Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Tough Games for Barcelona, Real and Atletico
Back to La Liga after Champions League action, and there are two particularly notable talking points in Spain's top flight this weekend.
The first is Real Madrid's Karim Benzema, back to full fitness and back in scoring form with five goals in his last two fixtures for the club—but now officially not being considered for selection for the French national team, as confirmed by Marca among others.
Per the Marca report:
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"The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced its position on the Mathieu Valbuena blackmailing scandal and has decided to suspend Karim Benzema from international duty. The Real Madrid striker, who currently stands accused of being involved in extorting Valbuena using a sex tape, could now miss out on a place at Euro 2016. Depending on the length and outcome of the legal proceedings, he might not be called up for the tournament.
FFF president, Noël Le Graët, said that, "Valbuena is the victim, not the problem. Benzema is a good lad, but he doesn't always come across well. He was born in a tough neighbourhood and still has the same circle of friends. Valbuena's problem is that he left his phone where he shouldn't have. We decided to drop Benzema. It was the Federation's decision. We can't call him up under the circumstances."
"
From Real's point of view, it could swing either way: Is Benzema's mental state ready to make the French Federation rue their decision by firing on all cylinders and proving himself one of Europe's top strikers again, or will it play on his mind and shorten his effectiveness?
The fact that he continues to play at present should be answer enough and the actual announcement—two days after Real's record-equalling win over Malmo where the No. 9 scored a hat-trick—can't have been that much of a surprise. It suggests the Frenchman should probably be in place to contribute going forward and, rightly or wrongly depending on his actual involvement in the case in question, performances will talk.
"115 - Karim Benzema has the 4th best minutes-per-goal ratio in the CL history, among players with 20 goals min. Hot. pic.twitter.com/UU57LlU07s
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) December 9, 2015"
There is no international football to worry about until March, and Benzema hardly needs a couple of friendlies to ascertain his pedigree; the next few months mean little in that respect other than Didier Deschamps could get a better look at who might partner the Real striker—or replace him.
Goals and trophies for Real Madrid this season, though, will put serious pressure on Deschamps and France to recall Benzema for a major tournament on home soil where they desperately want to be successful.
The second point of the weekend is Gary Neville making his domestic debut as head coach, as his Valencia side take on Eibar.
It's a tough fixture, no mistake, even though it's against one of the smallest clubs in any of Europe's biggest leagues. The teams are level on points in the table, and both are without a win in their last three Liga games.
Neville's first Valencia side wasn't overly ambitious in trying to change shape or personnel, but he'll quickly realise who the underperformers are and look to put his own ideas across to the team, particularly in midfield which still sees a huge imbalance compared to last season.
"Gary Neville’s first game w/ Valencia tonight, in Champions League. Here’s his biggest worry, for @soccerboxcom https://t.co/tEq0v4VYEM #VAL
— Karl Matchett (@karlmatchett) December 9, 2015"
After an exit in Europe, Los Che need a few reasons to cheer and could really do with a winning start to Neville's tenure in domestic play.
Jornada 15 (kick-off times per Soccerway)
Friday
Getafe vs. Real Sociedad
Saturday
Barcelona vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Celta Vigo vs. Espanyol
Levante vs. Granada
Sevilla vs. Sporting Gijon
Las Palmas vs. Real Betis
Sunday
Rayo Vallecano vs. Malaga
Eibar vs. Valencia
Atletico Madrid vs. Athletic Club
Villarreal vs. Real Madrid
What to watch out for this weekend
Part 1: Tough asks for three points from top three
The best teams are at the top once again, which is precisely what you'd expect by December: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid make up La Liga's top three and a five-point gap has developed down to the next group of sides.
While the top two have been on good runs of late—Atleti have four wins on the spin—Real have recovered from successive defeats with two league victories since El Clasico. Jornada 13 saw all three win, while last time out saw two wins for the Madrid clubs and a late draw for Barca.
This week? It's certainly feasible that all three could take victories again, but they'll have to be very much on point with their tactics and performances, and the odds are that at least one will drop points.
