Spanish football (Dec 15-16)

[junior98]

Espanyol Barcelona - Levante	4	1.30	4.78	9.08	15.12.2007 - 20.00
Valencia FC - Barcelona FC	5	2.99	2.84	2.09	15.12.2007 - 22.00
Valladolid - Sevilla	4	2.77	3.02	2.49	16.12.2007 - 17.00
Betis Sevilla - Almeria	4	2.10	3.10	3.40	16.12.2007 - 17.00
Getafe - Villarreal	4	2.62	2.93	2.66	16.12.2007 - 17.00
La Coruna - Zaragoza	4	2.40	3.02	2.88	16.12.2007 - 17.00
Mallorca - Bilbao	4	2.00	3.12	3.67	16.12.2007 - 17.00
Murcia Real - Santander	4	2.44	3.00	2.84	16.12.2007 - 17.00
Huelva - Atletico Madrid	3	3.12	3.02	2.23	16.12.2007 - 19.00
Real Madrid - Osasuna	4	1.30	4.78	9.08	16.12.2007 - 21.00

BetExplorer soccer stats - results, tables, soccer stats & odds

Spain Segunda

15 Dec 17:30 Cordoba v Albacete 1.80 3.20 4.20
15 Dec 17:30 Eibar v Elche 2.30 3.00 3.00
15 Dec 17:30 Salamanca v Sporting Gijon 2.70 3.00 2.50
15 Dec 17:30 Poli Ejido v Las Palmas 1.90 3.00 4.00
16 Dec 11:00 Sevilla Atletico v Gimnastic 2.10 3.00 3.40
16 Dec 16:00 Cadiz v Celta Vigo 2.40 2.90 2.90
16 Dec 16:00 Castellon v Xerez 2.00 3.00 3.75
16 Dec 16:00 CD Alaves v Numancia 2.80 3.00 2.40
16 Dec 16:00 Tenerife v R Ferrol 1.95 3.00 3.90
16 Dec 16:00 Granada 74 v Real Sociedad 2.30 3.00 3.00
16 Dec 17:00 Hercules v Malaga 2.50 3.00 2.75

Bet365

[rcgills]

To answer your question from your PM, Junior (although why ask me by PM rather than on here, I don't know ), Getafe's keeper is an important player - he was the "Zamora" last season (that's the award given to the keeper who concedes the fewest goals per game on average. Lucas Licht has been ever-present so far.

[junior98]

Originally Posted by rcgills

To answer your question from your PM, Junior (although why ask me by PM rather than on here, I don't know ), Getafe's keeper is an important player - he was the "Zamora" last season (that's the award given to the keeper who concedes the fewest goals per game on average. Lucas Licht has been ever-present so far.

thx alot

[rcgills]

This weekend's suspensions (from Web Oficial de la Liga de Fútbol Profesional)

Primera

Carlos García Almería
Maniche At. Madrid
Orbáiz Athletic
Luis García Espanyol
Riera Espanyol
Abbondanzieri Getafe
Licht Getafe
Puñal Osasuna
Serrano Racing
Albiol Valencia
Borja Valladolid
García Calvo Valladolid
Luccin Zaragoza

Segunda

Fleurquin Cádiz
Aurelio Castellón
Oberman Castellón
Diego Costa Celta
Ito Córdoba
Pierini Córdoba
Alaña Eibar
Cobas Las Palmas
Ione Las Palmas
Castells Poli Ejido
Marc Bernaus Poli Ejido
Mato R. Ferrol
Jorge Alonso Salamanca

Don't really understand what's going on there, to be honest. I know Aguero was let off his red card for Atletico Madrid, but there's no Reyes on that list for Atletico Madrid, and no Webó for Mallorca, despite them both being sent off last weekend. Could assume in that case that they're serving their suspension during the cup games tonight, but in that case, why are Abbondanzieri and Licht suspended for the weekend, rather than for Getafe's cup game tonight? Stuffed if I know, but there you have it, that's the list of suspensions according to the LFP anyway.

[kompressaur]

Espanyol v Levante Saturday 7pm Sky Sports Xtra

Espanyol have been in fine form recently, and they are a rum bet, -1 goal, to beat Levante at 11/10.

We were on the hosts a while ago to spring a surprise against Barcelona, and while our charges only managed a 1-1 draw, they gave us a cracking run for our money in the last twenty minutes, and could have won that fixture, for sure.

