We're set for another week of cracking action in La Liga, so who better to look ahead to the four live games on Sky Sports than our Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
If you've got a question for Guillem, send it in here.
Barcelona v Racing Santander
Mallorca v Sevilla
Almeria v Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid v Villareal
Shirty: Barca's defenders need more help from their side's strikers, says Guillem
Barcelona v Racing Santander
7.00pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4
Racing made one of those weird decisions that make sense when you are in trouble but otherwise doesn't; three of their top players - Colsa, Munitis and Tchite - picked up cards in their previous game, meaning they would not play against Barcelona. They've given up on this game in the knowledge that there are more important ones where they can pick up points. It's a form of cheating but one that's been used many, many times at international and domestic level but it's disappointing because with the likes of Canales (who has now signed for Real Madrid as I predicted) in their ranks they had a good opportunity to scare Barcelona again given the champions' problems with injuries. Why have Barcelona got so many muscle injuries at present? Firstly, the weather is very cold in Barcelona compared to other years. Secondly, there is no club that trains harder in midweek than them. It didn't help that they lost their nutrionist, which affected their daily preparations. Barcelona also trained at a couple of different places - Reus and Palafrugell - just to see fans and help the local teams but of course it was a different kind of pitch than they were used to. The good news is that most of their injuries are relatively short-term. They have had 19 injuries so far this season, which is about average, so it's not much of a crisis really.
Barcelona v Racing Santander
7pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4
Mallorca v Sevilla
9pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4
Almeria v Atletico Madrid
7pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1 & SS1
Real Madrid v Villareal
8pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1 & SS1
Mallorca v Sevilla
9.00pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4
This could be the end of Mallorca's winning home La Liga streak. I know Sevilla are not in great form but they are very direct and very physical. Manolo Jiménez is under pressure from his own fans because they think that with the squad he has the team should be playing better. The kind of system they play could work in a game like this and I sense it could be the end of Mallorca's 10 out of 10 victories at home.
Almeria v Atletico Madrid (second half)
7.00pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1 & SS1
What Juan Manuel Lillo has done for Almeria is great; they've gone from a long ball team to one that builds up from the back. The players look more confident in their passing because they are getting the results. However, no matter how confident they are, playing teams like Atletico Madrid is something they really struggle with. The visitors will be on a high after beating Barcelona. Quique Sánchez Flores has done a great job in mixing authority and hard words with psychology and tactics. He's worked really hard on getting them to defend better and they are. They've gone form conceding 1.8 goals per game before December to 1.1 goals per game now so credit must be given where it is due.
Real Madrid v Villarreal
8.00pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1 & SS1
There's an interesting debate to be had at the moment as to whether Real Madrid play better with or without Cristiano Ronaldo. Without him you have a midfield and forward set-up that is more about combinations and passing back and being patient in the build-up whereas Ronaldo always goes forward because he thinks he can beat anybody, which frequently he can of course. Sometimes, though, against the better sides like Lyon you need to be patient, to pass the ball and find spaces to allow the full-backs to come forward and add to your options. If a team goes forward all of the time there is a danger they can become predictable. But of course Ronaldo, having scored 17 goals this season, has to be in the line-up. What I am saying is that he still needs to become more of a team player.
Guillem answers your questions...
Got a question for Guillem? Then send it in here or use the feedback form below, and then look out for his answer next week.
BACK FOUR GOOD
Hi Guillem, I have noticed that Barcelona have invested a lot in defenders over the past 2 yrs: players like Pique, Chrygynsky, Henrique, Maxwell, Caceres. Is it a conscious effort on the part of Barcelona to strengthen their backline which has always been their Achilles heel? What is the story with Kiersson? If they deemed him not good enough to play with this squad then why buy him?? Pradeep Shenoy (Barcelona fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: Barcelona's weak point will always be their defending but they've improved immensely in the last four years because they've realised that to defend effectively you need help from your forwards. Any striker that arrives at the club these days is told he has to become a defender when he loses the ball. Zlatan Ibrahamovic hasn't learnt that yet but he's definitely improving. When you get the whole team defending you don't necessarily have to have the tallest or quickest defenders, but you do need ones that are very good at positioning and have some pace so they can keep the defensive line high. I don't think Maxwell is a great addition to the squad and the signing of Pique was a big surprise, while Chrygynsky is finding things pretty difficult at present but I'm pretty sure he will get better. As for Keirrison, he is only 19 so he was put out on loan. The idea was to loan him out for two or three years but he's been very disappointing at Benfica because he hasn't had the chances to play.
