Spain is slowly gearing up for El Clásico on Monday, November 29th. Pep Guardiola did not want to talk about it yet on Friday. “We have to play Almería first,” he said.
Spain is slowly gearing up for El Clásico on Monday 28 november. Pep Guardiola did not want to talk about it yet on Friday. “Only about Almería”, he said. “We have to play Almería in La Liga and Panathinaikos in the Champions League first”, the FC Barcelona coach said.
Real Madrid play Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Their encounter is the most played fixture in Spanish football. The clubs have met 213 times in official matches (158 in La Liga and 55 in Copa del Rey). Real-coach José Mourinho will have to watch it from the stands, because he is serving the second match of his two match suspension. Mourinho’s place on the bench will again be taken by assistant coach Aitor Karanka, a former Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid player.
Behind the Spanish top-two Villarreal and Valencia CF are fighting for the title best of the rest in Spain. Valencia-coach Unai Emery expects a spectacular match of high quality: “Both our clubs a chasing the same goals this season. My players are well aware of the importance and the know we want to beat a team that is from our own level.”
Villarreal did not manage to stay in the title race last week, when they lost 3-1 at FC Barcelona. The number three ranked club has to regroup and keep number four ranked Valencia at a distance on Saturday. Valencia trail only by three points.
Valencia grabbed an important 2-0 win at home against Getafe last week. It was their first victory in five matches. Villarreal have won two, drawn two and lost one in their five most recent La Liga encounters.
Coach Unai Emery of Valencia expects a spectacular match of high quality: “Both our clubs a chasing the same goals this season. My players are well aware of the importance and the know we want to beat a team that is from our own level.”
“Only about Almería”, Pep Guardiola was trying to avoid all questions about the El Clásico at home against Real Madrid next week. “We have to play Almería in La Liga and Panathinaikos in the Champions League first”, the FC Barcelona coach said.
Guardiola is coping with some injury trouble in his defense. Eric Abidal will not be able to play and Piqué is a doubt. “We’ll decide on him tomorrow”, the coach said on Friday. Lionel Messi will definitely play. The Argentine ace seems to be unstoppable and helped his country to a 1-0 win against Brazil in Qatar on Wednesday. If he scores twice against Almería Messi will become the fourth player to score 100+ league goals for the club, joining César Rodríguez (195), Ladislao Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (107). Messi brought his total to 98 with two goals versus Villarreal last week.
Almería lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao last week. They are the only team in La Liga who have not won at home this season, drawing four times and losing once. Their record against Barcelona does not give much hope either. Almería never managed to win a La Liga match versus Barcelona in six attempts (4 losses, 2 draws).
Real Madrid will have to play without José Mourinho on the bench for the second time in a row against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday because the Portuguese coach serves a two match ban. His place on the bench will again be taken by assistant coach Aitor Karanka, a former Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid player. The match between Real Madrid and Bilbao is most played fixture in Spanish football. The clubs have met 213 times in official matches (158 in La Liga and 55 in Copa del Rey).
Bilbao will be trying to end Real Madrid’s winning streak, but that’s going to be a tough job. Real are unbeaten in their last 18 La Liga matches (15-3-0), the longest active streak in La Liga. Their last defeat in La Liga was a 2-0 loss at home against FC Barcelona on 10 April 2010. In the Bernabéu stadium Real have won 23 of their last 24 matches in La Liga.
Athletic Pablo Orbaiz vows to give it all on Saturday: "We know it difficult to go there, but we are not going to gif them anything for free. We hope to have a good day and things go well." Bilbao’s last win at Real Madrid was on 19 February 2005 (0-2). The Basque club come from a 1-0 win against Almería last week.
“The match against Santander is important to change the dynamics, but it’s not decisive”, Levante-trainer Luis García Plaza said. “We need the support of our people playing against a rival like Santander.” Levante lost their previous four matches in a row and are second from bottom with eight points from their first eleven matches.
