santander, 25.5 pts
Spurs loanee scores twice, moving racing 4 points clear of relegation zone and keeping Hercules in 19th. Hercules 2-3 Racing

Thiago Gomes, Hercules, 20.5 pts
A goal and assist but all in vain

Camunas, Osasuna, 18 pts
Always a surprise - goal and an assist in relegation 6 pointer 3-1 win at Zaragoza.

A. Iniesta, Barcelona, 17.5 pts
Match winning goal, as Barca ease closer to the title with 2-0 win over Espanyol. "Espanyol had not won for 111 days; practically the entire second half of the season." (Forzafutbal)

Defs

Pique, Barcelona, 15 pt
Goal against Espanyol

Mathieu, Valencia 14.5
1 assist and clean sheet in 3-0 win over Sociedad

Mane, Getafe, 13.5
1 assist and clean sheet for Getafe in 2-0 win over Almeria

GK

Diego Lopez, Villarreal, 17 pts
Clean sheet in 0-0 draw at Mallorca

Special mentions
M.Ozil, Real Madrid, 17.5 pts
3 assists enabling Real's 6-2 rout of Sevilla. Same points as Iniesta but not as good value

Julio Baptista, Malaga, 14.5
Another goal (8 in 9 games now!!!!!) as Malaga shock Atletico Madrid 3-0.

Pedro Rios, Getafe, 14.5
U21 midfield starlet with another vital goal in Getafe's 2-0 win to lift them out of the relegation zone.

My team?

Quite pleased but got scorched by Guardiola's decision not to rotate.

Guadiola's team selection: a headache for fantasy pickers

Pep Guardiola seems to like taking the rise with fantasy football managers. Barcelona, as you might expect, are the highest scoring team in Yahoo Fantasy football: over the season, the accumluated score of their squad makes 2928pts. Their closest rivals are natually Real Madrid with 2754.5 pts. One would imagine that shoehorning as many Barca players into your line-up would be a sensible tactic for any fantasy manager, but alas, the champions elect keep upsetting me. David Villa has 2 goals in 10 games, Xavi hardly ever breaks 10 pts, Messi's value is always 40+, and with the recent fixture congestion, its almost impossible to predict the damn lineup as Pep rotates his boys to ensure freshness.

With an 5 pt lead and a game in hand, (with 3 to play) before Sunday night's fixture against Espanyol, Barca had to all intents and purposes won La Liga. One might expect that going into last nights home derby, Pep might have given a rest to the stars that secured passage to the Champions League final on Tuesday. You'd be given further reason for believing this given that throughout April, the team was heavily rotated with the likes of Jeffren, Pinto, Milito, Keita, Thiago, Affellay, and Fontas featuring frequently in the Liga matches. Even more weight is thrown behind this theory when you consider that Espanyol are on a horrible run of form and never beat Barcelona. So surely, these fringe names would feature in the gimme home game on Sunday?

But no, apart from perhaps the inclusion of Fontas and the absence of Puyol, he goes and names 9 of his strongest line-up; that which we will surely see against Man Utd. You might say to me, Pep could not risk increasing the pressure on himself and his team with another blip after last week's shock loss to Sociedad. you might say, he needs to play his strongest 11 to keep them sharp for the CL final.

Having picked Pinto, Affellay and Jeffren for my side this weekend, I prefer to think he has it in for fantasy football managers. Maybe it has something to do with Jose Mourinho's professed enjoyment of the Fantasy Football game, maybe Pep doesn't have time for such frivolity, but for my money, he's clearly out to undermine my fantasy football selections. Only Affellay got any game time. He got me 1 point.

La Liga: Predictions week 35

Week 35 Predictions

This weeks predictions according to Spiegelhalter see heavily favoured wins for Barcelona (89%), Atletico Madrid (72%), Valencia (69%), Atletico Bilbao (59%) and Real Madrid (58%).

Of course, Spiegelhalter does not take into account the factors that influence a catalunian derby but a heavy defeat for Espanyol looks on the cards either way. Barca will be expected to rest their big guns as per last week so it seems prudent to stick with Affellay and go for outsiders such as Thiago and Jeffren again. We should at least get goals.

