19.12.2009 11:37
www.fcbarcelona.cat
With the leaders Barca busy in the Emirates this weekend, attention in La Liga switches to the struggle at the bottom of the table and the fight for European places in the final weekend's games before the Christmas break.
Deportivo, Valencia and Mallorca fight for top four spot
Sixth place Deportivo will have the chance to finish the year in a Champions League spot if
they can defeat fourth placed Valencia at the Riazor on Sunday. Deportivo striker Mista,
ex-Valencia himself, insists: “the numbers are clear – Valencia are two points ahead of
us. We've never been favourites for a top four spot, which puts pressure on them and means we can
be more relaxed about the situation”.
Fifth placed Mallorca may well beat both teams to a Champions League berth at Christmas as they
travel to struggling Malaga on Sunday. Seville have drawn their last two home games and are now
just a couple of points ahead of Valencia, so they will be looking to get back to winning ways when
they close the year against Getafe, themselves on the edges of a UEFA spot in eighth place.
Injury-hit Madrid
Second placed Madrid, meanwhile, close their year at home to Zaragoza, whose new boss Jose
Aurelio Gay makes his debut with the third from bottom team who've won just one game in their last
nine matches. Madrid will be without the injured Pepe, out for the rest of the season with knee
ligaments, Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Guti and Van Nistelroy, with Albiol also doubtful.
Espanyol in relegation battle
Should Zaragoza shock Madrid, Espanyol, currently just a point above them, could spend their
Christmas holidays in the relegation zone. Espanyol have not scored in the league since November
1st and are the league's second lowest scoring team with just 8 in 14 games. Their dramatic dip in
form has seen them lose their last five games on the run and boss Pochetino knows he needs to start
improving when his team face fellow strugglers Almeria in Cornella on Sunday.
Racing, Atletico Madrid and Valladolid are tied with Almeria and Espanyol on 13 points and
whilst Racing will be buoyed by two wins in their last two games, they face a tough trip to the
improving Villarreal, whilst Valladolid host Sporting and Atletico travel to Tenerife.
Basque derby in Bilbao
With Real Sociedad and Alaves down in the second division, there's only two Basque derbies a
year at the moment and Bilbao and Osasuna, who meet at San Mames on Saturday night, both go into
the first of the year in relative comfort, with Bilbao doing well in Europe and lying 7th and
Osasuna enjoying some welcome mid-table comfort.