BOJAN SELECTION
Hi Guillem, Great fan of your column and your website. My question is regarding Bojan Krkic. He has been seen as an up-and-coming star for the last few years now, and he clearly has a lot of talent, indicated by the goal he scored against Argentina for Catalunya. However, with rumours of Barcelona wanting to sign Silva or Villa in the summer, and the emergence of Pedro this season, it seems he is going to get even less playing time next year. I understand he is young, and very loyal to Barcelona, but do you not think it would be a good idea for him to move to a club which has less competition, and he will get a lot more playing time. I think somewhere like Valencia could be ideal for him (maybe he could be included in a deal for Silva), but I'm sure there will be no shortage of other clubs interested in him. He has the potential to be so good, but players like Pedro, Mata, Pablo Hernandez, Capel and Negrado have all come in front of him for the Spanish squad, whereas in 2008, he was close to going to the Euro's. What is your opinion? Harj Grewal
GUILLEM SAYS: Originally he had a problem with anxiety - he wasn't very confident and that's why he didn't go to the European Championships. Now he has improved a lot mentally but Guardiola is still limiting his time on the pitch because Pedro is in front of him. Would it be better if he moved on elsewhere? I think so and I think he would admit that as well, although publicly he continues to say he wants to play for Barcelona. Looking forward, he realises he is going to get even fewer chances if David Silva and Cesc Fabregas come to the club. Valencia were interested in signing him when they were negotiating for David Villa. Perhaps a loan move to a similar club is not out of the question as things stand.
BEN UNITED BOUND?
Hi Guillem, I like your column and opinions from sky sports. I was wondering if you knew anything about the increased paper reports i see about Benzema heading to Man Utd. I can't see this myself as Sir Alex has recently said Rooney has become a Centre Forward. I would rather see United try to find a long term replacement for Paul Scholes too and i think we missed an opportunity seeing Sneijder go to Inter. Who all do you think may be leaving Real this summer apart from the obvious Metzelder? Because Raul seems to be making noise and Higuain has been playing so well he should be one of the first names on the team sheet. Kenneth McConnell
GUILLEM SAYS: I'm partly to blame for the Benzema story because I broke the exclusive on my website that Manchester United were after him before Real Madrid came knocking. I happened to ask whether if things didn't work out for Benzema at Real Madrid and the club decided to give him away would Manchester United be interested in having him? It was a question and since then every week there have been stories about him going back to Manchester United! In any case, he's not at his best at Real - he has taken longer than anyone else to adapt. Kaka is also struggling on the pitch but Benzema is struggling on and off it. He will improve because he is only 22 - it's important the club stays patient with him. But I suspect they will try to get David Villa in the summer, in which case they may need money for Benzema. I haven't got any concrete proof at the moment that is the case, although there is a rumour in Madrid that Villa is a target.
FINAL SAY
Hi Guillem, big fan of yours. My question is, who do you think will win the Champions League this season? The English and Spanish teams seem to dominate the tournament every year. Barcelona are the favourites but the trophy has never been successfully defended by the champions in its new format. Maybe Arsenal and Sevilla are a good bet as the dark horses of the tournament. Trever Jordan (Aston Villa fan)
GUILLEM SAYS: I still harbour hopes that Real Madrid make it through this last-16 round but they've got to improve a lot. If they continue to improve at the rate they seem to be they should become a lot more solid. Yes, they were disappointing in the first leg against Roma but I still hope they can make it through to the final and then we'll see. There could well be a surprise package in the final stages in either Sevilla or Girondins. If Barcelona meet Chelsea I think Chelsea will go through but if not, Barcelona will make it to the semi-finals and who knows, maybe reach the final? I see Manchester United reaching the semi-finals as well. So these are my teams for the semi-finals: Sevilla or Girondins, Chelsea or Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United.
Comments (15)
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Bill Newton (Chelsea fan) says...
Hello Guillem ! Is the agreement between Real Madrid and Bayern still in place regarding Ribery. Now that Real have found a balanced system with 3 forwards (Cristiano and Kaka being two of them) there surely is no place in the team for Ribery (unless of course he and Cristiano could form some kind of modern,new age partnership upfront with Kaka playing behind them or if they would have a new manager... )
Posted 18:58 21st February 2010
Andrew Walsh (Chelsea fan) says...