Atletico Madrid are in hot, hot form and Spiegelhalter only backs up what we all know to expect from their tie with Malaga: goals. This game should yield lots of goals, whatever the result with Malaga also scoring freely in recent games. Sticking with the likes of Aguero and Reyes appears safe but it could be a worthy gamble to take a punt on Forlan or Diego Costa.

Valencia will surely get back to winning ways at home to Sociedad even if the Basques scored that shocker over Real last week. Jonas feels like a good pick.

Meanwhile, Bilbao look good for a home win over Levante. Muniain, Llorente and Toquero all feel like safe bets.

I don't like the look of Real away though, even though heavily favoured in the predictions, and will be staying away from this fixture.

This is the predictions in brief: get as many Barcelona, Bilbao, and A.Madrid guys as you can. I also like Miku and Rios from Getafe. Hope they help!

Team of the week 34: Super Tono, Super Lafita!

A belated look at the top performers from last week's La Liga in fantasy terms. Zaragoza's shock defeat of Real Madrid at the Bernabeau yielded the outstanding outfield performance of the round with midfielder Angel Lafita scoring a brace and the match winner to collect 24.5 pts. Seems like the lad has the habit against Los Blancos - the only vid I could find of Lafita is of the young spaniard having another excellent game against Real for Deportivo in 2009. At a value of just 8.8, Lafita is certainly an unlikely hero of the round.

The chance of Zaragoza scoring 3 goals was given at just 1% by Speigelhalter's model and an away win was given 3% compared to Real's 87%.



szólj hozzá: Real Madrid vs Zaragoza 2-3

Racing Santander's Tono was the golden man of the round though. The goalkeeper had an astonishingly good game, racking up 8 saves, a penalty save and a clean sheet to earn a whopping 34 points as Kennedy Bakiricoglu's Racing secured a vital 2-0 win over Mallorca. All from a value of 6.5 too having scored minus points the previous two weeks.

The win moves Racing 3 pts clear of the relegation zone. A 1-0 win was predicted the most likely result by Speigelhalter's model so Tono was quite an easy pick and I rue missing out on his haul. I shyed away based on Mallorca's excellent recent form but Racing were given a 48% chance of victory compared to Mallorca's 28%. 1-0 and 1-1 were the most likely results in the Poisson distribution with 2-0 and  2-1 joint second.

The next highest scorers come from the front line. Peppe Rossi was on hand to get the match winning goal for Villarreal against Getafe and Osvaldo continued his excellent form doing likewise for Espanyol against Bilbao. Julio Baptista got a brace as Malaga scored an emphatic 3-1 win at home to Hercules - more on him in a moment.

Susaeta scored a rare goal for Bilbao in their loss to Espanyol. Cejudo and Camunas both put in excellent displays as Osasuna made sure Spiegelhalters predictions came true and beat Valencia 1-0. These guys are great for points but I never know when to pick them.


Osasuna 1 Valencia 0 by jordixana

In defence, Sevilla's defenders Fazio and Julien Escude benefitted from a straight forward 1-0 away win at Almeria while Sergio Ramos scored a rare goal to be king of the defenders for this week. And there we have it; team of the week - and not a Messi or Ronaldo or any Barcelona player in sight (although, it is absolutely necessary to mention these key words for cynical SEO purposes).

Julio Baptista has obviously been reading this blog and put in a timely display as a former EPL player making good in La Liga. "La Bestia" who had an exceedingly poor season at Arsenal during his season loan from Real Madrid in 2006/07, has been in excellent form for the struggling Malaga since arriving from Roma in the last winter transfer window. The Andalucians were recently bottom of La Liga but former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini and his motley crew have done a fantastic job of stearing clear of the relegation zone in some style.

