Madrid: Matchday eight in La Liga comes after three of the four Spanish sides playing in the Champions League all lost in midweek, severely complicating their European futures. Here are some things to look out for in Spain this weekend.
1. Fixture calendar a factor for some
Matchday eight comes as we move into an intense period in La Liga, with some sides having to play two games a week until the competition is halted for the World Cup finals.
While FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla all have work to do to qualify for the next stage in Europe, Villarreal, Real Madrid, Betis and Real Sociedad are well on the way toward assuring a place in the next stage of their respective competitions and will have more flexibility to rest key players to assure they are fit for important league ties between now and November 6th (when La Liga comes to a halt).
With the ‘Clasico’ between Real Madrid and Barca next weekend, that could be decisive for the destination of the title, reports Xinhua.
2. More injury problems for Barca as Aspas lurks
Celta striker Iago Aspas has long been a scourge of FC Barcelona, scoring 10 goals in 15 appearances against the Catalans and he may fancy his chances again on Sunday.
Barca go into the match after a 1-0 defeat away to Inter Milan and have to beat the Italians next Wednesday to retain a realistic chance of remaining in the competition.
However, coach Xavi Hernandez has a long list of injuries to contend with, after Andreas Christensen and Frank Kessie joined Hector Bellerin, Ronald Araujo, Memphis Depay and Jules Kounde in the sickroom. Frenkie de Jong returns after injury, but Xavi has Eric Garcia and Gerard Pique as his only fit central defenders and Aspas’ pace will cause Pique problems.
3. Litmus test for Athletic as Sampaoli return to Sevilla
Athletic Club Bilbao have had a flying start to the season and currently sit third in the table with five wins and a draw from their first seven matches, in which they have also netted 16 goals.
Led by Oihan Sancet and the Williams brothers, Athletic have been a whirlwind in attack, although fans are aware that so far they have not faced any ‘big’ rivals.
Sevilla will be the first top-level rival for the Basques this season and will provide a litmus test for just how far they can go. However, the arrival of Jorge Sampaoli as coach to replace Julen Lopetegui on Saturday makes this game hard to call as the Sevilla squad have something to prove.
4. Memories of Sadiq hang over goalless Almeria
Although the sale of striker Umar Sadiq to Real Sociedad was undoubtedly good economic business for recently promoted Almeria, in sporting terms, it has been a disaster.
Almeria go into Saturday’s home match after four consecutive defeats in which they have failed to score a goal and defeat against an always-dangerous Rayo could have coach ‘Rubi’ in trouble,
The side from the south-east of Spain look to open up the flanks and have plenty of pace in the last third of the pitch, but without the big man to apply the finishing touch, their attacks have come to nothing.
The irony is that Sadiq damaged a knee in just his second match for Real Sociedad and is now out for the season.
–IANS