seth from somewhere

Jornada 31 – 5/11
Season – 85/158 (54%)

HOME WIN = 1; AWAY WIN = 2; DRAW = X

Espanyol (14th) v. Barcelona (1st)

All matches involving Barcelona and Real Madrid are usually the highlights of the La Liga weekend and this weekend both matches involving the sides are top billing.  Real Madrid faces third-place Valencia while Barcelona travels across town for the Catalan derby.  This is Espanyol’s biggest match every year and it is their only meaningful one left to play for this season.  They are three points away from the usually relegation-proof 40 points and are not involved in the King’s Cup.  This is the first Catalan derby in Espanyol’s new stadium and they will be motivated to christened it with a win over their city rivals, putting a serious doubt into Barça’s title ambitions.  However, they are missing key players, notably their captain Iván de la Peña.  Barcelona, meanwhile, must win all their remaining matches to win La Liga, according to manager Pep Guardiola.  They will be missing Andres Ineista again (who seems a little fragile this season) and the first leg of their Champions League semi-final showdown with Inter Milan looms on Tuesday.  Barcelona has a steely focus and should grab the full three points.  PICK: 2

Villarreal (8th) v. Atlético Madrid (10th)

Both teams are coming off deflating mid-week losses.  The Yellow Submarine were trouced 3-0 away to Getafe while Atlético’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde season continued, losing 2-1 at home to last-place Xerez.  Amazingly, Atlético is the only Spanish club still involved in three competitions (La Liga, Europa League, Copa del Rey) but their priorities are the last two since they have little chance of a European finish in the league.  Villarreal still has a shot at 6th place in La Liga, guaranteeing European football next season.  They are currently six points adrift Athletic Bilbao and will need to earn maximum points in their remaining games.  This match will be a joy to watch and you can catch in on the renamed ESPN3.com.  PICK: 1

Racing Club (15th) v. Vélez Sársfield (9th)

Disappointingly, Fox Soccer Channel’s Argentine match of the week is not the Rosario derby between Rosario Central and Newell’s Old Boys.  Instead, FSC gives us a match-up between two Buenos Aires clubs.  I need to brush up on the relegation system used in Argentine soccer but I understand correctly Racing Club is in danger of playing in the relegation/promotion match.  This is disconcerting for Racing fans as they have a proud history as one of Argentina’s Big Five.  Their manager has stated many changes are in order after losing 4-0 against Estudiantes this week.  Late-season personnel changes are desperate measures.  Vélez has not won a league match in April but they got a big win this past week to secure qualification for the knockout stage in the Copa Libertadores (South America’s version of the Champions League).  The likely will rest key players to gear up for a deep Copa run and I believe Racing has some inspired play in them to provide relief to their loyal support.  PICK: 1

Keep reading for the other picks . . .

(more…)

Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

I hope Manuel Pellegrini’s newspaper delivery boy took it easy on the old Chilean and skipped his delivery box this week.  All the news in Spain this week has centered squarely on the shoulders of Pellegrini after Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League in the first knockout round.  French side Lyon grabbed a late goal at the Bernabéu to win the tie on aggregate, 2-1, ending the madridista dream of playing in the Champions League final which just happens to be at their home ground this year.  La Marca, a pro-Madrid rag and the biggest daily in Spain, immediately called for the manager’s sacking and is now throwing the names of footballers, such as former Barcelona youth player and current Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas, against the wall just to see if anything sticks.  Real Madrid higher-ups have given Pellegrini the dreaded vote of confidence.  Despite the impressive work he did with small-budget Villarreal, Pellegrini has never been taken seriously as the manager of the new version of los galaticos. The Madrid media machine and die-hard madridistas feel that their club of superstars demands a superstar manager.  High-profile names such has José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger have been mentioned as targets should Pellegrini face the axe.  However, Pellegrini remains in charge and takes his club on the road to struggling Valladolid.  Poor Pucela, they really have no chance this weekend, do they?

Now, that introduction was quite long and the only honest answer I can give is that I want to avoid discussing another subpar quiniela performance last week.  Barcelona didn’t help matters, stumbling to a draw away to improving Almería and giving Real Madrid an opening to overtake first place in La Liga.  Los merengues did just that, fighting back from a two-goal deficit at home to Sevilla to earn a dramatic 3-2 victory that made the mid-week humiliation so surprising.  I picked both of those matches incorrectly and my misery was deepened when last-place Xerez won their first road game of the year against Málaga.  Across the Atlantic in Argentine, I rode Independiente to another correct pick as they beat River Plate 2-0.  Another win mid-week against Tigre puts Independiente alone atop the Clasura 2010 table.

Jornada 26 – 5/11
Season – 65/125 (52%)

(more…)

What can I say about last week.  Saturday was a decent two for three but Sunday was another story.  I picked all seven Spanish matches incorrectly, the only saving grace was Independiente beating Racing Club in Argentina’s Avellaneda Derby.  Forgive me for wanting to forget last week.

This week is another week to pretend I know something about Spanish and Argentine soccer.  The match of the week, Read Madrid v. Sevilla, is on Saturday but unfortunately not on ESPN360.com.  Instead, I’ll be treated to another Buenos Aires rivalry on Fox Soccer Channel by Roger Valdivieso as Independiente host downtrodden River Plate.

Jornada 24 – 3/11
Season – 60/114 (53%)

(more…)