Baptista was brought to the south coast along with the new money and a wave of forgotten misfits of European football - (see Martin Demichelis and Enzo Maresca) and the former Sevilla forward had a good start at his new club. Injured after 5 games and not featuring since week 23, he has now scored four goals in three games since returning from injury against Mallorca in week 32. Overall he has a very tidy 7 in 8 games. So, hats off to "La Bestia" - it is great to see him recapture the sort of form which saw Real Madrid fork out 20million euros for the Brazilian's services 6 years ago.


Liga BBVA. Jornada 34. Todos los goles by acosart

The best starting XI would have been:

Rossi, Villarreal, 22
Baptista, Malaga, 21.5
Osvaldo, Espanyol, 21.5

Lafita, Zaragoza, 24.5
Susaeta, Bilbao, 18
Cejudo, Osasuna, 18
Camunas, Osasuna, 15

Ramos, R.Mad, 12.5
Escude, Sevilla, 10.5
Fazio, Sevilla, 10

Tono, Santander, 34 pts*

Spiegelhalter versus the world

Spiegelhater got 6 correct results and 3 exact scores. Actual results in brackets where different.

Real Madrid 2-0 Real Zaragoza (2-3)
Real Sociedad 0-2 FC Barcelona (2-1)
Deportivo La Coruña 1-1 Atlético Madrid (0-1)
Levante UD 1-0 Sporting Gijón (0-0)
Málaga CF 1-0 Hércules CF (3-1)
Racing Santander 1- 0 RCD Mallorca (2-0)
UD Almería 0-1 Sevilla FC
Villarreal CF 2-0 Getafe CF (2-1)
Osasuna 1-0 Valencia CF
RCD Espanyol 2-1 Athletic Bilbao

La Liga: Predictions Week 34

Week 34 Predictions

This week's predictions. Invariably, Real Madrid and Barcelona are massive favourites in their games with the maths showing an almost certain victory for both sides. In both games, the most likely score is 2-0 and the second most likely score is 3-0. The only problem for fantasy football pickers is who to pick as both sides will be rotating their lineups. It seems prudent to refer to last week. For Barcelona, the likes of Affellay and Thiago represent good value and are likely to start. For Real, it is a case of trying to find the cash for Kaka, Benzema and Higuain. Or for a good bargain go for defender Garay.

Villarreal follow closely with a whopping 75% chance of a home win against struggling Getafe. Only problem is that the Submarines are stuttering. Rossi keeps scoring as does Cazorla (in fantasy terms). Nilmar is tempting because he is good value but hasn't scored for ages.

Espanyol, Levante and Sevilla all come in with a 50% chance of winning their games. I don't trust that prediction for Espanyol at home to Bilbao. Bilbao have been in good recent form while Espanyol haven't won for a while. But, both sides should get at least one goal. Likewise, Gijon have been in excellent form recently and it will be a difficult game for Levante. Caicedo is good for a goal though. Sevilla would be the best bet against the doomed Almeria. Rakitic and Negredo being the best attacking picks for the southerners.

Away from these games, no side is given more than a 50% chance of winning. Osasuna desperately need a win to get out of the relegation places and their excellent home record comes up against Valencia's excellent away record; stubborn 0-0 specialists Deportivo face free scoring Atletico; and Malaga, coming into form just in time, are in a crucial relegation 6 pointer with Hercules. Whatever the outcome, all these games should yield plenty of goals so there are lots of points up for grabs. From these games, I like Duda and Baptista (Malaga), Aguero and Diego Costa (Atleti).

The Premier League in La Liga

Playing Yahoo Fantasy Football and being exposed to the whole gamut of La Liga's playing staff leads to many surprise revelations about forgotten players. Every week, some player I hadn't thought about for years seems to loom into view and asks to be remembered. 


Baptista, Malaga and Arsenal

By my count there are 30 former EPL players currently in La Liga. Where are they now? Naturally we only tend to hear about the headline stars but I'm generally more excited to notice some obscure lurker, who loiters on the periphery untroubled by the burdens of superstardom. The likes of Julio Baptista, Noe Pamarot and Xisco. They barely registered in England. What are they doing in Spain?



