La Liga Preview: Villarreal - Real Valladolid

The Christmas period tends to be when seasons are shaped. The festive fixtures last year spelt the beginning of Frank Rijkaard's demise, from the minute Julio Baptista found the net for Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on 23 December. The Blaugrana went on to draw four matches in January which led to their poor run towards the end of the season.

This season the month of December is likely to test the ability of the likes of Villarreal and Sevilla, and question their credentials for a genuine title challenge.

It will be these fixtures that will be the making of Pellegrini's side, who remain unbeaten in La Liga after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Malaga. They face the rest of the top five either side of the winter break, which places all the more focus on Saturday's match versus Valladolid.

It is imperative that Los Submarinos Amarillos pick up all three points in this fixture to put themselves in the best possible position for the testing run ahead.

At the start of the season this fixture may have been seen as a certain home win - but Villarreal have looked less than steady at El Madrigal in recent weeks. They contrived to concede two goals to Atletico in the final five minutes to surrender a 4-2 lead, and a fortnight ago Almeria were the better team for long spells and were unlucky to lose 2-1. Furthermore, Poli Ejido embarrased them in the Copa Del Rey by trouncing them 5-0 then grabbing a 1-1 draw in the second leg.

However, they remain unbeaten at home since Real Betis left with a 1-0 victory almost a year ago, so it most definitely remains a fortress and one of the most difficult places to travel to, not just in Spain, but across the whole of Europe, despite their recent shaky displays.

Is Pellegrini's squad beginning to feel the weight of injuries, though? With Nihat still out with a long-term cocern, and Joseba Llorente picking up a thigh strain against Malaga, his side is slightly short of firepower. Giuseppe Rossi aside, the other striking options are slightly below-par. Guille Franco has never really lived up to his potential, while Jozy Altidore is still young and developing at this level.

In contrast, Valladolid are fighting-fit and fresh from their well-deserved defeat of Real Madrid, and they will be looking to add another scalp this weekend. Their thirteenth place in the Primera Division table belies the displays of a difficult-to-beat outfit, and the fact they have beaten both Sevilla and Real Madrid simply highlights the level that they are capable of performing at. But they are most definitely a home and away outfit; for every excellent victory at the Estadio Neuvo Jose Zorrilla, there is a catalogue of away defeats to follow.

Five defeats out of five on the road tells its own story, and Barcelona made them look amateurish in defence on their way to trouncing them 6-0, which frankly could have been much, much worse.

But one thing they have in their favour if it becomes a backs-to-the-wall performance is the form of goalkeeper Sersio Asenjo. The 19-year old is Valladolid's very own Casillas in the making, and already a host of top clubs are circling to secure his services. He is likely to be busy on Saturday evening.

In conclusion, Valladolid's atrocious record on the road coupled with the exemplary record of Villarreal at El Madrigal should point to a home win, but Pellegrini's men have refused to do things the easy way this season, and it should make for an intriguing fixture.

TEAN NEWS

Villarreal

Frustratingly for Pellegrini, Nihat is still missing, although a return to action is expected sooner rather than later for the Turkish international. The biggest blow is the injury to Joseba Llorente – he will miss a month of crucial games as a result of a muscle strain picked up against Malaga. Also, Diego Godin returned from international duty with a leg injury that will see him out of action for at least two weeks.

Probable Line up: Lopez; Angel,Gonzalo, Edmilson, Capdevilla; Pires, Cazorla, Senna, Bruno; Rossi, Franco

Real Valladolid

There are no major injury concerns, and for a team that performed so superbly against a lacklustre Real Madrid side, there are unlikely to be many changes from coach Jose Luis Mendilibar.

Probable Line-up: Sergio Asenjo, Lopez,Prieto, Calvo, Marcos, Alvaro Rubio, Dorado, Leon,Sesma, Canobbio, Victor,

FORM GUIDE

Villarreal

Nov 17 Malaga 2-2 Villarreal (La Liga)
Nov 13 Villarreal 1-1 Poli Ejido (Copa Del Rey)
Nov 09 Villarreal 2-1 Almeria (La Liga)
Nov 05 Aalborg 2-2 Villarreal (Champions League)
Nov 01 Athletic 1-4 Villarreal (La Liga)

Real Valladolid

Nov 16 Valladolid 1-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Nov 12 Valladolid 2-2 Hércules Alicante (Copa Del Rey)
Nov 08 Barcelona 6-0 Valladolid (La Liga)
Nov 02 Valladolid 3-2 Sevilla (La Liga)
Oct 29 Hércules Alicante 1-5 Valladolid (Copa Del Rey)

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Villarreal

Major emphasis is now on Giuseppe Rossi to find the goals to keep Villarreal’s title charge on track. With Nihat and now Llorente sidelined, the former Manchester United star simply must continue his goalscoring run to keep Villarreal in contention.

Real Valladolid

All the speculation surrounding Schuster and Madrid last weekend slightly detracted from what was an excellent Valladolid display, and Fabian Canobbio was outstanding throughout, eventually finding the net with a stunning winning goal. If you analyse other Villarreal results, tracking runners from central midfield is not their forte (see Simao in the 4-4 draw against Atletico for definitive proof) so Canobbio if given the room could exploit the home side's shaky defence.

PREDICTION

How long can Villarreal’s home record last? But with the December fixtures they face, this is simply a must-win if they are to challenge for the top two positions. Valladolid will not be brushed aside, however. It will be a tight encounter but Villarreal may just shade it.

Villarreal 1-0 Real Valladolid

Paul Macdonald