La Liga Round 13 Preview: Malaga hosts struggling Villarreal as Sevilla faces Zaragoza

The Yellow Submarine have shown some improvement to go unbeaten in their last three league games, but face a real test against Manuel Pellegrini's high flying side.

Nov 25, 2011 8:46:00 AM

By Daniel Quinton-Navarro

More On :  Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Betis, Ciudad de Murcia, Espanyol, Getafe, Levante, Malaga, Mallorca, Osasuna, Racing , Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Sevilla, Sporting Gijon, Valencia, Villarreal, Zaragoza
Van Nistelrooy, Baptista and Cazorla (Malaga)
PROSHOTS


La Liga: Round 13 Preview

Saturday NOVEMBER 26
 KO
 Sunday NOVEMBER 27
 KO
Rayo - Valencia
 12:00 Betis - Real Sociedad
 6:00
Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid
 2:00 Levante - Sporting Gijon
 10:00
Getafe - Barcelona
 4:00
 Mallorca - Racing Santander
 12:00
    Espanyol - Osasuna
 12:00
    Athletic Bilbao - Granada
 1:45
    Zaragoza - Sevilla
 4:00

  Monday NOVEMBER 28
 KO
all kickoffs in ET   Malaga - Villarreal
 3:00

Rayo
 vs Valencia
                                                               
Valencia travels to Rayo on Saturday in the hope of returning to winning ways after suffering its first defeat in six La Liga matches against Real Madrid last time out.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

Real Madrid
 vs Atletico Madrid
                                                               
Jose Mourinho's side is searching for its 13th consecutive victory in all competitions when it welcomes Atletico Madrid to the Bernabeu for the capital's derby clash on Saturday.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

Getafe
 vs Barcelona
                                                               
Barcelona travels to Getafe, full of confidence following its 3-2 victory over Milan in the Champions League, in the hope of closing the gap on league leader Real Madrid.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

Betis
 vs Real Sociedad

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Castro
Chica, Ustaritz, Dorado, Perez
Sevilla, Etxebarria, Iriney
Castro, Molina, Pozuelo

  

 
Bravo
Martinez, Gonzalez, Ansotegi, Martinez
Aranburu, Mariga
Griezmann, Zurutuza, Vela
Agirretxe
TEAM NEWS
  • Real Betis slipped to 13th in La Liga following a narrow 1-0 defeat against Villarreal last weekend, with the Yellow Submarine moving ahead of Pepe Mel's side in the process.
  • For the first time in the club's history the Andalusians have failed to score in five straight games.
  • Alvaro Vadillo is certain to miss this match, while Antonio Amaya is doubtful for the visit of Sociedad. 

 

  
  • Philippe Montainer's future is in doubt with Sociedad deep in relegation trouble. A 0-0 draw against Espanyol last time out did nothing to help the Frenchman either.
  • Inigo Martinez should return to the starting XI after serving a one-game suspension against Espanyol.
  • Sociedad's injury list is six players long, with Xabi Prieto, Liassine Cadamuro and Asier Illarramendi the latest men on the treatment table.

Levante
 vs Sporting Gijon

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Munua
Venta, Ballesteros, Nano, Juanfran
Torres, Iborra
Valdo, Barkero, Juanlu
Kone

  

 
Pablo
Lora, Botia, Hernandez, Canella
Rivera, Cases
Trejo, Castro, Cuevas
Bilic
TEAM NEWS
  • Levante suffered its third straight defeat after slipping to a 3-2 loss against Atletico.
  • Midfielder Juanlu is expected to return to the Levante lineup after missing the last match due to a virus.
  • Juan Martinez's side has won every match this season in which it has taken the lead.
 
  • Sporting Gijon enjoyed its third win of the season after overcoming Getafe 2-1 in the team's last match.
  • Midfielder Sebastian Eguren could be out for up to a month of action after suffering a knee injury.
  • Sporting Gijon is unbeaten in its last five matches.

 

Mallorca
 vs Racing Santander

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Aouate
Cendros, Victor, Ramis, Bigas
Tissone, Tejera, Pina
Nsue, Castro
Hemed

  

 
Ramirez
Francis, Bernardo, Torrejon, Fernandez
Luque, Diop, Adrian, Munitis
Arana
Stuani
TEAM NEWS
  • Mallorca's game against Granada was suspended after 61 minutes of playing time when the referee's assistant was hit by an object thrown from the crowd. Mallorca was losing 2-1 at the time and will have to play the last half hour of this game on Dec. 7.
  • Defender Ivan Ramis is expected to return after missing the last game through suspension.
  • Mallorca's Jose Chico is doubtful after suffering an ankle injury against Granada.
 