And what do their Fantasy Football scores look like? As there's 30, this will need to be a staggered project over the coming weeks. I'll particularly want to focus on the forgotten men: those fly-by nighters who barely caressed our skin before vanishing from view leaving us wondering whether they were really ever there at all. Firstly, allow me to present the comprehensive list. In due course, I will undertake the in depth analysis into individuals' performances this season.



Pamarot celebrates with Hercules

Atletico Madrid

Fran Merida, Jose Reyes, (both Arsenal) Tiago (Chelsea), Diego Forlan (Man Utd)

Barcelona

Gerard Pique (Man Utd), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)

Deportivo

Xisco (loan - Newcastle)

Hercules
Noe Pamarot (Portsmouth, Tottenham)

Levante
Asier Del Horno (Chelsea), Felipe Caicedo (Man City)

Malaga
Julio Baptista (Arsenal), Quincy Owusu Abeye (Portsmouth, Arsenal)


Pandiani, Osasuna and Birmingham



Osasuna

Nico Medina (Sunderland), Ricardo (Man Utd), Pandiani (Birmingham)

Racing Santander

Dos Santos (loan Spurs)

Real Madrid

Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa, Dudek (all Liverpool) Ronaldo (Man Utd), Carvalho (Chelsea), Lass Diarra (Chelsea, Portsmouth, Arsenal), Adebayor (loan - Man City)

Sevilla

Kanoute, Zokora (both Spurs)


Villarreal
Altidore (Hull), Borja Valero (WBA), Rossi (Man Utd)

Zaragoza

Florent Sinama Pongolle (Liverpool), Jiri Jarosik (Birmingham, Chelsea)



La Liga Team of the Week 33

La Liga's star team of the weekend 33 from Yahoo Fantasy Football.

3-4-3 formation

Forwards
Higuain (Real) 35
Spearheading Real's reserve side, bags a hattrick in 6-3 defeat of Valencia.

Aguero (Atleti) 22.5
Brace in 4-1 defeat over Levante makes it 8 goals in 6 for Atleti wunderkid.

Jonas (Val) 19.5
Valencia's Brazilian forward got a goal, an assist and 3 SOTs in just 31 minutes of play.

Mids
Kaka (Real) 29.5
2 goals, 2 assists: emphatic display

Elias (Atleti) 18
Another Brazilian, priced just 4.38!, filled his boots with superb free kick goal.

Tiago Gomes (Hercules) 16.5
Portugease, scored his first of the season, and a match winning goal to boot.

Cazorla (Villarreal) 15.5
His 4th highest score of the year, dominant display from the wing wizard without scoring a goal.

Defs
Nunes (Mallorca) 25
1st goal of season for Mallorca in islanders 2-0 defeat of Getafe

Jose Angel (Sporting Gijon) 14.5
Jose with another excellent display as Gijon scored another tight 1-0 win, this time over Espanyol.

A.Paz (Hercules) 12.5
Paz helps Hercules secure vital win but his side still lie 19th.

V.Valdes (Barca) 20
Keeper had to be at his best, making 5 saves to keep Osasuna at bay.

 Total = 228.5



Spiegelhalter had a better time of it this week with 8 correct results and 5 perfect scores. Coo. (Actual results in bold if different.)

Valencia CF 0 - 1 Real Madrid (3-6)
FC Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Real Sociedad
Racing Santander 2-1 Málaga CF (1-2)
RCD Mallorca 1-0 Getafe CF (2-0)
Sporting Gijón 1-0 RCD Espanyol
Hércules CF 1-0 Deportivo La Coruña
Atlético Madrid 1-0 Levante UD (4-1)
Sevilla FC 1-1 Villarreal CF (3-2)
Real Zaragoza 1-0 UD Almería

Team of the Saturday night:33

Higuain - (Rea) - 35
Jonas - (Val) - 19
Benzema - (Real) - 19

Kaka (Real) 29.5
Alba (Val) 11
Banega (Val) 8.5
D. Lopez (Bil) 8

Dani Alves (Barca) 8.5
Maxwell (Barca) 7
Damia (Osasuna) 5

V.Valdes (Barca) 20