There are some great games this week.  It has been argued by many that La Liga is now a two-horse race, with only Barcelona and Real Madrid really in the running for the title.  Although I don’t agree with that assessment, tomorrow’s Clásico is simply such a big game I think it takes center stage this week.
 
As always, it is a ‘1’ for a home win, an ‘X’ for a draw, and a ‘2’ for an away win.  Last week I was 6/10 which is pretty much the best I’ve done all year.  Let’s see if I can make it two good weeks in a row.
 
1.  Racing (18th) – Athletic (7th): X
2.  Mallorca (13th) – Zaragoza (18th): 2
3.  Granada (17th) – Getafe (11th): 2
4.  Sevilla (9th) – Levante (5th): 2
5.  Sporting (19th) – Rayo (14th): 1
6.  Atlético (8th) – Espanyol: (10th): 1
7.  Valencia (3rd) – Betis (12th): 1
8.  Osasuna (6th) – Málaga (4th): 2
9.  Real Sociedad (15th) – Villarreal (16th): 1
10.  Barcelona (2nd) – Real Madrid (1st): 1
 
El Clásico, Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, 2:00 P.M. ET, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain.
 
Barcelona currently trails Real Madrid by 4 points in the league, and this is simply a must win if los cules want to have any hope of winning la liga this year, which of course Pep Guardiola still thinks is an impossibility.  Both Barca and R. Madrid are coming off of losses in their Champions League matches this week (to Chelsea and Bayern Munich, respectively).  Both teams need to regroup before the return leg but with this monumental match to play they are simply going to have to press on full steam ahead (although Barcelona got some good news today because Didier Drogba may miss Tuesday’s match at the Camp Nou).  Here are a couple of things to watch for:
 
Pepe and Marcelo:
 
The two Real Madrid defenders, while talented players and obviously very important to the Madrid squad, cannot keep their cool when playing Barcelona.  Last season Pepe was sent off in the Champions League and then stamped Messi in a later game.  These two need to keep their cool in order for Madrid to have a chance.
 
Lionel Messi vs. Christiano Ronaldo:
 
These guys are playing at an astronomical level. Messi and Ronaldo are level at 41 goals apiece this season (a la Liga record) and will most likely both surpass that number greatly by the end of the season (in all competitions Messi has 63 to Ronaldo’s 57).  When it comes to these type of games, however, Messi has been having the upper hand against Ronaldo.
 
In 15 games against Barcelona, Ronaldo only has 5 goals.  Keep in mind that overall he has been averaging a goal every 81 minutes, to Messi’s 72.  Since Mourinho took over at the Bernabeu, Madrid only have one victory (in the Supercup) in ten matches.  Madrid, and Ronaldo, are too talented and has to be some sort of mental block that is preventing them from performing at their highest when they play Barcelona.
 
Christiano Ronaldo is possibly set to extend his contract with R. Madrid, which may be his way of showing that he is either (a) going to play in Spain long enough so that he might face a Barcelona team that he will possibly be able to beat or (b) a glutton for punishment.  Either way, odds are that eventually the tide will change and Real Madrid will become the dominant side.  
 
Whether or not that is going to occur tomorrow….
 
Check out the site to see where you can watch the game.  I’m probably going to Lynch’s Irish Pub in Jacksonville Beach, see you there!

Hay Liga!!!  Real Madrid have seen their seemingly insurmountable lead of 10 points over their arch-nemesis, Barcelona, dwindle to a wee 4 points, with a Clásico at the Camp Nou coming next weekend.  The remaining Champions League spots remain in play with Valencia, Málaga, Levante and Osasuna fighting for the 3^rd and 4^th places.  Still lots of excitement and many things to play for. 

Let’s kick this Quiniela off. Remember, its ‘1’ for a home win, ‘X’ for a draw, and ‘2’ for an away win.

1. Athletic (8^th) – Mallora (12^th): 1

Home victory for the Bilbaínos this weekend.  Things are really convoluted in the middle of the pack with Osasuna 6^th on 45 points only 7 points ahead of Real Sociedad at 15^th on 38 points.  Mallorca is safe from relegation this season and a mid-table finish will probably suit them just fine.  Athletic, on the other hand, need to stay sharp as they still have some silverware to play for in the Europa League and the Copa del Rey.

2. Zaragoza (18^th) – Granada (16^th): 1

Zaragoza must win to stay in La Liga.  No victory and their season is most likely over.  A desperate home team for the win here.

3. Getafe (11^th) – Sevilla (7^th): 2

Michel, Sevilla’s skipper, began his coaching career at Getafe and returns having Sevilla doing plenty of the right things.  It has been a good second half of the season for las sevillistas and I think Michel gets a win at his former club.

4. Levante (5^th) – Barcelona (2^nd): 1

After 10 consecutive wins in La Liga, Barcelona has drawn within four points of leaders Real Madrid.  Barcelona is doing its best Anton Chigurh impersonation and seems to be intent on tracking Madrid down and killing them at a seedy motel, or something like that….

Anywho, Barcelona looks great, annoyingly great. And impressive as Levante has been to stay so high in the table this season, Barcelona must win to keep the pressure on heading into the Camp Nou showdown with Madrid next weekend.

5. Real Madrid (1^st) – Sporting (18^th): 1

Real Madrid had better win this one!  Expect more right legged missiles from Christiano Ronaldo like these.  It would be disastrous for Madrid to head into next week’s Clásico with the possibility of Barcelona taking the pole position in La Liga.  Madrid simply needs to keep that 4 point window open and needs to win this weekend at home against a lesser team.