  • Racing Santander lies at the foot of La Liga after suffering its sixth defeat of the season against Malaga.
  • Striker Ariel Nahuelpan served his one-game suspension against Malaga, while Alvaro Gonzalaz will miss the match against Mallorca after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
  • Racing has yet to win away this season, but has drawn three times - accounting for a third of the team's points.

 

Espanyol
 vs Osasuna

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Alvarez
Galan, Moreno, Rodriguez, Didac
Forlin, Baena
Weiss, Romaric, Verdu
Alvaro

  

 
Andres
Damia, Flano, Rocha, Raitala
Punal, Garcia, Nekounam
Lamah, Ibrahima
Nino
TEAM NEWS
  • Espanyol occupies eighth spot in La Liga, drawing its last match 0-0 against Real Sociedad.
  • Sergio Garcia is doubtful for this match after suffering a muscle injury last time out.
  • Javi Marquez is likely to need surgery to repair his ankle damage as his recovery hasn't gone as planned.
 
  • Osasuna drew 0-0 last time out, equaling the most draws in La Liga after the first 12 matches.
  • Masoud Shojaei, Sergio and Ion Echaide are all certain to miss the match against Espanyol.
  • Roversio Rodrigues could be back in contention for the match after being declared fit.

 

Athletic Bilbao
 vs Granada
                                                               
Athletic Bilbao welcomes Granada to San Mames as the club looks to continue its move towards the Champions League spots.

A full preview of this fixture can be found here.

Zaragoza
 vs Sevilla

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Roberto
Juarez, Mateos, Lanzaro, Paredes
Meira, Ponzio
Barrera, Micael, Garcia
Postiga

  

 
Varas
Caceres, Spahic, Escude, Navarro
Trochowski, Medel
Navas, Moral, Perotti
Negredo
TEAM NEWS
  • Barcelona thrashed Zaragoza 4-0 last time out, leaving Javier Aguirre's side in the relegation zone.
  • Every goal that Zaragoza has scored this season has come from inside the penalty area.
  • Roberto is the only available goalkeeper in Zaragoza's squad with Leo Franco and Alcolea both injured.

 

 

  
  • Sevilla lost its second home game of the season against Athletic Bilbao leaving the team five points adrift of the Champions League spots.
  • Gary Medel will return to the starting lineup after serving his one-match ban.
  • Frederic Kanoute is a doubt for the trip to Zaragoza with Marcelino likely to opt for Alvaro Negredo as the sole striker if the Malian is unfit.

 

Malaga
 vs Villarreal

PROBABLE LINEUPS

 
Caballero
Sanchez, Demichellis, Mathijsen, Monreal
Toulalen, Duda
Fernandez, Cazorla, Isco
Van Nistelrooy

  

 
Lopez
Angel, Marchena, Musacchio, Oriol
Bruno
Valero, Guzman, Camunas
Perez, Ruben
TEAM NEWS
  • Malaga moved into fifth spot in La Liga with a 3-1 victory over Racing.
  • Jesus Gamez suffered a sprain in a ligament and has been declared unfit for an indefinite amount of time.
  • Joaquin and Julio Baptista are both out injured while there are doubts over the fitness of Eliseu and Apono. 

 

 

 

  
  • Villarreal lost its fifth game in a row in the group stage of the Champions League on Tuesday, as the club went down 3-1 against Bayern Munich.
  • The Yellow Submarine, however, have enjoyed a mini-revival in La Liga, moving into 12th place, their highest position of the season, after three unbeaten games
  • Catala suffered a muscular injury in training, adding to Villarreal's long list of unavailable players, which includes strikers Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi. 

Follow Goal.com on Twitter

Follow Goal.com on Facebook
 
play pause open close
Inside Goal.Com
  1. RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai RIGG: Anelka struggling against the current in Shanghai

    Nicolas Anelka went against the grain when he moved to Shanghai. Now he's finding that coaching and gelling tactically is like swimming against the tide.

  2. ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams ROGERS: Bradley should command a bidding war among Serie A teams

    Chievo is currently shopping the American midfielder and several Italian clubs have shown interest.

  3. ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite ISOLA: Neymar-led Brazil should be considered the 2014 WC favorite

    Neymar was brilliant as Brazil easily handled the United States with early World Cup preparations officially underway.

  4. LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth LATHAM: Mexico using summer friendlies to build depth

    With World Cup qualifying to begin in June, Mexico is using three U.S.-hosted friendlies to build squad depth.

  5. McCARTHY: Harrisburg springs its wildest Open Cup upset to date McCARTHY: Harrisburg springs its wildest Open Cup upset to date

    The City Islanders fought back from three goals down with nine minutes to play and won the game on penalty kicks in a stunning game on a wild night for the U.S. Open Cup.