Since then, the Catalan crew have forced a positive 3-3 draw at Real Zaragoza, so there's little to suggest they'll be fearing a visit from Levante, who are in real trouble at the foot of La Liga.

Levante have lost all seven away games to date, scoring twice and conceding 17 times in the process, and they look likely to take another pounding here.

Espanyol don't score many at home it's true, but can rectify that issue against these guests - 11/10 -1 goal Espanyol to win looks a steal.

Valencia v Barcelona Saturday 9pm Sky Sports Xtra

This fixture is tricky, but there's mileage in backing Barca to do the business against the Bats.

Valencia's season is in danger of falling apart - they were finally dumped out of the Champions League after a 0-0 draw with Chelsea in midweek, and haven't scored now in their last five competitive games.

Barca pitch up on the back of a 3-1 against Stuttgart in Europe, so they'll be in good heart, and looking to improve on a poor away record in Spain, where they've won just one of 7 on the road.

Now might just be the time to boost their travelling form - after all, the Catalan raiders have scored in forty-five of their 53 competitive games across 2007.

With the hosts in such sterile form, get on an away win at the Mestalla.

Real Madrid v Osasuna Sunday 8pm Sky Sports One

More Madrid excitement for Bernabeu addicts, and the result looks nailed on, as usual, for the hosts.

Los Merengues cruised past Werder Bremen in midweek, and have a 100% record at home in La Liga, form which sees them heading the pack with the Christmas break fast approaching.

Osasuna have done little wrong lately - they beat Mallorca in the Copa Del Rey earlier this week, and have held Valencia and Sevilla recently too, but it's hard to see them clinging on for another point here.

The odds favour the hosts, and with very few angles to pursue from a punting perspective, this is one to enjoy only.

http://www.bettingzone.co.uk/football/

[rcgills]

Wouldn't necessarily argue with those picks from Betting Zone. Barcelona are poor away from home this season, but Valencia have just been poor in general. No David Villa for Valencia either. Having said that, on paper at least, Valencia should be more than capable of giving Barcelona a decent game, but they'll need to raise their game considerably from recent weeks. No bet for me, if I had to choose I'd probably just about give Barcelona the edge.

For the Espanyol - Levante game, it's hard to see Levante getting anything from this, but I think taking Espanyol on the handicap may be slightly risky. No Riera or Luis Garcia for Espanyol, two very important players for them, and apparently Levante are switching to 5 at the back, apparently looking to play for the draw. If Espanyol can get an early goal, then I'd expect them to go on and win comfortably, but if Levante can hold out until half-time, it could get a bit nervy for those on the h/c.

[rcgills]

Knocked out of Europe, without a goal in five matches and with morale on the floor, Valencia goalkeeper Santiago Canizares reckons the visit of Barcelona in the Primera Liga on Saturday is just the remedy.
Ronald Koeman's side finished bottom of their Champions League group on Tuesday when they could only draw away to Chelsea, missing out on third place and a parachute into the UEFA Cup.
They return to face the music in front of their restless fans at the Mestalla, with one of the league's worst home records.
Although they are seventh in the standings, only four sides have accumulated fewer than their nine points from seven matches, and they are all near the foot of the table.
Their 3-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao two weeks ago made them the league's leakiest defence on home turf with 15 conceded, and their next visitors boast the likes of Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi up front.
'The negative connotations of facing a great team like Barca are counterbalanced by the greater motivation from yourselves and the fact that our fans will be more disposed to get behind us,' Canizares told sports daily AS.
Valencia will be without injured leading striker David Villa but can take comfort from Barca's poor form away from the Nou Camp.
Frank Rijkaard's second-placed side have only won once on their travels, at bottom club Levante back in September.
They will not want to lose any more ground on leaders Real Madrid, who have a four point advantage at the top of the table and a home tie against Osasuna on Sunday.
Real have a 100 percent record at the Bernabeu and visit the Nou Camp the following weekend, in the last round of matches before the mid-season break.
Osasuna, who are 14th, will be without former Real players Javi Garcia and Juanfran due to clauses in their contracts.
Third-placed Atletico Madrid have only lost once in eight and visit Recreativo Huelva on Sunday as they look to consolidate their position in the top four.
Two points back in fourth, Villarreal face a tough task to end their dip in form when they visit Getafe on Sunday.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have one point from their last three matches, all against sides in the bottom half of the table.

ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Demoralised Valencia seek reaction against Barca

Barcelona travel to Valencia on Saturday in search of only their second away win in the Primera Liga this season.

The Catalan club's only league success on the road came at the end of September, when Frank Rijkaard's side demolished Valencia-based strugglers Levante 4-1, thanks to a Thierry Henry hat-trick and a great solo effort by Lionel Messi.

Barcelona will now hope a return to the east coast city will also bring a new success away from the Camp Nou.

To do so, Rijkaard has called for his side to produce a strong performance on Saturday.

``We need to start the game with a lot of strength. This is a key match,'' he said on Friday.

Barcelona lie four points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid - their next opponents - and Rijkaard hopes his side can close in on the leaders by winning their next two games.

``If we win these two games, it will be very important for our mentality. But winning two games won't tell us anything. The level of the league is very high and we can't be complacent,'' he said.

The Dutch coach says he was pleased with his side's attitude in Wednesday night's 3-1 Champions League win over Stuttgart, and hopes for the same commitment from his players against Valencia.

``We have picked up some good results, but more important than that is the image and attitude shown. We will need to show more of the same to get a result against Valencia,'' he said.

Barcelona have won all of their home games this season, but have been far less successful on the road, winning one, losing two and drawing four of their seven away matches so far this term.

Rijkaard welcomes back several key players for this match.

Deco, Yaya Toure and Eric Abidal return and could all start against Valencia.

Deco made his long-awaited return from injury against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend, but was subsequently removed from the line-up for Wednesday's European match after experiencing discomfort in the warm-up.

Meanwhile, Toure and Abidal have recovered from their respective injuries and will add much-needed steel to a Barcelona side which has looked fragile away from home all season.

Edmilson, Thierry Henry and Oleguer all remain sidelined.

Valencia approach Saturday's game amid something of a crisis.

The 2004 champions were in fourth spot and in contention for a place in the second round of the Champions League when Ronald Koeman took over, but have since crashed out of Europe and slipped to seventh in the league.

Valencia did draw away to Chelsea (who had already qualified for the second phase of the Champions League) on Tuesday, but are now without a win in five games and Koeman hopes for a change in fortunes against his old club.

``We are playing at home and it's a game in which we can change a lot of things. If we get a positive result, we can put an end to this bad phase we are going through,'' he said on Friday.

The Dutch coach also asked the club's discontent fans to get behind his team.

``We need a highly-charged atmosphere from the first minute. We must be aggressive, not allow Barcelona to play and do damage on the counter-attack.

``I understand the fans' anger, but we need their support more than ever. The players must be the ones to move us forward, but if the atmosphere is favourable, then that helps,'' he said.

Ruben Baraja, Edu, Miguel Angel Angulo, David Albelda and Timo Hildebrand returned to fitness this week and could play, but David Villa, Marco Caneira, Alexis and Raul Albiol are all sidelined.

ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Valencia v Barcelona Preview

Espanyol will be boosted by the return of star midfielders Ivan De La Pena and Rufete against Levante on Saturday, but will be deprived of in-form attackers Albert Riera and Luis Garcia through suspension.

De La Pena made his long-awaited comeback from injury earlier this season, but has missed the last three weeks with a muscle problem.

His return and that of Rufete - who picked up an injury in a pre-season friendly against FC Utrecht and is yet to feature this season - will represent a timely boost for the Barcelona-based side in the absence of Riera and Luis Garcia, who both picked up their fifth yellow cards of the campaign in last week's 3-3 draw at Real Zaragoza.

Youth product David Garcia also returns and will replace Argentinian Clemente Rodriguez at right-back as Espanyol look to extend their impressive unbeaten run to 12 games.

The Catalan outfit face bottom-of-the table Levante at home, but coach Ernesto Valverde is taking nothing for granted.

``Everyone is taking it as a given that we will win, but last season Levante stayed up with many of the same players they have now,'' he said.

``They have the potential to react, but the question is when they will move off the bottom. We hope to delay their reaction one more week.''

Espanyol have never lost at home to Levante, but have been susceptible to defeats against the smaller sides in recent seasons.

The Catalans lost at home to lowly Gimnastic Tarragona last season and succumbed to newly-promoted Valladolid on the opening day of the current campaign.

Given those past failures, Valverde warned his side to avoid complacency on Saturday.

