La Liga Weekly Power Rankings—Matchday 11

Anyone who says La Liga isn't competitive should take their focus off of Real Madrid and Barcelona for a while.

This week showed that Spain's Primera Division is, in fact, one of the most competitive leagues in all of Europe.

Teams that were in the second division or fighting relegation last season are currently in the hunt for Europa League qualification.

At the other end, two teams who were just one win away from a top-6 spot last season are now fighting to stay in the first division.

Outside of the title race, the league is as unpredictable as ever and the disparity in Spain is minimal this season.

Let's see how the teams stack up in this week's power rankings.

20. Mallorca

Current League Standing: 15

Recent Results: Loss vs. Barcelona (4-2), Loss vs. Deportivo (1-0), Loss vs. Real Madrid (5-0)

Six straight losses, outscored 10-2 in their last three matches and absolutely no confidence.

Mallorca did not expect to be fighting relegation this season, but are currently just one point above the drop zone.

19. Deportivo La Coruña

Current League Standing: 18

Recent Results: Loss vs. Zaragoza (5-3), Win vs. Mallorca (1-0), Draw vs. Celta Vigo (1-1)

Their win over struggling Mallorca two weeks ago was Depor's only win in their last 10 matches.

Struggling to stop Real Madrid and Barcelona is understandable, but there is just no way the Galicians should allow five goals to Zaragoza.

18. Celta Vigo

Current League Standing: 17

Recent Results: Loss vs. Rayo Vallecano (3-2), Loss vs. Barcelona (3-1), Draw vs. Deportivo (1-1)

The Galicians gave up a lead for the third straight game, this time losing a two-goal advantage with only 30 minutes left to play.

Celta's last win came on October 5, and they've managed just four points in their last seven matches.

17. Osasuna

Current League Standing: 20

Recent Results: Win vs. Espanyol (3-0), Loss vs. Valladolid (1-0), Loss vs. Atletico Madrid (3-1)

Los Rojillos may have had their best offensive performance against Espanyol, but the score was far too flattering for what happened.

Osasuna scored three of their own, but also allowed 18 shots against. Let's see how they do against Malaga next week.

16. Espanyol

Current League Standing: 19

Recent Results: Loss vs. Osasuna (3-0), Win vs. Real Sociedad (1-0), Draw vs. Malaga (0-0)

Espanyol had finally gotten a bit of momentum, but lost convincingly in the second half against Osasuna.

To be fair, another top class in goal from Andres made the Catalans look far worse offensively than they actually were.

15. Getafe

Current League Standing: 14

Recent Results: Loss vs. Atletico Madrid (2-0), Loss vs. Real Betis (4-2), Win vs. Athletic Bilbao (2-1)

El Geta has lost three of their last four, but we have to consider that all three losses came against top-6 teams.

Unfortunately the schedule doesn't get much easier for Getafe as Valladolid make their way to Madrid this weekend.

14. Granada

Current League Standing: 16

Recent Results: Win vs. Real Betis (2-1), Loss vs. Athletic Bilbao (2-1), Loss vs. Levante (3-1)

El Grana pulled off a great upset against Betis thanks to a class performance from Mikel Rico, but the three preceding losses cannot be forgotten.

13. Sevilla

Current League Standing: 10

Recent Results: Loss vs. Athletic Bilbao (2-1), Draw vs. Levante (0-0), Loss vs. Zaragoza (2-1)

Los Rojiblancos have won just one of their last six league games. That win came against a Mallorca side that has lost their last six in a row.

Only one goal has been scored from open play in the last 270 minutes.

The attack looks completely off-balance with the left flank providing almost no threat going forward.

12. Malaga

Current League Standing: 5

Recent Results: Loss vs. Real Sociedad (2-1), Loss vs. Rayo Vallecano (2-1), Draw vs. Espanyol (0-0)

Los Boquerones have dropped points in four of their last five matches and scored just three goals in those four.

They have now fallen out of a Champions League spot and find themselves 13 points out of first place.

11. Real Sociedad

Current League Standing: 13

Recent Results: Win vs. Malaga (2-1), Loss vs. Espanyol (1-0), Draw vs. Valladolid (2-2)

With just one win in their last five games, La Real are slowly playing themselves out of the top 10 and can't seem to stay consistent.

They have lost their last two matches at home and now get a pair of chances to end that streak against Rayo and Osasuna.

