Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Awaiting Real Madrid's Big Response
Nobody at the Santiago Bernabeu needs any reminding of what happened almost a week ago, with the fallout from El Clasico still fresh in players', fans' and indeed Rafa Benitez's mind. For that reason, it's probably a good thing that Real Madrid were able to get away from their own ground for two away fixtures in quick succession.
They couldn't have gone much further than they did in midweek, to Ukraine to face Shakhtar Donetsk, where a 4-3 win helped wipe away some of the disgrace of the previous weekend. It would have been a much better response had they not switched off late on in the game—Real led 4-0 with 15 minutes to play—but the real response comes when they get back to La Liga.
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The Champions League is different; in La Liga, on home soil, the recent damage was done, so that is where it is remediable.
Benitez and his team face no easy path to redemption, though. Eibar are a tiny town with a reputation every bit as small, especially after their plummet from eighth to 18th last season—saved from relegation only by Elche's financial mismanagement and their subsequent demotion—but they have already proved capable of giving bigger sides plenty of problems this year.
Eibar improved in the transfer market this summer, no doubt, and their performances this year look more sustainable. They sit in sixth place, on a three-match unbeaten streak that includes a draw at Villarreal last time out.
In many ways, it's the perfect opponent for Real to get their fans back onside: This is a fixture not only where Real will have to show the technical and offensive qualities that were missing last time out, but they'll also have to work hard. They'll have to defend the flanks, deal with quick counters and match the energy and enthusiasm of a side who believe in themselves and believe in their own possibility of surprise.
To an extent, Real are fortunate that they won't face Keko. He's not a world-beater, but he typifies Eibar's approach: aggressive, fast, direct and full of confidence—and he's a former Atleti player, who'd have extra incentive to prolong Real's misery. He was sent off against Villarreal, though, so he misses out.
Instead, the focus will as usual be on Benitez and the players he selects. He switched his personnel around for the tie against Shakhtar and backed his decision, per Marca:
"It's important [to keep the squad competitive]. We needed to show our character and those who played did just that. Today would have been a good game no matter who played. They knew what they had to do. They were eager to do well and they remained focused. If I'd fielded a different group of players, it wouldn't have changed anything. Those who played did an outstanding job on the night.
"
With questions, criticisms and headlines over recent weeks revolving around (among others) Isco, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Casemiro, the XI Benitez selects for the first league game post-Clasico will raise eyebrows one way or another, but it must be one that contains players who will get a result, by any means necessary.
Jornada 13 (kick-off times GMT, per Soccerway)
Friday
Levante vs. Real Betis
Saturday
Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad
Atletico Madrid vs. Espanyol
Malaga vs. Granada
Las Palmas vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Celta Vigo vs. Sporting Gijon
Sunday
Getafe vs. Villarreal
Eibar vs. Real Madrid
Rayo Vallecano vs. Athletic Club
Sevilla vs. Valencia
What to watch out for this weekend
Part 1: Opportunity to kickstart top-four challenge
Valencia and Sevilla, fourth and fifth last season, were most people's favourites to battle for a top-four finish again this season, with some justification.
Los Che looked strong last year—not just good on the ball but excellent defensively—but the losses of Nicolas Otamendi (sold) and Diego Alves (injured) have not been overcome, while at the other end, consistency has been a real issue for the front line.
Sevilla improved their squad significantly, but Unai Emery has been unable to consistently pick his strongest players, merge the new-look team into a cohesive unit or get any kind of regular end product from his three forwards after Carlos Bacca departed the scene.
In short, both have disappointed.
Valencia sit seventh in the table having won just five from 12, while Sevilla are even worse off, with just four wins and sitting in the bottom half in 11th. The top four still isn't out of reach for either club, though, if they find form and consistency in the second half of the season—but the comeback has to start soon.
Ideally this weekend, against each other, in a memorable match at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, which probably just about makes Sevilla slight favourites.
Part 2: Malaga's appalling goalscoring rate
Atletico Madrid, Valencia. That's the full list of teams in La Liga who have conceded fewer goals than Carlos Kameni and Malaga, with the Andalucian side being breached just 11 times in the first 12 games of the season—an admirable record.
The problem? Malaga sit bottom of the table. If their defensive record is so good, it's not hard to imagine where the issue is...and you'd be right to think so. Malaga have netted just five goals this term, a rate of one every 216 minutes, or one every 2.4 matches if that sounds more terrifying to witness as a fan.
Javi Gracia's team haven't scored a single goal away from home and have failed to hit the target in 10 (yes, TEN) of their 12 games this season.
Only against Real Sociedad (3-1 win) and Deportivo La Coruna (2-0 win) have they managed to score goals this season.
It's abysmal, shambolic, unsustainable...and the manager has barely tried to change things around to fix the problem.
Malaga returned to 4-4-2 last time out, the system they started the season with before reverting to 4-2-3-1, but the style and names remain the same. Nordin Amrabat and Charles (who scored a hat-trick against La Real and nothing since) lead the line.
This weekend they face Granada, 17th in La Liga and with one of the worst defensive records around—only Levante and Espanyol have conceded more than Granada's 20.
Surely, at home, this is a chance for Malaga to get back on track and ally their good defensive work to some reward at the other end.
Player to Watch: Denis Suarez, VIL
The creative young Spaniard has been in excellent form over the last two or three games, playing from the flank and finding space infield with his dribbling and quick passing. He faces Getafe with Villarreal this weekend, a side who have been rather open defensively away from home, but strangely tight at their own ground.
Villarreal, wanting to remain in the top four and improve their own away form in the process, will need Suarez to provide some end product to go with his excellent build-up play this time out, especially with Samu Castillejo on the opposite flank not proving capable of coming up with good delivery so far.
The Yellow Submarine have looked impressive this term and are capable of maintaining this level of performance, but victories have been inconsistent of late. They'll need to get back to winning ways to stay ahead in the race for fourth, and Denis will be key to that with his current run of form.
Game of the Weekend: Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad
Barcelona's path to success is clear for the season: keep doing what you've been doing. There's no doubt the Catalan club are in their best run of form this year so far, both in terms of results and performances.
With the front three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar back in tandem, opposition defences can rest assured they will be suitably terrorised at present, and it's hard to see anything other than a home win in this fixture.
That said, Real Sociedad have undergone a managerial change—Eusebio Sacristan for David Moyes—and immediately look a more together, free-flowing and adventurous side.
They also beat Barca 1-0 at the turn of the year, unexpectedly, and have generally been a bit of a problematic opponent for the Blaugrana, albeit more often at Anoeta than the Camp Nou. Even so, it should be an entertaining fixture and a tough game for both sides.
"#Neymar in LaLiga this season Most take-ons (46) Most chances created (42) Most goals (12) Second-most assists (4) pic.twitter.com/zXvofsf2cY
— Soccer Aspects (@SoccerAspects) November 27, 2015"
Predictions and Tips
- Home wins for Barcelona, Atletico, Las Palmas, Sevilla
- Away wins for Villarreal, Athletic
- Both teams to score in LEV vs. BET, CEL vs. SPO, EIB vs. RMA and SEV vs. VAL
