Saturday
Mallorca (15th) v Osasuna (7th) - 18.00 (local time)
Remember Emilio Nsue? No? Up-and-coming young Spanish striker? Well, the Mallorca forward was certainly in that cat basket last year, but he hasnâÂÂt started a game since the beginning of January and heâÂÂs not happy about it. âÂÂIâÂÂm really upset about how IâÂÂve been left out. IâÂÂm being left without the Olympic Games,â complained the forward in regards to his treatment by JoaquÃÂn Caparrós.
Nsue also had a message for fellow striker Michael Pereira, who has been much more active this year in his place. âÂÂI note that when I lose a ball, people are always on top of me, whilst when someone else does, it doesnâÂÂt matter.
âÂÂItâÂÂs only when we are together that we can manage our objectives,â taunted his high-minded team-mate and rival via Twitter. âÂÂMore than ever we must think of Mallorca and not divide ourselves through egotism.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Home win
Getafe (14th) v Málaga (6th) - 18.00
ItâÂÂs been confession week in Getafe, with a couple of players shuffling before the press, looking at the ground in shame, mumbling that their performances simply havenâÂÂt been good enough and that they are very, very sorry indeed. First up was Dani Güiza, who wisely agreed with the comments made last week by manager Luis GarcÃÂa that he wasnâÂÂt exactly delivering on the goal-scoring front this season. âÂÂIâÂÂm not happy with my numbers either,â admitted the forward. âÂÂI wasnâÂÂt playing for a year-and-a-half but now IâÂÂm feeling better,â said Güiza perhaps promising goals galore, starting at Málaga.
GüizaâÂÂs teammate, Diego Castro, also had something to get off his chest admitting that he too had not been much cop in the current campaign. âÂÂIâÂÂm not happy with my personal situation and what IâÂÂve delivered. I have to improve and the team does too.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Home win
Rayo Vallecano (11th) v Racing Santander (18th) - 18.00
During the week, Sergio Ramos admitted that he had sort of left an elbow out for Diego Costa during last SundayâÂÂs Madrid derby, though he didnâÂÂt mean to do the Rayo forward any harm, of course.
Diego Costa appeared to be just fine with that response - a reputation for diving perhaps coloured the refereeâÂÂs view of the incident - and pointed out that âÂÂit was quite heated during the game. I was scrapping with them (Pepe and Ramos) from the beginning,â recalled the on-loan Atlético Madrid striker. "Things happened in the game, we fight out on the pitch and it stays there.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Home win
Barcelona (2nd) v Sporting (19th) - 20.00
LLL senses that Javier Clemente didnâÂÂt accept the Sporting job because he wanted the challenge of keeping the Asturian side in la Primera, but rather because he needed a platform for spouting off on all manner of topics on a daily basis to a media who are always more than happy to fill a page or two with the Basque managerâÂÂs thoughts.
This week, Clemente was musing over Barcelona, and how he didnâÂÂt really enjoy watching the Catalan club, which is unfortunate as PepâÂÂs Dream Boys will provide his opposition on Saturday. âÂÂItâÂÂs fantastic football, but I go for more direct football. I donâÂÂt like long periods of possession when you are winning 1-0,â said the Sporting boss who has lead his side to two draws since taking over from Manolo Preciado.
Clemente is an admirer of Carles Puyol though and suggests that a couple of Real Madrid defenders should copy the Barça centre-back, but perhaps not in the hair department. âÂÂPuyol is an example to follow in football and should be for Sergio Ramos and Pepe as he goes for the ball with nobility.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Home win
Sevilla (10th) v Atlético Madrid (9th) - 22.00
AtléticoâÂÂs opponents, Sevilla, had a couple of players called up to the Spain squad in the form of Alvaro Negredo and Jesús Navas. However, none were required from the Rojiblanco ranks. Now, in any other country the next step would be to look at some candidates - Juanfran, AdrÃÂan and Gabi for example - and realise that the lack of Atlético talent in the Spain team is due to other players being better.
But this being Spain, some think itâÂÂs a giant conspiracy and that Vicente Del Bosque has it in for the Vicente Calderón club. âÂÂThe manager always finds a reason not to choose an Atlético player,â moans José Miguelez in AS, the reason this time being the crazy notion that none of them are actually good enough.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Sunday
Zaragoza (20th) v Villarreal (17th) - 12.00
The blog's last report concerning Zaragoza boss, Manolo Jiménez, was of the fiery chieftain storming out of a press conference after a 5-1 defeat to Málaga, declaring that he was ashamed and that there was going to be no more kid gloves treatment with the players.
Manolo took a few days to calm down before returning to speak to the media on Wednesday, but there was no great change to the former Sevilla managerâÂÂs mood. âÂÂI still feel ashamed of the image we presented in the game from the 63rd minute. I still feel angry and the only thing that will make it go away is a change in image.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Away win
Athletic Bilbao (5th) v Real Sociedad (13th) - 16.00
LLL will admit to finding the interview with Javi MartÃÂnez published in WednesdayâÂÂs Marca surprising. Not because it was actually quite good, but because it was located in the Real Madrid section, with the paper seeming to imply that just because they stuck the Athletic player on the front page the other day as a Mourinho target, the Spain international is now a Real Madrid player.
âÂÂI play for a great team and all IâÂÂm thinking about is Athletic, Athletic and Athletic. IâÂÂm very happy here in Bilbao,â was the response of MartÃÂnez to an opening question that is fairly easy to guess.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Granada (16th) v Valencia (3rd) - 18.00
Unsurprisingly the Valencia players were booed from the pitch after last weekendâÂÂs home defeat to Sevilla. LLL uses the word 'unsurprisingly' as thatâÂÂs what the Valencia supporters in Mestalla tend to do anyway no matter the result - that and the loss leaving the east coast club with just the single win in eight. But when the only side breathing down your neck are Levante, who have managed just the single win in nine, the incentive to give a flying hula-hoop is limited.
Unai Emery came out on the defence of his team by saying that the supporters should judge the club at the end of the season. This was a stance backed by Roberto Soldado who dipped his toe into tempestuous fan-fighting waters by suggesting that âÂÂwhat happens with Valencia is valued more outside of the club than here inside and that âÂÂit seems that third place doesnâÂÂt have any merit.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Away win
Real Madrid (1st) v Espanyol (8th) - 21.30
Perico coach Mauricio Pochettino has said that he wonâÂÂt be making any complaints about refereeing decisions during SundayâÂÂs game no matter what happens in the Santiago Bernabeu against Madrid. âÂÂIâÂÂm not afraid of refs and I donâÂÂt have any prejudices,â claimed the Espanyol coach.
If that does happen then a manager in la Liga not whining about decisions going against his team is enough for LLL to have the Argentinean coach captured, stuffed, dressed in his Espanyol tracksuit and placed in the Spanish FAâÂÂs museum and labeled as some kind of freakish, mutated oddity.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Monday
Levante (4th) v Betis (12th) - 21.00
After going eight games without a win, Levante finally managed to pick up three points last weekend with a victory at Espanyol. It lifted Levante back into the Champions League places, but club captain Sergio Ballesteros is still of the mindset that the club are not yet safe on 35 points with 14 matches left. Although it would take a feat of Zaragoza proportions to be relegated, the hefty stopper says that MondayâÂÂs game is another battle to avoid the drop. âÂÂThe Betis match is 50% of our salvation. When we manage our objective we can dream about other things,â said Ballesteros this week. LLL suspects those âÂÂother thingsâ might be called âÂÂsummer holidaysâÂÂ.
LLL Prediction - Draw
