Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Selection Dilemmas for Benitez and Simeone
Real Madrid play a game of football this weekend. In case you've been living on a planet where there is no such sport, they also played a similar fixture during the week—and they hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons...again.
The fielding of the seemingly ineligible Denis Cheryshev in the Copa del Rey may ultimately lead to the team's place in the competition being withdrawn, but there were all sorts of subplots to the fixture going on, and in the fall-out.
A mere week or two after manager Rafael Benitez was criticised for not playing Isco (and Casemiro, and Dani Carvajal, and...) in El Clasico, the manager was also having to fend off questions over why James Rodriguez wasn't his favourite player. Marca led with a headline (h/t Daily Mail) suggesting James was feeling undervalued and fed up with his treatment by the manager, despite playing almost every match when available.
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He didn't face Sevilla, true, but that was because he had just returned from injury and was jetting off to play with Colombia again, and Real didn't want to risk his fitness. Sky Sports reported a mini war of words between the two over the midfielder's fitness levels, but he has since started against both Barcelona and Eibar in La Liga, while being left on the bench for the Champions League game in between.
Benitez, for his part, insisted his relationship with the player is fine, per Guardian; James also started in the Copa del Rey, before being substituted—and Marca reported the manager "making peace" with the No. 10.
In summary, James has played in four of Real's last five games, with three starts. So where are these nonsense claims of undervaluing the player coming from?! And, if James is to play every game, exactly where is Isco supposed to fit in as well? All the while assuming Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale aren't being the ones left out, of course.
It appears to be forgotten once in the confines of Real Madrid that football is very much a squad game. Carlo Ancelotti, a superb manager, drew his own criticism at the helm last season for playing a front three that never changed, and a midfield that rarely did either. Now Benitez, doing something different, is being told that certain players should always be in the team again.
There is apparently no right way of doing things at the club, except for perhaps to take to the field with 12 men each time.
That would contravene rules, of course—quite similar to, say, playing a suspended player in a cup game. But even there, the club are still refusing to acquiesce to the rules, laying responsibility elsewhere. Even the Madrid press are doing their bit to come up with ridiculous excuses; Marca's Jose Vicente Hernaez lays the blame firmly at the door of the Spanish football federation itself, suggesting that "any sanctions from the past season be written off."
Hernaez also asks, "should Real Madrid (or any club for that matter) really have to pay for something that Cheryshev did while at Villarreal? That's what the regulations say, but it makes no sense in professional football."
Despite intensive searches on the web, there appears to be no record of anyone within Marca suggesting a similar sort of amnesty for Luis Suarez, who was suspended for Barcelona for an offence that occurred while he played for Uruguay and was still a Liverpool player.
What a mystery.
Over to you then, Rafa: Isco or James this week? And Cheryshev—in the squad or out?
Jornada 14 (kick-off times GMT, per Soccerway)
Saturday
Real Madrid vs. Getafe (3 p.m.)
Granada vs. Atletico Madrid (5:15 p.m.)
Valencia vs. Barcelona (7:30 p.m.)
Deportivo La Coruna vs. Sevilla (9 p.m.)
Real Betis vs. Celta Vigo (9:05 p.m.)
Sunday
Real Sociedad vs. Eibar (11 a.m.)
Villarreal vs. Rayo Vallecano (3 p.m.)
Sporting Gijon vs. Las Palmas (5:15 p.m.)
Athletic Club vs. Malaga (7:30 p.m.)
Monday
Espanyol vs. Levante (7:30 p.m.)
What to watch out for this weekend
Part 1: Top-four credentials tested
Despite Sevilla's inconsistency this term and the fact they still sit in 10th place in the table, we're sticking with them as our favourites to take fourth place this season ahead of Celta Vigo, Valencia and Villarreal.
And, at present, ahead of Deportivo La Coruna.
Depor host Sevilla this weekend and still sit in fifth place themselves, a third of the way into the campaign, unbeaten in the last four and having a solid all-round side in a tactical sense, but also with two or three productive and unpredictable players in the final third who can be game-changers for them.
They have lost only twice in La Liga this season—the same as Barcelona, Atleti and Real—but between now and the end of January, we'll see whether they are genuinely a surprise top-four contender or whether they will sink into mid-table or so. A mid-table finish would still be a huge upgrade on last term, when they struggled against relegation, but the team may now be having ambitions beyond mere solidity this season.
Sevilla this week, Barcelona next, and Villarreal, Real Madrid and Valencia all to come in the next six weeks. The period will tell much about Depor's mentality as well as quality...and in the meantime, Sevilla need the points to get back toward the contenders for Europe.
Part 2: Tiago's replacement
Atletico Madrid's team is settled for the most part, with Diego Simeone rotating in and out perhaps five players to cover three positions—the wings and one striker—and leaving the core of the side untouched as often as possible.
This weekend, though, he'll need an alteration right in the heart of his side, with Tiago sidelined with a broken leg. There has already been plenty of speculation that Atleti will go after a replacement name in January to ensure the Portuguese schemer's loss is not too keenly felt, with AS reporting the club as being interested in Celta Vigo's Augusto Fernandez. Atleti also have Matias Kranevitter arriving in January.
For this weekend, though, Simeone has the choice of two main candidates: Move Koke infield off the flank to sit alongside Gabi, or else play Saul. The latter has been very impressive in his few appearances this season, and the holding-midfield role is perhaps one that suits his aggressive, rangy style the most while also allowing him time on the ball to show the technical side of his game.
Away from home to Granada this week, Atleti could opt for a three-man midfield from the start to play both those two alongside Gabi, with Yannick Carrasco, Antoine Griezmann and one other forward starting in a three-man attack.
Player to watch: James Rodriguez (RMA)
The first thing needed to watch about the Colombian maestro is whether he takes the field from the start or not.
Rafael Benitez has injury concerns in defence, but in the final third, everyone is available for once, and that means decisions over who to play and who to leave out. Few are as capable (in the world, not just at Real) at both creating and finding end product as James, but injuries and international duty have restricted his game time at the club this season.
A run-out in the Copa in midweek drew criticism, but he'll surely be in the side again and a key figure as Real look to put on a convincing showing and take three points from Getafe.
Game of the weekend: Valencia vs. Barcelona
It won't be Gary Neville's official first game in charge, and AS report he won't be on the bench for the fixture to avoid being a "distraction" for the players, but it still marks the first Liga match post-Nuno for the club and Los Che's stars will doubtless want to impress the onlooking incoming manager.
The match at the Mestalla is a sell-out, with fans no doubt hoping to see a reaction from a side that has lost four times in La Liga this term already, while Valencia had failed to win in three successive games prior to the midweek win over lower-league side Barakaldo in the Copa del Rey.
With Barcelona's unstoppable offence also on the scene, a full squad to choose from and with seven straight wins to their name in all competitions, Barca will, of course, be looking to extend their run and their lead at the top of the table.
It promises to be a fantastic match, and the subplots surrounding the game make it even more intriguing.
Video of the week
Predictions and tips
- Home wins for Real Madrid, Villarreal, Athletic Club
- Away wins for Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Celta Vigo
- Both teams to score in VAL vs. FCB, DEP vs. SEV, VIL vs. RAY and ESP vs. LEV.