Real have a good record against Villarreal and probably have enough firepower to out-gun their offensive-minded opponents, but it's not a sure thing. Likewise, Atleti vs. Athletic could get attritional rather than looking at who has the greater on-ground talent, which would see Diego Simeone's team run out winners in normal circumstances.
Barcelona, meanwhile, face Deportivo; this isn't a hugely tough game on the face of it, but Depor have great confidence after a terrific season so far.
They have lingered around the top six as a result of being hard to break down and Lucas Perez being in goal-grabbing form of late, but it's actually only three wins in nine for Depor now and one of those was in the Copa del Rey. A lot of draws and just one defeat make up the bulk of that run, but it's worth noting that they drew against both Atletico and Sevilla.
If Barcelona can take the points, there's a good chance they'll stretch their lead at the top of the table this weekend.
Part 2: Can Malaga finally score away from home?
Frankly, it's not even funny any more. Now into December, seven away games played for each La Liga team and Malaga still haven't managed to find the net once on the road.
Their struggles in the final third have been well documented in our Hangover and Ultimate Guide series, the lowest scorers in the league with just seven all told, but not having found the back of the net once outside of La Rosaleda is frankly embarrassing at this point for the Andalucian club.
Their latest opportunity is maybe the best they'll have though: They play Rayo Vallecano on Sunday morning, the team with the worst defensive record and a notoriously carefree style of play under Paco Jemez.
Malaga are only just outside the relegation zone on goal difference and need a win to catch the next team above them—Rayo, as it happens—and not get cut adrift in a four-team battle to avoid the drop.
Player to watch: Raul Garcia, ATH
Atleti vs. Athletic is one of La Liga's classics, a match sure to be full of fire, work rate and no shortage of quality. Last season around this time of year, this fixture—albeit in reverse, at San Mames—effectively saw the making of Antoine Griezmann as he plundered a hat-trick in a 4-1 Atletico win.
The other scorer that day for Diego Simeone's side was Raul Garcia. The dependable warrior determined in summer, however, that he needed to move on from the Vicente Calderon if he was to feature more regularly—and so pitched up at Athletic instead.
He has certainly been an absolute success so far, linking well with Aritz Aduriz in attack and racking up four goals and five assists in just 18 games for the Basque team so far.
The Garcia-Aduriz strikeforce needs to be at its best this weekend to trouble an Atleti defence which hasn't conceded in the last four Liga fixtures—and only six in 14 this season overall.
There aren't many around who will be more familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of Diego Godin and Co. of course, so Ernesto Valverde will be hoping his No. 22 can provide the guile to provide Aduriz with chances—or finish them off himself.
Game of the weekend: Villarreal vs. Real Madrid
For potential excitement with fast-flowing football, both teams looking to win and chances at either end aplenty, the match at El Madrigal has to be the pick of the bunch.
Villarreal only know one way to play: get possession and then attack. Their usual 4-4-2 system may well be eked back a notch to compensate for Real's strength in midfield, but if Marcelino keeps faith with Roberto Soldado and Cedric Bakambu as a pairing, Real's own defence can prepare for a tough day.
Add in Denis Suarez, Bruno Soriano and Manu Trigueros and Villarreal have a steady supply line for the front two, with Jonthan dos Santos or Samu Castillejo likely to make up the midfield quartet.
Real will of course go out to do nothing but win; whether 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, Rafael Benitez's team want to attack fast, create chances and keep the scoring runs of Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo going for as long as possible.
They're still trying to make ground back on Barcelona and playing the last match of the weekend could work in their favour if the mindset is right.
Video of the week
B/R's Marcus Speller and Dean Jones are in the studio to discuss this season's hidden truths in the football world, including Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid from La Liga.
Predictions and tips
- Home wins for Barcelona, Celta Vigo, Sevilla
- Away wins for Real Betis, Real Madrid
- Both teams to score in LEV-GRA, EIB-VAL, ATM-ATH, VIL-RMA.
