By Gabe Lezra
- La Liga Editor
Sure, La Liga is more important than the Supercup. But that
doesn't mean that this weekend will feel like anything more than a brief
break, a breather for Real Madrid and Barcelona to regroup.
Let’s just get it all out there:
Real Madrid and
Barcelona
aren’t really thinking about the Liga right now. Sure, they’ll talk a
big game about how these matches are more important than their Supercup
tie, but we all know they’re lying—or, at least, they’re trying
desperately to believe what they’re saying.
Because sure, these matches, in the grand scheme of things, are more
important than a Supercup win: neither side would dispute that. These
early-season point swings can easily turn into late-season success;
dropping two points in August is the same as dropping two points in
April.
And I’m sure that’s what José Mourinho and
Tito Vilanova will be telling their squads as they travel to
Getafe and
Osasuna (respectively).
But, for now, the fans will view this weekend as a short reprieve, a deep breath before the next round.
Saturday, August 25
(19:00 CET, 1:00 PM EST)
It’s interesting to remember the early-2000’s, when both of these
teams were at the apex of their powers: Real Sociedad was a perennial
top of the table finisher, while Celta was jumping around, but featured
strong players and a hyper-passionate fanbase.
Pick: 1-1.
(21:00 CET, 3:00 PM EST)
Ah. Zaragoza. I put the odds on them finishing in
the bottom third of the table at about 90%. And Espanyol, well, who
knows anymore.
Pick: 2-0 to Espanyol.
(21:00 CET, 3:00 PM EST)
Last year, both of these teams played extremely
enigmatic football: sometimes, they’d show up and play the best match
you could possibly imagine them playing; then the next week, they’d
produce a polar opposite result. Your guess is as good as mine as to
what we’ll see.
Pick: 2-2.
(23:00 PM CET, 5:00 PM EST)
The finishing-at-1AM match could be promising
Saturday, though it’s far from a certainty. Mallorca has been known to
lock themselves down when they’re under pressure, and there’s no
guarantee that this Málaga side will be able to produce any more 16
year-old magic.
Pick: 0-0.
Sunday, August 26
Osasuna vs. FC Barcelona
(19:00 CET, 1:00 PM EST)
Not a particularly good match for Barça to draw
right before going to Madrid: Osasuna are known for physical defence,
and a staunch home-field advantage. They’re fighters, which is exactly
the opposite of what Vilanova and company need.
Pick: 1-2 to Barça.
Getafe vs. Real Madrid
(21:00 CET, 3:00 PM EST)
Last year, whenever Barça played before Madrid, the
blaugrana dropped points—or at least had a higher probability of
dropping points relative to their other time slots. I doubt this trend
will continue. But this is a good matchup for Madrid, as they won’t have
to leave their city to travel, and tend to have a pretty good go of it
in Getafe.
Pick: 1-3 to Madrid.
(21:00 CET, 3:00 PM EST)
If this game were solely based on which city was
cooler, well, I’d still pick Sevilla—but it would be way closer. Right
now, Granada are lucky to be in Primera, and Sevilla have two national
team players.
Pick: 0-2 to Sevilla.
(23:00 PM CET, 5:00 PM EST)
This is a bit better from the LFP
schedulers—choosing to put Valencia at the midnight timeslot is
preferable to Zaragoza. But, then again, literally any team would be
preferable to Zaragoza.
Pick: 3-1 to Valencia.
Monday, August 27
(20:00 CET, 2:00 PM EST)
I don’t really know what to say about this game,
other than I’m probably staying away. I don’t love Levante, especially
not away—hyper-defense—and Valladolid can be fun, but I worry about them
against a suffocating, space-sucker like Levante.
Pick: 0-0.
(22:00 CET, 4:00 PM EST)
In the rematch of the Europa League final, I have
little doubt that a similar scoreline will result (though perhaps not as
large). Radamel Falcao and company are, at the moment, a better side
than Athletic, no matter how many goals they during the week.
Pick: 2-1 to Atletico.
Stoke City have confirmed they are signing Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu after agreeing terms.
Edu, a 26-year-old USA international, will undergo a medical before completing the transfer for an undisclosed fee, subject to international clearance.
At Stoke, he will link up with compatriot Geoff Cameron, who has just arrived from Houston Dynamo.