Santander come from a goalless draw against RCD Espanyol last week. Trainer Miguel Ángel Portugal wants more on Sunday. “We need six points from our next two matches, so we should start with a win against Santander.”
Málaga CF will be looking for their first ever win at Deportivo La Coruña on Sunday. The Southerners visited the Northerners 17 times before in La Liga and lost 14 times. The match ended in a draw 3 times. Deportivo and Málaga are ranked 15th and 16th respectively and there’s only a one point gap between both contenders.
The visitors will have to play without Apoño. The midfielder suffered a muscle injury in his left leg during the training on Friday. Deportivo may have to miss striker Riki, who was taken to hospital with a probable appendicitis on Friday.
Royston Drenthe scored the winning goal against Real Sociedad last week, made his international debut for the Netherlands against Turkey on Wednesday (1-0) and his wife gave birth to his son Desley on Friday. The Real Madrid defender who is on loan at Hércules this season will not play against RCD Espanyol however. He suffers from an ulcer in the gullet, which is most probably caused by stress.
Without Drenthe Hércules will try to be the first team to beat Espanyol at home this season. The red and blue team from Barcelona won all their five home matches. The home crowd will probably cheer for Javi Márquez more than usual. The midfielder said denied all rumors about a Premier League move on Friday. “I’m a home player and I’ve always played here and I love playing here. I’m only thinking about Hércules at the moment.”
While Sportiong Gijón were preparing for another important League match on Sunday, coach Manolo Preciado had to answer to many questions about his dispute with Real Madrid’s José Mourinho last week. Mourinho acused Gijón os losing on purpose against their neighbours FC Barcelona and Preciado did not answer in a very polite fashion, calling Mourinho a ‘hateful villain’. The Spanish FA are considering disciplinary sanctions on both coaches.
Preciado wanted to apologize on Friday. “For the tone of voice, not for the content of my words”, he added. Although many words went to the quarrel with Mourinho, Gijón’s match against Osasuna seems to be a bit more important. Sporting are ranked 17th, only one point above the relegation zone and 12th ranked Osasuna, who were trashed 3-0 by Atlético Madrid last week, seem to provide a good opportunity to get points.
“Sevilla are in the zone where they belong, a Europa League spot”, said Mallorca-coach Michael Laudrup about his upcoming opponent on Friday. “They play at home, there will be a good atmosphere so we’ll have to do very well to stand a chance.” Laudrup does not look up as his main goal seems to be staying out of relegation trouble, although his team is in a safe looking tenth spot at the moment. “It’s better to have fifteen points at this stage than nine. We must look at our points total not at our ranking.”
For Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano the ficture against Mallorca is a special one. Last year he led the Balearic club to the fifth place and a ticket for the Europa League. Despite this excellent performance his contract was not renewed due to financial trouble at the club. Manzano then moved to Sevilla to replace the fired Antonio Álvarez.
Real Sociedad come from a disappointing 2-1 loss at Hércules CF last week, but coach Martín Lasarte stays positive. The Argentine trainer is ranked ninth with the team that promoted to La Liga last season and he says that his team is still improving. The match against Atlético Madrid is a tough one however. “Atlético is more than just Kun Agüero and Diego Forlán. They’ve got more player that can cause danger.”
“We go to San Sebastián for a victory”, said Atlético-coach Antonio López. “Real Sociedad has good players, but I concentrate on my own team. Last week the Rojiblancos beat Osasuna convincingly: 3-0. Forlan scored twice and Aguëro once.
Number last Real Zaragoza will play their first match with Javier Aguirre on the bench. The Mexican coach replaced José Aurelio Gay, who was fired on Thursday. “That the trainer was fired yesterday makes everyone feel bad, but I feel a positive change of atmosphere”, Zaragoza captain Gabi said. “and that’s where we have to start. There is still a lot to play for in this competition and one win can change a lot.”
