Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Transfer Bans Lead into 2nd Half of Season
The second half of the season is upon us in La Liga and, instead of starting with renewed vigour, optimism and the odd new face, we head into it with the news that Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have been handed transfer bans by FIFA.
Both Real and Atleti say they will appeal, per BBC Sport, but the self-labelled best league in the world has now seen its three biggest clubs sanctioned for the registration and transfer of minors.
Whichever way your opinion falls on the matter—the rule itself, the ruling and the punishment—it simply doesn't reflect well on Spain's top flight that the biggest clubs appear to be self-policing rather than following the standards set for all.
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The only real way for those teams to put this behind them is to follow Barcelona's methodology: prepare, plan and ride it out—preferably winning silverware along the way.
Atletico beat Rayo Vallecano in the Copa del Rey on Thursday hours after the news broke, so the presumption has to be that the players aren't exactly letting the debacle affect them. You'd expect nothing less from a team directed and coached by Diego Simeone, of course.
Real Madrid are never far from crisis and this is merely the latest, but new boss Zinedine Zidane set a standard last week with a 5-0 debut win and will hope that positives on the field dominate the scene going forward.
On Sunday, both Madrid clubs play newly promoted teams battling against relegation back down to La Segunda. Concentration, resilience and professionalism will be the keywords for both; there is little margin for slip-ups at the top and every point dropped could prove pivotal.
Atletico lead the way heading into the second half of the season, but Simeone will know that nothing is certain at this stage.
Jornada 20 (kick-off times per Soccerway)
Saturday
Sevilla vs. Malaga
Celta Vigo vs. Levante
Villarreal vs. Real Betis
Real Sociedad vs. Deportivo La Coruna
Sunday
Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano
Real Madrid vs. Sporting Gijon
Las Palmas vs. Atletico Madrid
Getafe vs. Espanyol
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club
Monday
Eibar vs. Granada
What to Watch out for This Weekend
Part 1: Role Reversals
Spanish football being structured as it is, this weekend's games—the first in the second half of the season—see the fixture list begin all over again, but in reverse. It's a first opportunity for many teams to exact revenge on opening-day defeats and frustrations, while others will be keen to impose their authority.
Rafa Benitez's first Liga game in charge of Real Madrid was a 0-0 draw at Sporting; since then Benitez has been sacked, while Sporting have sunk into the relegation zone. It doesn't take a crystal ball to work out that Real will be favourites on the day, but they were in Jornada 1.
Villarreal's recent great run sees them flying in fourth, but they were denied a win by a late Betis equaliser on the opening day, while Valencia and Sevilla gave notice of their inconsistencies to come with a 0-0 draw each, against Rayo and Malaga.
Jornada 20 provides an interesting measurement tool for how much progress—or regression—a team has made since those optimistic early days in August.
Part 2: Rayo's Fall and Fall
Paco Jemez's team have plummeted, and the end of that run doesn't appear anywhere in sight.
Nine successive games in all competitions without a win, out of the Copa del Rey and into the bottom three of La Liga; it's an awful run for Rayo Vallecano, and they have won only once in league play since late October.
Last season's heroic exploits of all-out attack are still being attempted, but without either the capacity to score three or four in a match from time to time or any semblance of structure in defence.
This weekend they are at Valencia and given the state of both teams, a first Liga win for Gary Neville at Los Che looks far more likely than Rayo breaking their run. It doesn't get any easier for them either: Celta at home, then Depor away—two top-half teams with European ambitions—before a must-win tie against struggling Las Palmas.
Can Jemez last that long without a win in the ever-twitchy, trigger-happy confines of La Liga presidents?
Player to Watch: Keko, EIB
There's no shortage of talented playmaker types in La Liga, but Keko brings something a bit different: a wide man with a mix of endless running and closing down, but outrageous flair and style on the ball too.
The 24-year-old is a crashing, enthusiastic winger, who is flying with confidence; playing passes infield or crossing with regularity, working defensively and trying to get himself on the ball inside the box too.
He and Ander Capa make a great team down the right flank for Eibar, and that side of the pitch has been a big success story for them this season.
Granada have switched to a 3-5-2 of late, and the suspicion will be that Capa and Keko will overload their opponents down that flank and create all kinds of mayhem in the Monday night game.
Video of the Week
B/R's Sam Tighe, Dean Jones and Marcus Speller talk about those who were left out of the recent FIFPro XI but should have been included—with three players from La Liga discussed in glowing terms.
Game of the Weekend: Barcelona vs. Athletic Club
The Catalans vs. the Basques. It's an entertaining clash for all sorts of reasons, but we'll stick to the footballing ones: The class and quality of Barcelona can beat any team on the planet, but Athletic don't make it easy for them to play.
Aggression and work rate are paramount for the away team, but they have a talented attacking line of their own when all are fit. The problem is, that doesn't happen very often.
Raul Garcia is the latest casualty, and he is out until March with a knee ligament injury, soon after Iker Muniain had finally made his return. Add in Inaki Williams and Artiz Aduriz, and they can pose a goal threat against most sides, but they'll need the ball to do it here.
On the opening day, Luis Suarez settled the tie with the only goal of the game, early in the second half.
Predictions and Tips
- Home wins for Sevilla, Villarreal, Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Eibar
- Away win for Atletico Madrid
- Both teams to score: RSO-DEP, FCB-ATH, EIB-GRA
- Over 2.5 goals: SEV-MGA, VIL-BET, RMA-SPO, FCB-ATH, EIB-GRA.
