Ultimate Guide to La Liga Weekend: Madrid Derby and a Copa Del Rey Final Dry Run
Madrid might house two of the biggest three clubs in Spain, but the capital city is very much fighting it out for second place this season in La Liga, and the derby on Saturday will give the victors not much more than a just-in-case ability to keep pace with league leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid were the better side for most of the previous encounter earlier in the season, though Atletico Madrid rallied for long enough to secure a 1-1 draw and go on to be the dominant side in the first half of the campaign.
Neither has managed to keep pace with Barcelona. A managerial change at the Santiago Bernabeu and the lack of success from two new big-money attacking signings at the Vicente Calderon have hindered the pair, neither quite finding the groove for long enough nor displaying the relentless ability to win matches as consistently as their Catalan rivals have done.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Even so, it's a matter of huge pride as well as position to take the spoils from Saturday's game.
Zinedine Zidane has hero status at Real from his playing days and knows full well what the fixture means to supporters, but he's up against one of the best and most proven modern managers in Diego Simeone. Indeed, Simeone has won the same number of trophies (seven) in his managerial career as Zidane has had league matches in charge of Real.
It won't do for the Frenchman's first defeat to come against the city rivals, the perennial underdogs—and especially on home soil.
Barcelona are eight points clear and, in truth, are unlikely to drop enough points now for either Madrid club to catch them. But just in case, it's incumbent to go on and win this derby, not just not lose it.
Jornada 26
Friday
Eibar vs. Las Palmas
Saturday
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
Getafe vs. Celta Vigo
Sporting Gijon vs. Espanyol
Real Betis vs. Rayo Vallecano
Real Sociedad vs. Malaga
Sunday
Villarreal vs. Levante
Valencia vs. Athletic Club
Deportivo La Coruna vs. Granada
Barcelona vs. Sevilla
(kick-off times per Soccerway)
What to Watch Out for this Weekend
Part 1: Copa Preview or Obvious and Irrelevant?
On May 22, the final of the Copa del Rey will be played, with the event set to take place at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium, between Barcelona and Sevilla—opponents in league play on Sunday.
"3 - @SevillaFC could become the third team to win the Copa final at Santiago Bernabéu (2007), Camp Nou (2010) and Vicente Calderón. Dream.
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 22, 2016"
It's tempting, of course, to look upon the fixture as a preview of what will happen in the final itself, but as a one-off match, Sevilla will be much more likely to make a fist of the final than the Liga game at the Camp Nou—not least because of their shocking away record this season.
Twelve attempts into the campaign, Unai Emery's men still haven't won a league match on the road, scoring only eight times along the way. Combine that with Barcelona's 12 home wins from 13, with 46 goals scored and only nine conceded, and the form guide only points to a home win.
Despite that, Sevilla will take heart from being one of just two teams to have beaten Luis Enrique's men in La Liga this season—Celta Vigo the other—and also pushed Barca all the way in the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season.
Subplots, storylines and the opportunity of success, but Sevilla might have to wait another three months for their chance to really push Barca's buttons.
Part 2: Battle at the Bottom
In the scramble for points to avoid relegation, the biggest match of Jornada 26 comes at El Molinon, where Sporting Gijon host Espanyol—that's the two teams directly above the dotted line. Just three points separates Real Betis in 13th from Sporting in 17th, so every point can have a huge impact on the standings, especially when taken off direct rivals.
Las Palmas and Levante look set to be the biggest losers, away to Eibar and Villarreal respectively, but Granada—bottom and with a new manager, Jose Gonzalez, in place after sacking Jose Ramon Sandoval—could easily spark an upset against out-of-form Deportivo. Depor have recorded just one win in 15 games, so this would be a great time for Granada to feel that new-boss bounce.
Betis vs. Rayo Vallecano is also a match to watch, though both at least have breathing room down to 18th (six and four points, respectively) at present.
Player to Watch: Charly Musonda, BET
Three games into his loan spell, Real Betis attacking midfielder Charly Musonda is already tearing up La Liga.
Having played on both flanks since joining in January from Chelsea—where he often played in central midfield with the youth team—Musonda has been an integral part of Betis' upturn in performances, as they have taken five points in that time and deserved more than a draw against Sporting last time out.
Musonda's skill and pace to move away from defenders makes him eminently watchable, but it's the 19-year-old's decision-making that is also impressing despite his inexperience; often he will pass early in his dribble to evade a defender, then move into space anyway to take possession of the ball back and continue driving toward goal. He has been involved in creating chances, has had Valencia's Jose Gaya sent off for poor challenges on him and has brought another dimension to the team's attacking thrust.
Against the notoriously open Rayo Vallecano defence this time around, Musonda could run riot with the space afforded to him and reasonably ageing and slow defenders he's likely to come directly up against. Midfield cover from the likes of Roberto Trashorras to stop Musonda dipping infield at every opportunity will be important for Paco Jemez's team, but even that might not slow him down.
It could easily be a fourth huge-impact game in a row from the teenager.
Game of the Weekend: Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
It has to be the derby, of course. Two big sides, two passionate fanbases and an intense rivalry, whether because of players, favouritism, entitlement or birthright. In any case, this one burns brightly.
Imagine, for a moment, being a supporter of either. The gap to first place is somewhere in that annoying space between "probably not going to catch Barcelona" and "not quite out of reach," but the only way it reduces is by showing the relentlessness needed to win La Liga. That means six, seven or eight wins on the bounce, and with games running down fast, that needs to start now.
Imagine further Barcelona dropping points soon, say before the end of March. It could happen—they play Sevilla and Villarreal in that time—but that would be utterly irrelevant if Real or Atletico draw or lose games.
It's all or nothing, and even the "all" from this fixture might still turn out to be worth nothing. But without hope and belief, success will never arrive.
Predictions and Tips
- Home wins for Eibar, Real Betis, Villarreal, Valencia and Barcelona.
- Away wins for Celta Vigo and Malaga.
- Both teams to score in RMA-ATM, BET-RAY, VAL-ATH and FCB-SEV.
