Our Spanish football expert Guillem Balague looks ahead to another weekend of live La Liga action on Sky Sports - and he answers your email.
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Real Madrid v Espanyol
Zaragoza v Atletico
Valencia v Deportivo
Barcelona v Villarreal
Giuseppe Rossi: Villarreal live on Sky Sports
There seem to be two versions of Real Madrid right now. One is the one with Guti, van Nistelrooy and Robinho that attempts to play better football but surprisingly gets worse results. The other more muscular, more physical Real Madrid with Mammadouh Diarra is more successful. Every time Guti and van Nistelrooy have not played, Real Madrid have always won, suggesting that the team with Julio Baptista and Diarra is much a more difficult team to beat. The one that is becoming the real star of the team is Robinho. When he was missing they struggled but now that he is back, he is the one breaking the matches and finding space in the defence and doing something different - as he did by scoring two goals when he came on against Recreativo. Espanyol on the other hand, after six defeats in seven matches, just basically went back to basics. That is to say that they apply a lot more pressure in their defending and they counter-attack quickly with Luis Garcia, which was fantastic. The good news is that Raul Tamudo, their captain and striker, could be back at the weekend. That match against Barcelona was confirmation for Kun Agüero that he is one of the top three players in the world at the moment. He changed the game against Barcelona; he was involved in all four goals - he scored two and was instrumental in setting up the other two - and Atletico depend a lot on him. Too much perhaps. They still don't have a very creative midfield and so unless he and Diego Forlán do something or score - which they have done 37 times in all competitions this season - then Javier Aguirre is in danger of losing his job, no matter what chairman Enrique Cerezo says now. With the right signings Atletico could be a consistent, top four side but they need midfielders and wingers because Simão and Jose Reyes have been very disappointing. Zaragoza on the other hand have the same amount of points as the team third from bottom, Recreativo, and that is down to four consecutive defeats. They are a team that has lot sight of what they are fighting for this season and they are very unbalanced. They have very good forwards but nothing on the wing and are defensively very poor. They are going to struggle and they are fighting against relegation this season. The good news is that the chairman of Valencia seems to be willing to sell his 30 per cent of the club's shares. It is bad news for him though because he had hoped to earn lots of money by selling the stadium but the the crisis in the real estate market has forced him to look elsewhere. For the club though it is good, because soon they will hopefully have someone with a mission for the club and who isn't just in it for the money. Let's see how that develops but it looks positive for a club which, on the pitch, is finally finding its way. It is important for Valencia to qualify for Europe this season but more important is that they do it by playing the style of football imposed by Ronald Koeman. When he first arrived at the club he recognised that there were problems in the side. He acted in a way that attracted a lot of criticism but finally he has a side that is a lot younger and which, little by little, is becoming more confident. With this match we have to start with Frank Rijkaard. Joan Laporta has admitted that following the defeat to Atletico Madrid they thought about the possibility of getting rid of the manager. It doesn't look like that is going to happen now but Rijkaard is getting a couple of things wrong with his rotation policy. Why did he keep leaving Lionel Messi on the bench and why was Ronaldinho playing? I don't know, but Ronaldinho doesn't add anything to the side. Another thing Rijkaard gets wrong is that he doesn't seem to have a solution to the main problem with Barcelona which is, when they concede a goal, such as when Atletico drew level at 1-1, the team drops a level all over the pitch. They concede goals, they give the ball away, they create less... All of these things happen when something they don't expect to happen, goes against them. The other thing he is getting wrong is playing Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho as No.9 when the real danger in that position is Samuel Eto'o. In front of them this week they have Villarreal who, at home, have issues with the smaller sides but are a real danger on the road. Quite simply they could destroy Barcelona's chances of winning the league. It is a fantastic game on which to finish the weekend. RUN BY AN ANGEL GUILLEM SAYS: Getafe will not be the new Deportivo, if that is what you are suggesting there, having small gate recepits and building up huge debts. Getafe is much better run. They have been selling players for 10 times what they cost them and bringing in money from the Uefa Cup too. They manage to fill up the stadium for most of the big games and their success in the Copa del Rey over the past two seasons has helped in that. I know the chairman, Angel Torres, very well and he is a very clever guy. I think his dream is to be the Real Madrid chairman at some point because he is a Real Madrid season ticket holder, which tells you everything you need to know about Getafe. He runs the club in a very personal way and clever way. He chooses the coach, thinking of the style of football and that is why he had Berndt Schuster and Quique Sanchez Flores before and now Michael Laudrup. He gets his players from the lower sides of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico and that means they are talented and have the basics. Otherwise he gets good players in loan and that's a good mixture for a smaller team. DAVID AND FERNANDO GUILLEM SAYS: It is all a matter of opinion Rhys! Right now, obviously people will say Torres is better than Villa now because of what they see right now. I am beginning to be convinced that Torres' football belongs to the Premier League. In Spain, Villa had more to his game than Torres but in the Premier League I think it would be completely the other way round. I don't think that Villa would settle as well as Torres has with Liverpool. It really depends! In the national team the plan is for both of them to play or to play 4-1-4-1 with only Torres playing. I think Villa has more to his game if it was a matter of talking about them for the national team. I think he gives a different dimension to Spain's attacking options. But football is also about state of mind and Torres is so confident now that he also deserves a place in the national team. It is a debate that will continue... KAMENI AND GET ME GUILLEM SAYS: I think there is a very real possibility that Carlos Kameni could go to Spurs. They are one of the clubs that have approached him, Valencia is another, but I understand the offer from Spurs is very big. I am not saying it will happen but it is a big possibility that Kameni will leave Espanyol, it hasn't been decided, and it could be for Spurs. Can Espanyol finish fourth? I think they have enough to do it. Tamudo might be back against Real Madrid and if they stick to the plan of going back to basics, like they did against Valencia, I think they have enough to be in the top four - despite what Forlan told us a couple of weeks back on Revista de la Liga! Got a question for Guillem? Then send it in here Be the first to post a comment on this storyReal Madrid v Espanyol
7pm, Saturday - Sky Sports XtraReal Zaragoza v Atletico Madrid
9pm, Saturday - Sky Sports XtraValencia v Deportivo
Sunday, 6pm - Sky Sports 1Barcelona v Villarreal
Sunday, 8pm - Sky Sports 1GUILLEM BALAGUE ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Geta have been having an awesome run in both Copa del Rey and UEFA cup. However, I still don't see them managing to pull in enough people to their (small) stadium. How is the club managing its finances without evidently much gate receipts? Are they building up huge debts that may come and haunt them later? Shush - An Atletico fan.
Hi Guillem, can you settle an argument between my brother and I? He prefers Torres, whereas I agree with your statement earlier this season that David Villa was a better player than Fernando Torres. Is this still the case, given Torres' excellent form in the Premier League? And what are the odds on Villa coming to the Premier League next season? Thanks, Rhys (Oxford)
Hi, Guillem! I was wondering if you think there is any chance of Carlos Kameni going to Spurs and whether Espanyol have enough to get the fourth Champions League spot. Chandan, MansfieldPost to your View!
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