La Liga: Previews for Saturday's Matches

Barcelona vs Santander

Barcelona lost to Betis midweek. The home side going down to a second division team was something of a humiliation, although boss Pep Guardiola has seen a silver lining from this, suggesting that a loss in a relatively unimportant game was a much better time to get a humbling and address the team's over confidence.

The fact that Barcelona had gone 28 games undefeated prior to the beating by Betis had clearly bred an air of invincibility around the side. Barcelona led the league by four points, leaving themselves with something of a cushion over their main rivals Real Madrid. Clearly, as always, they will be the favourites for this match with them still by far being the better side.

Racing Santander have been struggling more than usual this season, after losing against Bilbao in the northern Derby. The Cantabrians are now only four points clear of the relegation zone and playing away at Barcelona is not likely to help their dire situation at the moment. They are still looking at the bright side, with their manager saying, “It’s not impossible to get a result at the Nou Camp.” Although things aren’t always that easy.

Valencia vs Malaga

Valencia are still in fourth place, which has to be a little bit disappointing for the home side considering they are somewhat displaced from their usual comfortable third place.

Still, they should be on for a win in this fixture even against the new-look Malaga, who have been willing to invest a fortune in a rejuvenated squad. On the opening weekend of the season, Valencia hammered Malaga 3-1 without even a moment of difficulty.

The home side is going to have a bit more of a challenge this time round. Since the arrival of Pellegrini as manager of Malaga, they have improved rather decisively, clawing their way out of the relegation zone. And despite losing to Barcelona, they have looked like a side which is really capable of making a big change in terms of their fortunes.

A trip to Valencia is not to be taken lightly, and the home team will not take this match laying down, as they are desperate to get every last point they can to get back into their accustomed position. Malaga may not have much of a chance of achieving anything impressive this season, but they are certainly going to be a side to watch out for next year.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores