My Thoughts
Ola! A return here to the blog for La Liga for the first time this season, with what looks like a relatively straightforward home banker for Real Madrid. With 4 wins from 4 league games thus far, the early signs are promising for the second galactico revolution. Mind you, that much was to be expected, given that they've yet to play a top side (i.e. Barcelona) domestically. Newly-promoted Tenerife have managed to win both their home games so far, including a 1-0 victory in midweek over Athletic Bilbao, while suffering 4-0 and 1-0 defeats at Mallorca and Zaragoza respectively. Both sides have a Basque midfield schemer by the name of Alonso in the centre of the park- brothers Xabi and Mikel look set to line up against one another on Saturday.
The Verdict
It's very difficult to make a case for anything other than a convincing home win. Manuel Pellegrini may be tempted to rest players ahead of Champions League action in midweek, but he still has an outrageously strong squad of players to call upon. Tenerife's early away form doesn't exactly inspire. Home win
The Bet
Outright, Madrid are too short to back at a general 1/8. However, given that they have kept clean sheets in their last 3 league games, and Tenerife have scored just 3 times this season (none away), Madrid to win to nil is worth a look. Given their attacking prowess, it's also worth considering over 2.5 goals
Showing posts with label La Liga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Liga. Show all posts
Friday, 25 September 2009
Friday, 8 May 2009
Valencia v Real Madrid, Saturday 9th May
My Thoughts
Confidence. A water-tight defence. Two good full-backs. A quality central midfield. Balance.
Judging by last Saturday's 6-2 (going on 26-2) horsing by Barcelona, the above is a list of things that Real Madrid do not currently have. Now they must pick themselves off the floor and travel to the Mestalla, to face a Valencia side scrapping it out for a top 3 finish. Valencia's resurgence this season is in no small part due to the goalscoring exploits of David Villa- only Samuel Eto'o has managed more than his 25 league goals this season. A mention also for midfielder Juan Manuel Mata, who has chipped in with another 10. Valencia's strong form this season is based more on attack than defence- while their goals for tally of 62 is the 4th best in La Liga, they only have the 9th best defence, with 50 goals conceded in La Liga this season. This writer will now, however, avoid going into detail about Real's stats. For them, the mission is simple: they simply MUST pick themselves up after last Saturday and win to maintain any sort of pressure on Barcelona: after their previous defeat to Barcelona (2-0 in the Camp Nou) they went unbeaten in La Liga until last Saturday, winning 17 and drawing 1 out of 18 games. A similar run is needed between now and the end of the season if they are to pull off an improbable victory.
The Verdict
This is an extremely difficult one to call. Valencia have not kept a clean sheet in 6 games, and only Barcelona have scored more (21 more, mind) than Real Madrid this season, so Juande Ramos' side will be hopeful of scoring: however, it's shutting David Villa and co out that will prove to be problematic. Real's record in the Mestalla is good, however, and they did win the reverse fixture 1-0 earlier this season. Games between the 2 sides have also tended to be slightly lower-scoring affairs. Some may feel that this writer is mad (not without justification, too) to back Real, but they are still capable of scoring Real to edge it. Just
The Bet
Real can be backed outright at 2/1 with Bet365. Alternatively, there are numerous tempting options on the anytime goalscorer front. Have a look at David Villa (best price 6/4 with Coral), Gonzalo Higuain (23/10 Boylesports) and Raul (11/5 Boylesports), although it might be an idea to wait until teamsheets are announced before backing anyone- it's not beyond the realms of possibility Madrid could go for a more defensive approach in the Mestalla.
Confidence. A water-tight defence. Two good full-backs. A quality central midfield. Balance.
Judging by last Saturday's 6-2 (going on 26-2) horsing by Barcelona, the above is a list of things that Real Madrid do not currently have. Now they must pick themselves off the floor and travel to the Mestalla, to face a Valencia side scrapping it out for a top 3 finish. Valencia's resurgence this season is in no small part due to the goalscoring exploits of David Villa- only Samuel Eto'o has managed more than his 25 league goals this season. A mention also for midfielder Juan Manuel Mata, who has chipped in with another 10. Valencia's strong form this season is based more on attack than defence- while their goals for tally of 62 is the 4th best in La Liga, they only have the 9th best defence, with 50 goals conceded in La Liga this season. This writer will now, however, avoid going into detail about Real's stats. For them, the mission is simple: they simply MUST pick themselves up after last Saturday and win to maintain any sort of pressure on Barcelona: after their previous defeat to Barcelona (2-0 in the Camp Nou) they went unbeaten in La Liga until last Saturday, winning 17 and drawing 1 out of 18 games. A similar run is needed between now and the end of the season if they are to pull off an improbable victory.