6. Rayo (13^th) – Atlético (9^th): 2

El ‘Efecto Simeone?’  Well, maybe not so much.  Atlético’s 3 points out of their last six matches is definitely mediocre.  Nevertheless, I’ll take them to win it here.

7. Espanyol (10^th) – Valencia (3^rd): 2

Graham Hunter wrote a great piece earlier this week over at espn.com/soccer detailing how the fact that Valencia is still playing wonderful football when it probably should have declared bankruptcy and collapsed is a marvel to behold.  I see Valencia finishing in the top four, an awesome feat considering everything the club has gone through in recent years.

8. Betis (14^th) – Osasuna (6^th): 1

Betis have been undefeated in their last five matches and I see them continuing the trend here with a home win.

9. Málaga (4^th) – Real Sociedad (15^th): 1

Málaga for the home win, I guess.  On paper, Málaga is the richer, better team, but you just never know with Real Sociedad….

10. Villarreal (17^th) – Racing de Santander (20^th): 1

Villarreal should win here and they will stay afloat and play top flight football next season (fingers crossed).  In some unfortunate news, New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Real Madrid on October 26, 2011 and had recently returned to the side, re-tore his ACL today in a training session and needs another operation.  Rossi, who had hoped to play with the Italian national side in the European Championships this summer will need to miss the Euros and most likely the start of next season.  Good luck on the recovery Giuseppe!

 By: Ryan Moore

Week 26: March 3 and 4, 2012
Last week another 3/10.  The only thing one can predict with reasonable certainty is that Zaragoza will lose.  Some peculiar results from last week include Levante beating Espanyol, Villareal over Athletic and Sevilla over Valencia.  In addition, Rayo probably should have beaten Real Madrid.  Plus, if it’s any indication of the bizarre things happening in soccer right now, the U.S. beat Italy 1-0 for the first time ever in a friendly last week, a streak that lasted 78 years. Alright now I feel better blaming my poor performance on a string of unexpected results rather than my own inability to pick more than 60% of any given week’s games correctly.

As always, I will cover each game and assign a ‘1’ for a home team win, an ‘x’ for a draw, and a ‘2’ for an away team win.  Please feel free to post your own Quiniela in the comments section.  At the end of the season if you have a better winning percentage than I do, Todd will buy you a steak dinner at the restaurant of your choosing.

1. Barcelona (2^nd) – Sporting (19^th): 1

50 goals scored and only 4 against for Barcelona at home this season. Marca, the Madrid based tabloid is reporting that Barcelona’s president, Sandro Rosell, and coach Pep Guardiola had a meeting at Rosell’s house last night to discuss the latter’s renovation, with signs pointing to Pep’s staying on at the Camp Nou.  The players want Pep to stay and what better way to show the love then a win this weekend.

2. Sevilla (10^th) – Atlético de Madrid (9^th): X

Atlético almost walked away with a win last week against Barcelona.  A game like that with high stakes and high emotions can sometimes leave a team deflated the next week.  Interestingly, we get to see the ‘Michel’ effect versus the ‘Simeone’ effect against one another this week.  Both of these coaches have done well since taking their managerial places at Sevilla and Atlético, respectively.  If anything might tilt the scale in favor of Atlético it could be their hatred of Michel, a former Real Madrid hero.

3. Granada (16^th) – Valencia (3^rd): 2

Poor Fernando Torres, you have one bad year at Chelsea, get dropped from the Spain’s national team, and your replacement, Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, comes in and has a hat trick in his first game after being welcomed back to the national side.  Although I think Torres eventually bounces back, maybe with a lesser club (and maybe with lesser expectations), Soldado is going to continue scorching defenses and we should see him featuring for Spain in the Euros this year.

4. Mallorca (15^th) – Osasuna (7^th): 2

Osasuna is missing their top two striking options, but with so much to play for still I think they steal a win here.

5. Athletic de Bilbao (5^th) – Real Sociedad (13^th): X

It has been 11 years since Real Sociedad’s last win in San Mames.  Athletic is really having a great year and has a chance to show its force in Europe in the games coming up against Manchester United.  It may be too much to ask for a victory, but with Athletic focused on Man U a draw is not out of the question.

6. Zaragoza (20^th) – Villareal (17^th): 2

See number 5, above.

7. Getafe (14^th) – Málaga (6^th): 2

Málaga has the benefit of playing with Spain international Santi Cazorla who is on fire lately and while Getafe might be somewhat of a more formidable opponent than Zaragoza (whom Málaga spanked 5-1 last week), Málaga is the better team and should get the away result.

8. Levante (4^th) – Betis (12^th): 2

All aboard the Levante bandwagon? Nope.  1 win in 9 matches hardly does it for me.  Last week’s win against Espanyol notwithstanding, I’m not back on it yet.  If Levante somehow makes it to the end of the season in the top four, I’ll treat Todd to a steak.

9. Real Madrid (1^st) – Espanyol (8^th): 1

Jose Mourinho spent a couple of days in London last week, presumably for vacation, but that has done nothing but stoke the fires burning for his return, possibly even to former club, Chelsea.  Although Mourinho has stated that he wants to win the ‘triple’ of the Champions League, La Liga, and the Copa del Rey, it could be that a league title and a Copa del Rey crown is all he takes back with him.

10. Rayo Vallecano (11^th) – Racing de Santander (18^th):

As noted above, after a hard fought loss to a big team (Rayo really could have done better against Real Madrid last week) a team can sometimes experience a post-match hangover, losing focus on the future.  However, Rayo has enough firepower to get past Racing at home.

As always, you can locate where to watch La Liga at bars around you by checking out the search feature of WhereToWatch.com.  If you know of a bar that shows soccer or La Liga games that we’ve missed, feel free to give us the inside tip here.

By: Ryan Moore