The Important Fixtures :
Saturday 24th November 2012
Malaga vs Valencia : 19:00 GMT
Real Betis vs Real Madrid : 21:00 GMT
Sunday 25th November 2012
Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla : 16:00 GMT
Levante vs Barcelona : 20:00 GMT
Malaga vs Valencia :
Malaga host Valencia on Saturday and both clubs will be high on confidence after good Champions League results saw both the teams qualify for the knock out stages.
Malaga have won 5, drawn 4 and lost 3. Their recent form has been very poor however with no wins in 4, just 2 draws and 2 defeats. They have lost back to back home games which are their first losses at home all season.
Valencia are fighting to move up the league after a poor start. They are currently 7th place with 5 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses.
Valencia still have a substantial injury list with 5 players missing from this match, and if that wasn’t enough they also have Soldado and Victor Ruiz suspended. Despite this Valencia has been in top form lately with 3 wins in their last 5 games, albeit all at home. They have struggled away this season and are yet to win in 6 attempts.
Real Betis vs Real Madrid
Real Madrid have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages too but not in the dominating fashion that they’d hoped for. Nonetheless a 1-1 away draw against Manchester City on Wednesday guaranteed Real’s progression and Mourinho will be hoping that will allow for some better results domestically.
The defending champions travel to face seventh-placed Betis on Saturday, as Pepe Mel’s Betis look to bounce back from a 5-1 defeat to Sevilla.
Betis are having a fantastic season and are 6th in la liga currently with 19 points from 12 games, exceeding expectations so far. They have won 6, drawn 1 and lost 5.Betis will be missing Ruben Perez who is out after a red card in last week’s 5-1 loss at Seville. They will be without Perquis too who is nursing a hamstring injury. Apart from that they are at full strength and will be hoping to get an unexpected result at home.
Madrid are up to 3rd in the table after a poor start and have 26 points. They are still 8 points off leaders Barcelona but are in excellent form having won all 5 of their recent league matches.
Real Madrid do not have many injury problems but for Higuain and Marcelo but they have perfect replacements for those positions in Benzema and Coentrao respectively. Mourinho will have a full strength squad and will have the option to give rest if needed to the players who played in the midweek.
Atl Madrid vs Sevilla
Real’s cross town rivals Athletico Madrid have won 10 of the past 11 league games and look best placed to crack the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly.
Atletico Madrid holds a perfect record at home in Primera Division winning all their 6 matches, scoring 17 goals and though Sevilla might be the toughest match from home matches this season, Falcao and company should be strong enough to see off Sevilla.
But Sevilla is not a bad side either and has also some capable players to score goals. They are currently on the 7th place in the table but have a bad away record.
Levante vs Barcelona :
League leaders Barcelona travel to Levante on Sunday and it is going to be a difficult fixture for the league leaders, with a chance of dropping points away from home.
Barcelona are currently in phenomenal form and the Catalan giants have only managed to drop two points during the season.
On the other hand, Levante have taken a firm start in the league, placed fourth in the Spanish La Liga, with only two defeats in the last five games which they have played.From the 12 fixtures which they have played in the Spanish La Liga, they have managed to win 6 and lose only 4, drawing the other 2 games.
They have a full strength squad lead by the likes of David Navarro, Vicente, Pedro Maestre and Oscar Serrano.
Vilanova will try his best to play his strongest side in order to take all three important points against Levante. Carlos Puyol’s return will be a welcome boost to the whole squad and only Alexis Sanchez is the big name injured but Pedro and Fabregas will gladly join the trio of Xavi-Messi-Iniesta in clinching all 3 points.