10. Valladolid

Current League Standing: 8

Recent Results: Draw vs. Valencia (1-1), Win vs. Osasuna (1-0), Loss vs. Malaga (2-1)

They did beat Los Che at home, but Pucela needed a controversial penalty to do it.

The attack is still struggling to keep pressure on, but the Castilian side remains in the thick of the Europa League qualification hunt.

9. Rayo Vallecano

Current League Standing: 7

Recent Results: Win vs. Celta Vigo (3-2), Win vs. Malaga (2-1), Loss vs. Barcelona (5-0)

Leo Baptistao continued his brilliant debut season as Los Vallecanos made an epic comeback by scoring three goals in the last thirty minutes against Celta.

Rayo now find themselves fighting for a Europa League spot and are just three points away from Champions League qualification.

8. Valencia

Current League Standing: 9

Recent Results: Draw vs. Valladolid (1-1), Win vs. Atletico Madrid (2-0), Loss vs. Betis (1-0)

Mauricio Pellegrino felt a bit undone by the referee at the Jose Zorrilla. That view is understandable given that two points were lost largely due to a controversial penalty.

Los Che were 25 minutes away from their first two-match win streak of the season, but once again struggled to score goals.

7. Athletic Bilbao

Current League Standing: 12

Recent Results: Win vs. Sevilla (2-1), Win vs. Granada (2-1), Loss vs. Getafe (2-1)

The slight rebound from Bilbao—winning two straight games and tightening up a bit defensively—shows just how balanced La Liga is outside of the big two.

The Basques' winning streak may not last much longer with trips to the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou coming up in the next three weeks.

6. Levante

Current League Standing: 6

Recent Results: Loss vs. Real Madrid (2-1), Draw vs. Sevilla (0-0), Win vs. Granada (3-1)

Levante were unable to overcome the defending champions in their water derby and suffered their first defeat in over a month.

The match was tightly contested, though, and showed that Los Granotes truly are a contender for a European spot this season.

5. Real Betis

Current League Standing: 4

Recent Results: Loss vs. Granada (2-1), Win vs. Getafe (4-2), Win vs. Valencia (1-0)

Pepe Mel will rue his team's missed chances against Granada, but his team is still in very good shape.

Los Beticos are about to be seriously tested as the hardest part of their schedule begins.

After the Sevilla Derby this weekend, Betis will play Real Madrid and Barcelona within two weeks of each other.

4. Real Zaragoza

Current League Standing: 11

Recent Results: Win vs. Deportivo (5-3), Loss vs. Real Madrid (4-0), Win vs. Sevilla (2-1)

Zaragoza may be a mid-table team at the moment, but there is no hotter club in Spain outside of the top three right now.

Los Blanquillos have won three of their last four. Their sole loss to Real Madrid was much closer than the final score showed.

If not for an incorrectly called offside goal, Zaragoza could have been just one goal down to the champs with momentum in their favor.

3. Real Madrid

Current League Standing: 3

Recent Results: Win vs. Levante (2-1), Win vs. Zaragoza (4-0), Win vs. Mallorca (5-0)

The reigning champions haven't lost a match since September 15, but they also haven't played a real quality opponent since El Clasico.

Los Merengues are about to start their hardest stretch of games until the break, with Athletic Bilbao, Betis and Atletico Madrid coming up.

A Champions League clash with Manchester City will make it even harder to win all points in the next month.

2. Atletico Madrid

Current League Standing: 2

Recent Results: Win vs. Getafe (2-0), Loss vs. Valencia (2-0), Win vs. Osasuna (3-1)

Los Colchoneros are still five points ahead of their city rivals, but are dead even on form right now.

There is a strong chance that the Madrid Derby on December 1 will be a battle for second place in La Liga.

1. Barcelona

Current League Standing: 1

Recent Results: Win vs. Mallorca (4-2), Win vs. Celta Vigo (3-1), Win vs. Rayo Vallecano

La Blaugrana are now off to the greatest start in league history and have not even played to the best of their ability yet.

It seems Tito Vilanova's strategy is to simply outscore the opponent and just minimize damage at the back, but that may cost the team greatly in the Champions League.

Keep an eye out for a big upset this week as Barça face a very in-form Zaragoza team who should give them trouble on the counter.

Please also check out my La Liga Best 11 for this week.

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