Getafe had a tough run in their last five matches. They lost to Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, FC Barcelona and Valencia CF and only managed to beat Sporting Gijón in between. The eleventh ranked club have a lot of injury trouble and trainer Míchel is pleased with the fact that his team plays on Monday, which gives his players a day more to recover.
Real Madrid play Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Their encounter is the most played fixture in Spanish football. The clubs have met 213 times in official matches (158 in La Liga and 55 in Copa del Rey). Real-coach José Mourinho will have to watch it from the stands, because he is serving the second match of his two match suspension. Mourinho’s place on the bench will again be taken by assistant coach Aitor Karanka, a former Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid player.
Behind the Spanish top-two Villarreal and Valencia CF are fighting for the title best of the rest in Spain. Valencia-coach Unai Emery expects a spectacular match of high quality: “Both our clubs a chasing the same goals this season. My players are well aware of the importance and the know we want to beat a team that is from our own level.”
Villarreal did not manage to stay in the title race last week, when they lost 3-1 at FC Barcelona. The number three ranked club has to regroup and keep number four ranked Valencia at a distance on Saturday. Valencia trail only by three points.
Valencia grabbed an important 2-0 win at home against Getafe last week. It was their first victory in five matches. Villarreal have won two, drawn two and lost one in their five most recent La Liga encounters.
Coach Unai Emery of Valencia expects a spectacular match of high quality: “Both our clubs a chasing the same goals this season. My players are well aware of the importance and the know we want to beat a team that is from our own level.”
“Only about Almería”, Pep Guardiola was trying to avoid all questions about the El Clásico at home against Real Madrid next week. “We have to play Almería in La Liga and Panathinaikos in the Champions League first”, the FC Barcelona coach said.
Guardiola is coping with some injury trouble in his defense. Eric Abidal will not be able to play and Piqué is a doubt. “We’ll decide on him tomorrow”, the coach said on Friday. Lionel Messi will definitely play. The Argentine ace seems to be unstoppable and helped his country to a 1-0 win against Brazil in Qatar on Wednesday. If he scores twice against Almería Messi will become the fourth player to score 100+ league goals for the club, joining César Rodríguez (195), Ladislao Kubala (131) and Samuel Eto'o (107). Messi brought his total to 98 with two goals versus Villarreal last week.
Almería lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao last week. They are the only team in La Liga who have not won at home this season, drawing four times and losing once. Their record against Barcelona does not give much hope either. Almería never managed to win a La Liga match versus Barcelona in six attempts (4 losses, 2 draws).
Real Madrid will have to play without José Mourinho on the bench for the second time in a row against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday because the Portuguese coach serves a two match ban. His place on the bench will again be taken by assistant coach Aitor Karanka, a former Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid player. The match between Real Madrid and Bilbao is most played fixture in Spanish football. The clubs have met 213 times in official matches (158 in La Liga and 55 in Copa del Rey).
Bilbao will be trying to end Real Madrid’s winning streak, but that’s going to be a tough job. Real are unbeaten in their last 18 La Liga matches (15-3-0), the longest active streak in La Liga. Their last defeat in La Liga was a 2-0 loss at home against FC Barcelona on 10 April 2010. In the Bernabéu stadium Real have won 23 of their last 24 matches in La Liga.
Athletic Pablo Orbaiz vows to give it all on Saturday: "We know it difficult to go there, but we are not going to gif them anything for free. We hope to have a good day and things go well." Bilbao’s last win at Real Madrid was on 19 February 2005 (0-2). The Basque club come from a 1-0 win against Almería last week.
“The match against Santander is important to change the dynamics, but it’s not decisive”, Levante-trainer Luis García Plaza said. “We need the support of our people playing against a rival like Santander.” Levante lost their previous four matches in a row and are second from bottom with eight points from their first eleven matches.
Santander come from a goalless draw against RCD Espanyol last week. Trainer Miguel Ángel Portugal wants more on Sunday. “We need six points from our next two matches, so we should start with a win against Santander.”
