Primera Division - 14ème journée

Fredenzomilan

Almeria v FC Sevilla

ALMERIA, November 30 (Primera Liga) - The stage and opposition maybe not be quite as glamorous, but Sevilla will go into this Saturday's match at local rivals Almeria looking for the same level of performance as they produced against Arsenal in midweek.

Sevilla put aside their domestic worries on Tuesday to become the first team to beat Arsenal in a competitive match since the start of April when they downed the Gunners 3-1 in the Champions League.

That victory not only saw Sevilla book their spot in the next phase of the competition, but it also proved that the Andalusian team still boast the class and ability that saw them become one of Europe's most successful clubs over the last two years.

Now the aim for Sevilla is to try and find some consistency, beginning with this weekend's trip to promoted Almeria where they will look to bounce back from successive league losses against Villarreal and Real Mallorca.

``We always need to go out to win,'' said Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez, whose side have lost seven or their 12 Primera Liga matches this season.

``Before the winter break, we have to try to win every game. At the moment it is Almeria, and then we will see against Osasuna.

``Seven defeats is not normal, neither is the fact that we have suffered so much at home.''

Jimenez, who replaced the hugely-successful Juande Ramos as Sevilla coach last month, believes the club have become a victim of their own success, which has seen them win five trophies in the last two years.

``It is not a lack of attitude, but having the right attitude. You have to play at the best of your ability as our opponents grow when they are faced with Sevilla,'' he said.

``In other years Sevilla have won games because they were not respected by their opponents.''

Sevilla are currently 10th in the Primera Liga standings 14 points behind leaders Real Madrid, although they do have a game in hand against Osasuna which they will play next Wednesday.

Almeria are just two points and four places behind the two-time reigning UEFA Cup holders, and have held high-flying Atletico Madrid and Villarreal to draws in the last few weeks.

Jimenez knows it will be a test at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos but he is confident his side are up to the challenge.

``The players are convinced they will be at their best against Almeria and will go into the game hugely motivated to do well,'' he said.

``Almeria have a decent side to complete their objective (survival). You only have to ask Atletico Madrid about that.''

Sevilla will be without Luis Fabiano, Adriano, Ivica Dragutinovic and Alexander Kerzhakov due to injuries, and in their places Enzo Maresca and David Prieto have earned call-ups to a 19-man squad, while team captain Daniel Alves returns from a domestic ban.

Almeria will be boosted for this weekend's match by the completion of recent work to increase the capacity of their stadium, which will now hold 21,500 fans.

An official statement on the club's website called for the supporters to ``fill the stadium and get behind the team in our bid to stay in the Primera Liga''.

Defender Juanito is suspended, while goalkeeper David Cobeno and full-back Bruno Saltor are sidelined for Unai Emery's side. Jose Luis Cabrera is doubtful.

Fredenzomilan

Real Madrid v Racing Santander

MADRID, November 30 (Primera Liga) - Real Madrid will be hoping the comforts of home will help them get over their recent blip in form as they welcome Racing Santander to the Bernabeu this weekend.

Real have won just one of their last five competitive matches, and on Wednesday suffered a 3-2 defeat at Werder Bremen which means they still need a point to be certain of continuing in the Champions League.

However, they remain top of the Primera Liga table and boast an impressive home record which has seen them undefeated in the league since February.

Real also boast a 100% record in front of their own fans this season and will be looking to make it seven home league wins out of seven when Racing visit.

The seventh-placed Cantabrian side will be no pushovers though, and with no defeats in their last nine matches and only two losses all season - the same as Real and Barcelona - Racing are proving to be one of the toughest nuts to crack in La Liga.

Real coach Bernd Schuster said: ``Tomorrow we have a tough game, like all the matches in the league, against a rival who have been doing good things in the league and will make things very difficult for us.

``My team are well, we have lost a game in Germany but that's it. We know that we didn't do well and this is the important thing.

``Tomorrow we need to go out and win at the Bernabeu where we have not lost any games,'' added the German coach, who admits he would have preferred the game to have been played on Sunday following their European exertions in midweek.

``It is true that I would like to have had a day more to prepare but there are things that we have no influence over, and we have to accept that.''