The Verdict
This is an extremely difficult one to call. Valencia have not kept a clean sheet in 6 games, and only Barcelona have scored more (21 more, mind) than Real Madrid this season, so Juande Ramos' side will be hopeful of scoring: however, it's shutting David Villa and co out that will prove to be problematic. Real's record in the Mestalla is good, however, and they did win the reverse fixture 1-0 earlier this season. Games between the 2 sides have also tended to be slightly lower-scoring affairs. Some may feel that this writer is mad (not without justification, too) to back Real, but they are still capable of scoring Real to edge it. Just
The Bet
Real can be backed outright at 2/1 with Bet365. Alternatively, there are numerous tempting options on the anytime goalscorer front. Have a look at David Villa (best price 6/4 with Coral), Gonzalo Higuain (23/10 Boylesports) and Raul (11/5 Boylesports), although it might be an idea to wait until teamsheets are announced before backing anyone- it's not beyond the realms of possibility Madrid could go for a more defensive approach in the Mestalla.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Mallorca v Getafe, Sunday May 3rd
My Thoughts
Two teams currently experiencing differing runs of form. Mallorca have lost just 1 of their last 12 games, and are unbeaten at home since January, a run of form that has seen them move up to 9th in La Liga, although they are probably a bit too far away to challenge for a Europa League place. Getafe, on the other hand, are in freefall: 2 wins since February have seen them slip to 17th in La Liga, just 1 point above the relegation zone, which has led to the departure of coach Victor Munoz, who has been replaced by former Spain international Michel (scorer of a hat-trick at Italia 90 against South Korea). Games between these 2 sides tend to be high-scoring- their last 7 league meetings (which have resulted in 4 Mallorca wins, 2 Getafe wins and 1 draw) have produced 27 goals, an average of 3.85 per game. With Mallorca having scored in every league game since February, and Getafe having kept clean sheets in only 12% of their games this season, this game could also produce goals.
The Verdict
Given their recent records, this game has home win written all over it. The only cause for concern would be the "new manager" effect Michel may have on Getafe, although given his not-so-stellar previous record in management (sacked after 1 season with both Rayo Vallecano and Castilla), question marks may well be raised about his capabilities to arrest Getafe's slide. Home win
The Bet
Mallorca are available outright at a very respectable 15/13 with expekt.com. Alternatively, over 2.5 goals with bet365.com should be considered
Two teams currently experiencing differing runs of form. Mallorca have lost just 1 of their last 12 games, and are unbeaten at home since January, a run of form that has seen them move up to 9th in La Liga, although they are probably a bit too far away to challenge for a Europa League place. Getafe, on the other hand, are in freefall: 2 wins since February have seen them slip to 17th in La Liga, just 1 point above the relegation zone, which has led to the departure of coach Victor Munoz, who has been replaced by former Spain international Michel (scorer of a hat-trick at Italia 90 against South Korea). Games between these 2 sides tend to be high-scoring- their last 7 league meetings (which have resulted in 4 Mallorca wins, 2 Getafe wins and 1 draw) have produced 27 goals, an average of 3.85 per game. With Mallorca having scored in every league game since February, and Getafe having kept clean sheets in only 12% of their games this season, this game could also produce goals.
The Verdict
Given their recent records, this game has home win written all over it. The only cause for concern would be the "new manager" effect Michel may have on Getafe, although given his not-so-stellar previous record in management (sacked after 1 season with both Rayo Vallecano and Castilla), question marks may well be raised about his capabilities to arrest Getafe's slide. Home win
The Bet
Mallorca are available outright at a very respectable 15/13 with expekt.com. Alternatively, over 2.5 goals with bet365.com should be considered
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