La Liga Preview: Almeria – Deportivo La Coruna

While the hosts need maximum points to accelerate away from the drop zone, Depor want to get their surprising push for a European spot back on track...

Dec 11, 2009 7:44:16 AM

More On :  Almeria, Deportivo, Almeria vs Deportivo
Adrian, Pique, Deportivo La Coruña, Barcelona (MARCA)
Kick-Off: Sunday, December 13, 2009. 17:00 CET
Estadio del Mediterraneo, Almeria
 
Disappointing Of Late

Almeria are one of a clutch of sides who could yet be drawn in by the vortex of the relegation zone, though they seemed to show enough in their fixture last weekend against Real Madrid to suggest that they should have the tools to survive another season in La Primera.
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However, their recent form – last weekend aside – has been rather abject, with goals leaked all too easily and points in drastically short supply. Over the course of their last six league fixtures, the Andalusian side have claimed only three points, shipping a mammoth tally of 16 goals.

Clearly there is a great deal of work for coach Hugo Sanchez to do if he is to pull the side out of their negative cycle.

The Mexican has looked to last weekend’s defeat by los Blancos as a potential turning point, claiming that the penalty that led to Real moving 3-2 ahead was unjust and praising his players’ efforts come full-time. “A draw would have been fair,” he asserted.

Stronger at home than away – eight points in six games in comparison to four points in seven – Almeria will still have a tough time on Sunday against a Depor side going along rather nicely.

European Dreams

Like his counterpart in the Almeria dugout, Deportivo La Coruna boss Miguel Angel Lotina boss saw his side defeated by one of La Liga’s superpowers. Barcelona proved too good for the Galacian side, running out 3-1 winners in the end, though Adrian’s equaliser was a source of hope.

Having held Barca for nearly 80 minutes, Depor could endure no longer as two moments of breathtaking brilliance from their guests sliced open their defence and allowed the champions to claim what was, on the face of it, a routine success.

But Lotina, who has overseen a great surge in the fortunes of los Herculinos, was gracious come full-time, reserving praise for both sides.

“It was more or less as we expected,” he conceded. “We put in a great effort, but is not easy to endure them for ninety minutes. I can't take anything away from the players.

“We are a team who works very hard. Barca were causing us problems when the second goal came. Guardado had a problem at the time, so we were temporarily down to ten men.”

His pragmatism perhaps stems from a super start to the season. Aside from Barca and Real Madrid, only and Valladolid have upset their stride, with eight wins recorded in the process.

If teams like Almeria can be dispatched, as they should, then Depor could claim European football once again next term.

FORM GUIDE

Almeria

LOST 4-2 (a) Real Madrid (La Liga, December 5)

LOST 4-1 (h) Athletic Bilbao (La Liga, November 22)

LOST 3-1 (a) Real Mallorca (La Liga, November 29)

LOST 1-0 (h) Hercules (Copa del Rey, November 12)

WON 2-0 (h) Osasuna (La Liga, November 8)

Deportivo

LOST 1-0 (h) Barcelona (La Liga, December 5)

WON 1-0 (a) Racing Santander (La Liga, November 29)

WON 2-1 (h) Atletico Madrid (La Liga, November 21)

DREW 0-0 (h) Real Murcia (Copa del Rey, November 10)

WON 2-0 (a) Getafe (La Liga, November 7)

TEAM NEWS

Almeria

Kalu Uche had a minor scare on Wednesday, when he was forced to withdraw from training, but he is back with the first team. This is also the case with Nieto and Ortiz Bernal, who had a virus earlier in the week.

Fabian Vargas remains absent due to a serious knee injury but has stepped up his recovery process this week. Otherwise, their injury list remains untouched, with Quillo, David Rodriguez, Solari and Borzani out.

Probable Starting XI: Diego Alves; Ortiz, Chico, Acasiete, Guilherme; Piatti, Bernadello, Mbami, Crusat; Corona, Uche

Deportivo

Riki and Lassad Nouioui are both sidelined for the visiting side. The former has suffered a Grade 1 hamstring tear, while the latter is trying to overcome a muscular problem in his left leg.

There is hope that Juliano Antonello will be fit to play, though he has missed training this week due to a sprained ankle. Equally, Andres Guardado is seen as a heavy doubt.

Filipe Luis is again training regularly.

Probable Starting XI: Aranzubia; Manuel Pablo, Colotto, Lopo, Filipe; Juan Rodriguez, Sergio, Pablo Alvarez, I. Perez; Adrian

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Almeria

He may wear No.5 on his back, but Nigerian powerhouse Kalu Uche is certainly not a central defender. A stocky forward, Uche registered against Real Madrid last week and will be aiming to continue his goal scoring run on Sunday. 2009 has been a kind year to him in terms of goals – he has struck 12 times in league play thus far.

Deportivo

Depor’s season has been built around a strong defence, with seven of their eight victories in league play coming with a clean sheet attached. They will therefore look to the rearguard to keep things tight against Almeria, with Argentine centre-back Diego Colotto looking to impress at both ends of the park. The former Atlas man already has a couple of strikes to his name this season.

PREDICTION

The equation here would seem to be quite simple, Almeria are not a team on form, whereas Deportivo are. Little has stopped the Galacians from winning games this term, and they must be fancied to accrue maximum points in Andalusia.

Almeria 0-2 Deportivo La Coruna

Robin Bairner, Goal.com
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