Wesley Sneijder and Fabio Cannavaro return to the Real squad for the clash, but Schuster will be without Gabriel Heinze, Guti, Javier Balbao, Roberto Soldado, Jordi Codina and Michel Salgado for various reasons.

Racing have already taken points off of the likes of Barcelona, Real Zaragoza and Espanyol this season, while last weekend they secured another excellent victory - their sixth of the season - when they downed Valencia 1-0.

A trip to the Bernabeu to face the reigning Spanish champions will be another major test for coach Marcelino Garcia Toral and his in-form side, but goalkeeper Tono believes they have no reason to fear their illustrious rivals.

``It can be daunting at first when you play at the Bernabeu, but once the game starts it is 11 against 11. We have won our last two games as well, so we will go there with confidence,'' he said.

Defender Oriol Lozano added: ``The team is in a very positive run of form. We have gone eight league games without defeat, nine games if you include the Copa del Rey against the Segunda Division leaders (Malaga), and we are full of hope and belief that we can obtain a good result against Real Madrid.''

Racing have named the same squad which beat Valencia last time out with the exception of captain Pablo Pinillos, who is suspended.

Fredenzomilan

Espanyol v Barcelona

BARCELONA, November 30 (Primera Liga) - Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard admits his side will be out for revenge at Espanyol on Saturday, following last season's dramatic 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp which effectively ended his team's chances of winning a third successive Primera Liga title.

Before that match - the penultimate game of the season - Barcelona stood level on points with Real Madrid and needed to do better than their fierce rivals over the last two games to ensure the title returned to Barcelona.

With one minute remaining in the Nou Camp, Barca led Espanyol 2-1 and Real Madrid trailed Zaragoza by the same scoreline in their match.

But in the space of 18 seconds, Real equalised in Zaragoza and Raul Tamudo levelled for Espanyol at the Nou Camp to leave Barcelona needing Madrid to slip up in the last round of the championship.

They did not, and Barcelona were left to rue the loss of a title which had seemed a foregone conclusion just weeks before.

And Rijkaard admits his side will be looking for revenge on Saturday.

``There will be a bit of that, definitely, not just because of what happened last year, but also because it is a derby,'' he said on Friday.

As well as last season's dramatic draw at the Nou Camp, Barcelona lost 3-1 to Espanyol at Montjuic, when they were given a master-class in counter-attacking football by their city rivals.

Given their excellent start to the current campaign, Rijkaard knows Espanyol could be even more dangerous this time around.

``They are a compact and organised team who have talent and are capable of big things. They also seem to play even better against the big teams,'' he said.

Rijkaard has come under pressure recently following a series of poor results away from home and Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde has been touted as a possible replacement for the Dutchman.

Although Valverde has dismissed those rumours, Rijkaard believes his counterpart has what it takes to manage a club like Barcelona.

``He would seem to me like a good option. He has everything needed to coach any team,'' he said.

Barcelona have picked up just one win away from home in the Primera Liga this season and that came at the end of September against bottom-of-the-table Levante.

Despite their indifferent form away from the Nou Camp, Barcelona sit just two points behind leaders Real Madrid.

However, the Catalan side have a mounting injury crisis.

Thierry Henry is the latest absentee, joining Samuel Eto'o, Deco, Lilian Thuram Oleguer, Edmilson and Sylvinho on the sidelines.

Youngster Bojan Krkic is therefore likely to continue in attack and an off-form Ronaldinho should start after playing just 20 minutes against Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Espanyol, meanwhile, have enjoyed a sensational start to the season and currently lie in fourth place following a nine-game unbeaten run which stretches back to September 22.

Since then, Valverde's side have claimed the notable scalps of Champions League teams Real Madrid, Valencia and Sevilla.

A win against Barcelona would complete a unique set and see Espanyol move above their city rivals in the Primera Liga.

However, Valverde knows Barcelona - who lie in third, two points clear of Espanyol - will do everything in their power to avoid defeat at Montjuic.

``They will be motivated and will come here with a dagger between their teeth. They need a win because of the situation they are in. This is a big test for them and they won't allow themselves to be taken by surprise,'' he said on Friday.

Valverde believes the key to beating Barcelona is not letting them have the ball.

``If we want to beat them, we must make Barca suffer and the best way to do that is by taking away their essence.

``Barcelona like to have the ball and we need to take it off them, and do damage when we have possession, although it will be difficult because they have a great team,'' he said.

Nevertheless, Valverde insists his side will not change their style of play for the derby match.

``When things have gone well for us, it is because we have put our confidence in a style and a certain way of doing things. Making a lot of changes would be counter-productive because we could lose the essence of our play,'' he said.

Valverde will be deprived of the services of playmaker Ivan De La Pena, who is injured.

David Garcia and Rufete have also been ruled out, but Albert Riera and Pablo Zabaleta have shaken off knocks and should start.

KiNg SiNiSter

Joué dans "objectif combos"

dimanche 02/12/07 :

Foot ball
Espagne - Primera division

17h00 : Deportivo La Corogne - Osasuna

Idea

[u]Analyse :Le Super Depor n'a plus rien de super ces derniers temps et sa médiocre 16 ième place au classement le prouve bien! Osasuna est 17 ième à 1 point de son adversaire du jour.Le bilan de La Corogne à domicile est aussi médiocre que celui d'Osasuna à l'exterieur ,le nul parait logique à moins d'une victoire des locaux!

X ou Deportivo @1.29

Bookmaker :

bwin

lien : www.flashscore.com[/u]

Matta

DIMANCHE 02 DECEMBRE 2007

FOOTBALL

Primera División, Espagne

21:00 Valence CF - Athletic Bilbao 1.55

17:00 Deportivo La Corogne - Osasuna
Deportivo La Corogne ou X 1.29

Book:

bwin

www.flashresultats.com
_________________

Lutetia

FOOTBALL ESPAGNOL

L'Atletico réalise un bon 1er tiers de championnat avec 24 points pris sur 39 possibles et se déplace donc chez des Sévillans qui n'ont pris que 11 petits points.

L'Atlético a la meilleure défense en déplacement avec seulement 6 buts concédés en 6 matchs Wink

et ils pourront s'appuyer dessus ce soir pour ramener un résultat positif avec pourquoi pas une victoire.

Voici la compo:

Le milieu de terrain de l'Atletico fait peur avec le très prometteur Raul Garcia et Maniche devant la défense et des joueurs plus offensifs comme Reyes ou Maxi Rodriguez.

Alors, le 4-2-3-1 des hommes d'Herman Cuper peut-il mettre en danger le 4-4-2 de l'Atletico?

Je ne pense pas surtout quand on voit les derniers résultats du Betis:

Nov 25 Primera Division UD Levante Valencia 4 - 3 Real Betis Sevilla
Nov 11 Primera Division Real Betis Sevilla 2 - 1 Real Zaragoza
Nov 04 Primera Division FC Barcelona 3 - 0 Real Betis Sevilla
Oct 31 Primera Division Real Betis Sevilla 0 - 3 CA Osasuna Pampelune
Oct 27 Primera Division Athletic Bilbao 0 - 0 Real Betis Sevilla
Oct 21 Primera Division Real Betis Sevilla 1 - 1 Racing Santander
Oct 07 Primera Division Real Murcia 0 - 0 Real Betis Sevilla

4 matchs sur 7 où l'équipe est restée muette offensivement avec un 0-3 à domicile contre Osasuna Shocked

qui n'est pourtant pas une équipe terrible cette année.... Cool

Les Rojiblanco devront se montrer solide en défense pour ramener quelque chose et rendre plus concret les reves d'une participation à la Ligue des Champions à l'issue d'une fin de saison pour laquelle les dirigeants ont dépensé sans compter pour atteindre cet objectif.

Le Betis a toujours marqué à domicile cette saison sauf contre Osasuna mais ce soir ils vont tomber sur un os au jeu déjà bien leché et à la défense intraitable en déplacement

BETIS SEVILLE NE MARQUE PAS

Cote: 3.00
Book:

unibet
Horaire: 19.h00

0-2
www.xscores.com

Matta

DIMANCHE 02 DECEMBRE 2007

FOOTBALL

ESPAGNE - PRIMERA DIVISIÓN

17:00 Getafe - Levante
Quand 1er but
(1.-29 mn) 1.90

17:00 Valladolid - Villarreal
Quand 1er but
(1.-29 mn) 1.85

17:00 Mallorca - R. Murcia
Quand 1er but
(1.-29 mn) 1.85

Book:

interwetten

http://www.flashresultats.com/
_________________