15.01.2011 15:10

Spanish League Preview –Week 19

La Liga reaches its halfway point this weekend with Barça two points ahead of Madrid and Villarreal a further 11 points adrift in 3rd. 7 more teams look to be in contention for European places.

Most of the teams involved in the Spanish Cup are given at least an extra day’s rest with Real Madrid travelling to Almeria and Deportivo playing at Valencia on Sunday and Atletico Madrid again forced to play on Monday night –at home to Mallorca.

Tough task for Cup heroes Almeria

Almeria have not won at home all season and the visit of Real Madrid wouldn’t seem like the time to change that, but Jose Luis Oltra’s team will have been boosted by their midweek win over Deportivo in the Cup quarter finals and Mourinho will also will be once again without the injured Pepe in defence. Villarreal can also be cheered by the stats when they welcome the league’s worst team on the road- Osasuna, who have failed to win away so far, whilst Villarreal have won all but one of their home games –drawing 1 and winning the other 8. Camacho is without the suspended Puyal, the two Iranians Masoud Shojaei and Javad Nekounam, who are involved in the Asian Nations Cup, and the injured Nacho Monreal and Walter Pandiani, as well as Juanfran who was transferred to Atletico Madrid last week, but he can at least take some hope from the last four games Osasuna have played in El Madrigal, where they have won two and drawn two.

Valencia aim to maintain pressure

Valencia closed the gap on Villarreal last week and with visitors Deportivo perhaps more concerned with their Cup second leg this week, they will look to keep up the pressure with a win on Sunday, whilst on Saturday night Espanyol will need to be at their best to take the points at the Sanchez Pijuan against an improving Seville, who drew 3-3 in the Cup at Villarreal on Wednesday. Espanyol are 3 points adrift of Valencia on 31 points, with Seville in tenth on 26. The teams in between look to be be those who will complete the fight for European spots, with Atletico Madrid and Mallorca both on 27 points meeting at the Vicente Calderon on Monday, Getafe, also on 27, entertaining Real Sociedad on Saturday and Bilbao(26) looking for their first win of the season at San Mames also on Saturday, against Racing.

Preciado under pressure again

Down at the bottom, Sporting boss Manuel Preciado again puts his job on the line with a home game against Hercules, who welcome back Drenthe after his well publicised spat with the club. Zaragoza are rock bottom, though level on points with Almeria and Sporting, and they play 17th placed Llevante, who are just 2 points ahead of them, at the Romarada in the weekend’s opener. Zaragoza have won just one of their last eight league games, whilst Levant have lost their last three, though their performance at the Nou Camp earlier this month suggested that they may have the edge to stay up.