Friday, May 18th, 2012
Atlético Madrid vs. Sevilla
What an intriguing affair this one will be, as two sides that are competing over European places and the Spanish medias crisis tag battle it out in one of the early games this Saturday.
Atlético Madrid currently sits 9th and their win over Real Zaragoza last weekend came as much needed respite in a barren run of form which saw them heed five consecutive defeats. All during that time the club went through various episodes which you’d expect from a team with that ‘crisis’ tag – rumoured player fall outs with the coach, injuries to key players, trouble at boardroom level off the field and so on.
Winning here, on their own turf against a side in Sevilla who you’d undoubtedly call a rival would go a long way to restoring confidence throughout the team. Apart from the result, another positive to come from the game was the outstanding performance of Koke.
The young midfielder has been held in high regard for some time, and many supporters have called for him to be promoted into the side in place of some of the ‘bigger names’. His 85 minute display delighted Los Colchoneros fans, and in a season where there have been few moments of such magnitude it’s that extra bit special.
A point ahead of Atletico is Sevilla, their opponents for this game and also genuine challengers to that ‘crisis’ tag. Gregorio Manzano’s side have experienced great inconsistency of late, and their only wins have come against the teams at the wrong end of the table – while when playing the larger sides they have simply crawled into their shells. – Not a trait you’d associate with the club down the years.
Mario Suárez, Fran Mérida and Elias all miss out through injury, but Diego Godín is set to return. Diego Forlán’s status for the game has been touch and go, but Quique Sánchez Flores confirmed the Uruguayan will be fit for the game.
They come into this game already burdened, as they played on Tuesday night against Porto in the Europa League. Victory, be it fortuitous, in Portugal was not enough to stop them crashing out of the competitions last 32 stage on away goals. Manzano will have spent most of the week attempting to coax his players out of the disappointment, and set themselves up for an equally as important game here.
Frédéric Kanouté, Andreas Palop and Kofi Romaric are all missing through injury, along with the out of favour Martín Caceres who recently spoke out of turn about the selection policy at the club – though the club do insist he misses out through injury.
Espanyol vs. Real Sociedad
Mixed emotions will be running high in this one, as Raúl Tamudo returns to the team and city in which he spent his entire career at.
For the very first time Tamudo returns to Barcelona, and the Cornellà – home to his beloved Espanyol where he’ll be forever remembered in a god-like capacity. The striker is the club’s all-time leading scorer, with 129 goals, and is the only Espanyol player to have represented the club in all three of their stadiums – the only blot on his mark sheet being he was unable to score in his final season for the club due to being frozen out.
The 33 year-old still has it though, as he’s helped his new charges Real Sociedad to 1-0 victories over Osasuna and Mallorca in the last two games – securing both goals. The week has been central to his emotions, and those around him who he had such an impression on.
Tamudo himself said “I feel loved” and “It’s going to be special”; while Espanyol manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted “It will be strange seeing him in a different shirt”. To show how far his legacy goes with the club, up and coming Espanyol striker Alberto Vásquez called him his idol this week.
A win tomorrow for La Real would see them move level on points with the side from the Cornellà.
Pochettino’s side meanwhile will need to be focused for the game more than ever, as they are currently in the middle of a four-game losing streak. No side was hit more in the transfer window than Espanyol, the loss of two key defensive players as well as mounting injuries have curtailed their promising first half of the season.
Things didn’t get much better this week when it was announced Juan Forlín would miss four weeks due to hand surgery – but Pochettino never winced from a battle in his playing career and it’s unlikely he’ll be any different as a manager.
Sporting Gijón vs. Real Zaragoza
After a dreadful start to the season things have come good for Sporting Gijón, they achieved three excellent victories in a row and most recently have came across two very reputable draws – most recently against Valencia in what a spirited display which embodied the club, and prior to that the even more significant draw against Barcelona.
Despite the good form, they still remain in 16th and another poor spell could drag them very much back into the thick of things – they have the advantage of being at home here with their feverish support behind them, so the three points are a must.
Key man Alberto Rivera will miss this one through injury, so the impressive young duo of André Castro and Nacho Cases will continue – the latter signed a new contract until 2014 this week, and the club have said much is down to the “hard work and tenacity shown”.
José Ángel is also set to return to the XI.
Real Zaragoza however are back into the bottom three, though their coach Javier Aguirre feels it’s unjust given their performances recently.
Narrow defeats at Hercules and at home to Atlético Madrid last weekend have seen Zaragoza drop back to 18th place with 14 rounds of the Primera Division remaining, but Aguirre remains confident of survival.
“We are playing better than we were last month, but results have gone against us,” he said.
“We are more compact, more solid and the team are showing a playing style which is what the coach wants”.
Midfielder Ander Herrera returns from suspension, but Leo Franco is a doubt after picking up a knock in the defeat to his former side Atlético Madrid.
Tags: Aguero, Atletico Madrid, Espanyol, Fabiano, Real Zaragoza, Sevilla
