With Barça again playing 24 hours ahead of Madrid, Guardiola’s team could once more be 10 points ahead when Madrid kick off on Thursday against Malaga.
Ander split two ways
Zaragoza’s Ander Herrera will find himself in a no-win situation when he lines up against
Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night. The 21-year-old Basque midfielder signed a deal with Bilbao
earlier this year, but will stay at Zaragoza until June and on Wednesday he’ll turn out
against his new club. A win for the Basques could boost their, and Ander’s, hopes of European
football next season, whilst making relegation for Zaragoza a much more threatening prospect.
The midweek round of La Liga games kicked off on Tuesday night with Seville beating Sporting and
Mallorca taking the points at Espanyol – just 24 hours after Malaga had beaten Almeria in the
last game of week 25 action, a result that lifts Pellegrini’s team off the bottom and dumps
Almeria there.
Pellegrini back at Bernabeu
Manuel Pellegrini returns to the Bernabeu on Thursday with his Malaga team boosted
by their 3-1 win over Almeria on Monday and looking to spring a surprise on Real Madrid and add
further misery following their slip up in La Coruña. With Valencia up against Barça, Villarreal
need to get points at home to Hercules to close the gap on Emery’s team, who are currently
four points ahead of them.
Espanyol lose at home
Espanyol missed the chance to put pressure on Villarreal when they lost 1-2 to
Mallorca, who missed an early penalty and were soon one down to an Alvaro strike, but came back to
take the points in the second half thanks to goals from Webo and Nsue. Pochettino’s team
could be back in sixth on Wednesday night if Bilbao can win at Zaragoza. Behind the Basques,
Seville are threatening following their 3-0 defeat of Sporting on Tuesday. Whilst all around them
sides have faltered, Seville have managed to put together a half decent run over the last six games
- two wins, three draws and one defeat, 9 out of a possible 18 points, and the win over Sporting,
who played with 10 men for over an hour, puts them momentarily level on points with Bilbao.
Tight at the foot of the table
Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad both need wins to keep in touch with Seville and
the Basques face in-form Levant at Anoeta, whilst Atletico play in a derby game at neighbours
Getafe. Things are tight at the foot of the table and Sporting’s defeat could see them drop
into the bottom three if Zaragoza or Malaga can get a win, whilst Osasuna and Deportivo meet in a
six-pointer in Pamplona and Almeria will have to get something from the visit of Racing on Thursday
if they are not to lose touch with the other eight teams in the relegation battle.