La Liga Previews: Saturday Matches

Levante vs Atletico Madrid

Levante have hardly been on sparkling form when it comes to their home matches, winning only two of them since the start of the season and in all honesty they don’t look like a team which has a great deal of chance of coming out of this match with a win. Struggling near the bottom end of the table, any sort of result which involves them taking some points will be more than acceptable, even if it is at home.

The home side will not be favorites to win this match despite having played some very good football, they seem to struggle to convert almosts into wins; clearly the problem has been their leaky defense, something that Atletico are bound to exploit.

Atletico are on paper the better side, whilst they have not quite achieved the run of form that they were looking for so far in the season, they should be more than capable of picking up the three points on offer at this fixture.

Osasuna vs Barcelona

Osasuna have already given one of Spain’s big two a wake up call this season, although since then they haven’t really looked like much. Still, this could be interesting if we see another performance like they gave against Real, not so much on the skill front or creating chances, but in the way that they stopped Real from getting a controlling flow of the game.

In theory, Osasuna should be getting an absolute thrashing from table toppers Barcelona and after seeing what they did to their nearest rivals, that may just well be the case. If they can hold out defensively, who knows what could happen.

Is there ever a Barcelona match where they are not the favorites to win? Well yes, from time to time, but rarely ever in the Spanish league and this time is no different; a draw would be a disappointment and in some ways an embarrassment after beating Madrid to top the table and doing so in a rather spectacular manner.

The fans and the press will be expecting more of the same and Barca look poised to do just that. Is another three points for Barcelona on the cards? It more than likely would seem to be the only logical answer.

Real Madrid vs Valencia

Real Madrid got a rude awakening at the hands of Barcelona and it wasn’t just the fact that they lost—they looked foolish and substandard in a match which was supposed to be thiers for the taking.

A new manager and a new Real was what we expected to see; none of that seemed to go to plan and they were upstaged at their own party. Real will be desperate to bounce back and take all three points from Valencia, who aren’t quite at the top of their game. Although this is probably the worst match they could’ve had to follow that upset, seeing as a win is likely, but something to really get the fans going with goal after goal, is not.

This will be a difficult match for Real Madrid.

Valencia will be looking to take advantage of a downtrodden Real Madrid and if they were going to pip victory from the hands of one of the big two, this is as good an opportunity as they could hope to get. A team with wounded pride like Real can sometimes present themselves as an easy target for another whopping and Valencia may just be good enough to do that.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores