Saturday
Athletic (6th) v Sporting (12th)
Athletic Bilbao ended up being a bit of a big mover in the winter transfer market, with the â¬8.5 million purchase of ZaragozaâÂÂs Ander Herrera, who will join up with his new side in the summer.
And as with all of the transfers for the Basque outfit 10% of the transfer fee was for the footballerâÂÂs playing ability and the rest for the family background - in the midfielderâÂÂs particular case it was the playerâÂÂs birthplace of Bilbao.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Zaragoza (15th) v Racing (17th)
Giving a big old wave to the crowd ahead of Monday nightâÂÂs clash between Racing and Valencia was the clubâÂÂs happy-clappy new owner, Ahsan Ali Syed, who bought 80% of the institutionâÂÂs shares to herald a bright new âÂÂsustainable and competitiveâ future for the Cantabrian side, in the words of the Indian businessman now running the show in Santander.
That sexy future will include Giovani dos Santos, who continues his odyssey of a career that has taken the midfielder to Barcelona, Tottenham, Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and now Racing - the side the naughty Mexican booze hound is joining on loan until the end of the season.
âÂÂIâÂÂve come to a serious club with a lot of history, people have said good things about it,â beamed the 21-year-old journeyman, failing to reveal the names of those naughty fibsters. The former Barça man is set to feature in SaturdayâÂÂs clash with Zaragoza, a match he has branded âÂÂa finalâÂÂ. Giovani has settled back into the clichéd life of la Liga quickly, it would appear.
LLL Prediction - Draw
Getafe (10th) v Deportivo (14th)
Slipping down the table faster than Shakira having din dins at Gerard PiquéâÂÂs place, itâÂÂs Getafe who have contrived to lose four of their last five league games. This does not bode well for MÃÂchel the ManagerâÂÂs medium term future at the club as the Getafe boss is out of contract at the end of June, an issue that the smooth operator and the club president have been mulling over.
âÂÂIâÂÂd like to carry on here and the president knows it, I think he wants the same,â sighed MÃÂchel, who is very much with the glass half full when it comes to GetafeâÂÂs league position. âÂÂI look up from where we are, I have no reason to look down.âÂÂ
LLL Prediction - Home win
AlmerÃÂa (19th) v Espanyol (5th)
AlmerÃÂaâÂÂs penalty practice session wasnâÂÂt required in the end against Barcelona, with the Dream Boys winning 3-0 on the south coast in their Copa del Rey semi, and managing to do without Andrés Iniesta, Leo Messi, Xavi and David Villa in the process.
This left the score in the three games the two sides have played against each other this season as Barcelona 16-0 AlmerÃÂa. So all to play for, then, in the Camp Nou clash in la Liga in April for bragging rights in this particular tussle.
LLL Prediction - Away win
Osasuna (16th) v Mallorca (11th)
LLL feels that poor Cristiano Ronaldo didnâÂÂt know who he was messing with when he had a ding dong battle with Osasuna nut-job, Walter Pandiani, at half time during SundayâÂÂs clash. The truck driving, boggle-eyed, 'scary as clowns' striker told the press this week that Ronaldo had taunted him by asking how much he earned.
Pandiani did not take too kindly to this and confirmed that the Real Madrid man was âÂÂan phenomenal player but has a screw loose,â suggesting that the Portuguese forward behave less like a chav and more like Leo Messi.
âÂÂUntil youâÂÂve won Spanish Cups and the Supercopa like I have in Spain, then itâÂÂs better if you listen more,â barked the Uruguayan who has picked up five trinkets in his spell in la Liga.
Naturally, José Mourinho took up the right of reply to the Osasuna manâÂÂs comments and noted that âÂÂPandiani has had his moment of glory, he didnâÂÂt pay anything for it either. HeâÂÂs clever.âÂÂ
âÂÂNow his papa has come out to defend him,â sniggered Pandiani a day later.
For MourinhoâÂÂs and RonaldoâÂÂs sake, itâÂÂs a good job Madrid wonâÂÂt be facing Osasuna until later this year, muses LLL.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Villarreal (3rd) v Levante (18th)
Desperate times call for desperate measures at lowly Levante, with the club resorting to that most desperate of measures only engaged when a side is really up the creek - motivational exercises.
As well as putting posters up all over the dressing room reminding the clubâÂÂs footballers of just how great they are, Levante coach Luis GarcÃÂa played the sideâÂÂs goals of the season on the team coachâÂÂs DVD on the way to the Getafe game, last weekend, a game where Levante also came away as 2-0 winners.
The players have also been forced into the hell dimension called âÂÂteam buildingâ by getting onto small platforms and falling backwards in the hope that their teammates catch them.
âÂÂThey need to see that the person by their side isnâÂÂt a teammate, itâÂÂs their brother, their family,â explained GarcÃÂa ahead of a game where no amount of West Coast, hippy-lovinâ nonsense is going to prevent an almighty hiding for his newly empowered players.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Barcelona (1st) v Atlético Madrid (7th)
At last, a player at Atlético Madrid with the cojones to say exactly what he thinks. Whilst Kun Agüero was squeaking and bleating that he loved the club, loved the city, loved Quique and the fans and hoped to see out his newly signed contract to 2014, the godlike genius of Diego Forlán gave a metaphorical middle-finger to the Vicente Calderón support after they booed him off the pitch during SundayâÂÂs 2-0 defeat to Athletic.
âÂÂIâÂÂm not an Atlético fan so it seems a lack of respect to kiss the badge,â explained the Rojiblanco striker who said that his only love is Peñarol. However Forlán did say that he understood the average José or JosetteâÂÂs need to vent his or her spleen in his general direction during games to get their kicks.
âÂÂI know that football is the cheapest form of psychological treatment for people.â Very useful indeed considering the mental state of the average Atleti nut.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Sunday
Sevilla (8th) v Málaga (20th)
On Sunday, Julio Baptista returns to the club where he began his Spanish football journey. However, the Brazilian striker is unlikely to find it an enjoyable occasion considering his brand new expensively assembled team are rock bottom of the table. Below Levante even, which is really saying something.
âÂÂMy head is with Málaga and I only want to help the club out of this situation,â claimed the former Roma man ahead of the game.
LLL Prediction - Away win
Real Madrid (2nd) v Real Sociedad (9th)
The second of this yearâÂÂs five - potentially seven - Clásicos looks set to take place in Valencia, despite the chances that the ticket allocation in Mestalla will see 37,000 being shared between Madrid and Barcelona supporters with the twenty odd thousand remaining going to men in suits. And those who bought tickets off men in suits.
But if fans canâÂÂt get to that game then there is plenty of chance of seeing the sides in the probable two matches in la Liga in 2011, the double-headed Spanish Super Cup and maybe even the Champions League should the two teams be drawn against each other. LLL doesnâÂÂt know whether to laugh or cry. Or both.
LLL Prediction - Home win
Valencia (4th) v Hércules (13th)
Valencia full back, Miguel Brito, certainly didnâÂÂt take too kindly to journalists gathering outside the clubâÂÂs training ground on Thursday after the news had broken that the Portuguese authorities had reportedly charged the defender with violence and illegal possession of a firearm after a scrape at a disco in Portugal in Christmas 2009.
Miguel sped up after signing autographs for fans before sticking his arm out of the window, gasp Marca, and giving the hunting hacks the finger.
LLL Prediction - Home win