Málaga CF will be looking for their first ever win at Deportivo La Coruña on Sunday. The Southerners visited the Northerners 17 times before in La Liga and lost 14 times. The match ended in a draw 3 times. Deportivo and Málaga are ranked 15th and 16th respectively and there’s only a one point gap between both contenders.
The visitors will have to play without Apoño. The midfielder suffered a muscle injury in his left leg during the training on Friday. Deportivo may have to miss striker Riki, who was taken to hospital with a probable appendicitis on Friday.
Royston Drenthe scored the winning goal against Real Sociedad last week, made his international debut for the Netherlands against Turkey on Wednesday (1-0) and his wife gave birth to his son Desley on Friday. The Real Madrid defender who is on loan at Hércules this season will not play against RCD Espanyol however. He suffers from an ulcer in the gullet, which is most probably caused by stress.
Without Drenthe Hércules will try to be the first team to beat Espanyol at home this season. The red and blue team from Barcelona won all their five home matches. The home crowd will probably cheer for Javi Márquez more than usual. The midfielder said denied all rumors about a Premier League move on Friday. “I’m a home player and I’ve always played here and I love playing here. I’m only thinking about Hércules at the moment.”
While Sportiong Gijón were preparing for another important League match on Sunday, coach Manolo Preciado had to answer to many questions about his dispute with Real Madrid’s José Mourinho last week. Mourinho acused Gijón os losing on purpose against their neighbours FC Barcelona and Preciado did not answer in a very polite fashion, calling Mourinho a ‘hateful villain’. The Spanish FA are considering disciplinary sanctions on both coaches.
Preciado wanted to apologize on Friday. “For the tone of voice, not for the content of my words”, he added. Although many words went to the quarrel with Mourinho, Gijón’s match against Osasuna seems to be a bit more important. Sporting are ranked 17th, only one point above the relegation zone and 12th ranked Osasuna, who were trashed 3-0 by Atlético Madrid last week, seem to provide a good opportunity to get points.
“Sevilla are in the zone where they belong, a Europa League spot”, said Mallorca-coach Michael Laudrup about his upcoming opponent on Friday. “They play at home, there will be a good atmosphere so we’ll have to do very well to stand a chance.” Laudrup does not look up as his main goal seems to be staying out of relegation trouble, although his team is in a safe looking tenth spot at the moment. “It’s better to have fifteen points at this stage than nine. We must look at our points total not at our ranking.”
For Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano the ficture against Mallorca is a special one. Last year he led the Balearic club to the fifth place and a ticket for the Europa League. Despite this excellent performance his contract was not renewed due to financial trouble at the club. Manzano then moved to Sevilla to replace the fired Antonio Álvarez.
Real Sociedad come from a disappointing 2-1 loss at Hércules CF last week, but coach Martín Lasarte stays positive. The Argentine trainer is ranked ninth with the team that promoted to La Liga last season and he says that his team is still improving. The match against Atlético Madrid is a tough one however. “Atlético is more than just Kun Agüero and Diego Forlán. They’ve got more player that can cause danger.”
“We go to San Sebastián for a victory”, said Atlético-coach Antonio López. “Real Sociedad has good players, but I concentrate on my own team. Last week the Rojiblancos beat Osasuna convincingly: 3-0. Forlan scored twice and Aguëro once.
Number last Real Zaragoza will play their first match with Javier Aguirre on the bench. The Mexican coach replaced José Aurelio Gay, who was fired on Thursday. “That the trainer was fired yesterday makes everyone feel bad, but I feel a positive change of atmosphere”, Zaragoza captain Gabi said. “and that’s where we have to start. There is still a lot to play for in this competition and one win can change a lot.”
Getafe had a tough run in their last five matches. They lost to Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, FC Barcelona and Valencia CF and only managed to beat Sporting Gijón in between. The eleventh ranked club have a lot of injury trouble and trainer Míchel is pleased with the fact that his team plays on Monday, which gives his players a day more to recover.