``We suffer a lot against this type of rival. We must take into account that they will come here and mount a defensive wall with three centre-backs and two full-backs. We have to be ready for that,'' he said.

Espanyol missed a great chance to move into the top three last weekend, when they threw away a two-goal lead in the last five minutes away to Zaragoza.

Despite that disappointment, the Catalans remain fifth, having won six and drawn five of their last 11 matches.

Levante, meanwhile, have picked up just two wins this season and remain rooted to the bottom of the Primera Liga.

The Valencia-based side showed brief signs of a revival under new coach Gianni De Biasi, but have lost their last two matches and are now six points adrift at the foot of the table.

The Italian boss believes the team's main problem lies with the defence.

``If we look at the 15 league games and the six or seven pre-season matches, then the problem is the same,'' he said.

De Biasi revealed his team will switch to a defensive-minded 5-4-1 formation against Espanyol in an attempt to resolve the side's problems at the back.

``It's a very elastic way of playing, which tends to strengthen the defence, which is what we need,'' he said.

Shota Arveladze could return following a long spell on the sidelines, but is unlikely to be risked at this stage.

Savio Bortolini and Miguel Angel Lozano are doubtful.

ESPNsoccernet - Europe - Espanyol v Levante Preview

[ONEDUNME]

If it's that unpredictable, I think I'll lay Barca for a bit RC. Sound like a good idea to you?

[rcgills]

Got a sneaking fancy for Albacete tonight away to Cordoba in the Segunda. On the face of it it doesn't look like a decent bet - Albacete are 2nd from bottom, and have managed just 4 goals away from home all season, while Cordoba are unbeaten at home (albeit they've drawn 6 of their 8 games, winning just 2). However, Albacete's recent away form has been very encouraging - from their last 4 aways, they've got wins at Salamanca and Nastic (5th and 8th respectively in the home form table for the season), a draw at Sevilla B (similar to Cordoba in that they draw a lot at home, 2-5-1 for the season), keeping a clean sheet in all 3 of those games, and the other game was a narrow 1-0 loss to Granada 74, who are 3rd in the home form table for the season.

As already mentioned, Cordoba struggle to kill sides off at home - their 2 home wins have been by a 1 goal margin, and they've drawn the other 6. Cordoba without quite a few players for today, the most important being Pierini (ever present in defence) and Ito, a midfielder who's only missed one game this season.

The only major team news for Albacete is that they'll be forced to change keeper. The keeper they're set to bring in, Valbuena, was actually their first choice at the start of the season, but was dropped after 4 games following a 1-4 defeat against Numancia. Lopez replaced him, but was injured during the last game with 17 minutes to go (and the score at 0-0), and they subbed him and brought on a 3rd keeper, Javi Martinez, who promptly conceded 3 goals in the last 17 minutes. All of which means they now look set to bring Valbuena back into the starting lineup.

For those interested in H2H, Albacete have won on 2 of their last 3 visits to Cordoba, although the most recent was in 2002-03, so probably not all that relevant now.

Anyway, Albacete's decent away form of late, together with Cordoba's general inability to kill sides off and the players they've got missing, is enough to tempt me into backing the away side here.

Cordoba v Albacete @ 4.0 4pts

[rcgills]

Originally Posted by ONEDUNME

If it's that unpredictable, I think I'll lay Barca for a bit RC. Sound like a good idea to you?

To be honest, no It's one to avoid IMO, but if you held a gun to my head and forced me to bet, I'd go with Barcelona. I'd say there must potentially be dozens of better bets around for today (all around the world, I mean, not just in Spain), I'd save my money on this one if I were you.

Edit - Disclaimer: RCgills hasn't the slightest idea who better bets are or why the words are hotlinked

[ONEDUNME]

That's a lay of Cordoba for me at 2.1 then

[rcgills]

Originally Posted by ONEDUNME

That's a lay of Cordoba for me at 2.1 then

Aargh Get out of this thread You know it's going to finish a draw now, don't you. With Albacete taking the lead and missing a sodding penalty before getting pegged back.

[ONEDUNME]

[rcgills]

By the way, did you lay Ferrol last week like I suggested. Decided to adopt your tactics and lay Ferrol rather than back Granada 74, despite fancying Granada to win it. Granada duely went and won it

[ONEDUNME]

Of course they did. You just have to bite your lip and get on with it when that happens mate. I'm finding it a winning strategy in the longer term.