Hi Guillem.Big fan of yours. Could you tell me about Barcelona and their 4-3-3 formation.How many years ago did they choose that formation to be the base on which the whole footballing structure at the club works starting with the youth teams and ending with the first team.Who brought the system to the club ? If in the future there will be a manager who will want to use another system will he be strongly criticized?
Posted 17:52 21st February 2010
Alexander Bonnar (Liverpool fan) says...
Hi Guillem, just finished watching Barcelona batter Racing 4-0 and I noticed that they had nearly 70% of the ball so I ask you: who was the last team to have more than 50% of the ball vs Barce? Oh, and do you think Mata will be playing in England by next summer? Thanks!
Posted 20:52 20th February 2010
Sid Sewell (Barcelona fan) says...
Hola amigos! After reading this article and watching revista during the week I would suggest that the main reason as to why Barcelona have been underperforming and cracks beginning to show has very little to do with sports science, nutrition and what the current weather conditions are like. Instead the factors are blindingly obvious. The squad is wafer thin in terms of strength in depth. Should any player who regularly holds down a first team place be injured or suspended the level of player brought into replace him is significantly lower. This applies to all areas of the field. We are seeing clear evidence of this every week and although Graham Hunter and Guillem are right to point out contributing reasons as I have already cited, I would argue that these are very much peripheral factors. I wrote during the summer how Barcelona were poor in their selection of players brought into the Nou Camp, players who did not add any quality or have proved that their adaptability to la liga has been difficult to say the least. The signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic still staggers me, both in terms of transfer fee and the team pattern being effected. Supporters of the Swede will highlight he is an alternative option for Barca, to play long balls and be a threat in the air. He has these qualities along with others yet there was no need to change the style of play from last year. Zlatan has shown in recent months how he can be inconsistent in his performance levels and looks tired. The failure to sign David Villa in the summer was a dissapointment to me as he is perfect for the style of play, plus his consistency levels, technique, experience in La liga as well as work ethic are qualities that should have made him the number one target last summer. Hopefully the board will learn from their mistakes and ensure he will be at the Nou Cmp next season along with a wide left player to replace in ineffective Henry.
Posted 23:32 19th February 2010
Michael Jones (Manchester United fan) says...
As a Utd fan I think the system we are playing at the moment is working well but, although I doubt it will happen, if Ronaldo came back I could see us playing 4-4-2 again with Ronaldo just behind Rooney. If Real dont win anything can you see any players moving and if Real dont win anything for 2 years could Ronaldo make his way back? Also I think that Barca are a worse team than last year because of Ibrahimovich. He must be the most overrated player around. I think when Barca come up against an English team in the Champions League they will struggle because Ibra cannot play at the much faster pace of the Premier League.
Posted 16:38 19th February 2010
Tom Callaby (Chelsea fan) says...
Very interesting reading, I enjoy your coverage of the Spanish league - I think it's something that we desperately need more of in the UK - I think that our clubs and fans should be more well informed of what is going on in Spain, and should not allow (as it was in the past) coaches like Benitez, the first refusal on lower-profile Spanish players. I do have a question - Do you think that Kaka will leave Real Madrid in the near future, and how many seasons do you think he will stay, if he does not begin to perform at his previous world class standards? Personally, I've always thought that Kaka would have been brilliant at Manchester United - I think his style of play, his physical presence and technical ability, as well as team play and goal scoring, would have been a massive addition to Sir Alex Ferguson's squad. I say this, as a Chelsea fan, because honestly I think Manchester United are the team in the premiership that he would fit into most readily. Could you ever see such a move in the future?
Posted 10:01 19th February 2010
Pradeep Shenoy (Barcelona fan) says...
it would be interesting to know your thoughts on the present real madrid team. Is the current performance of the team satisfying the ambitions of the hiearchy. Surely they would be targetting champions league glory especially as the final is going to be played at the Santiago bernabeu
Posted 05:29 19th February 2010
Kam Tin (Chelsea fan) says...
Guillem, Thank you for your insight on European football. Of late we have begun to watch Spanish football in general here in Hong Kong and in Asia. Personally an avid Premier League follower, I cannot help but notice that the SPL is possibly better than the EPL as most of the SPL team have better technical,physical abilities and play better football than the lower runk EPL teams. The draw back for Asian fans is also that the SPL games are held very late (Around 3-4AM) here in asia and hence only reruns can be viewed the next day loosing on the magic of a live game. My question is that the television dollars are such a huge part of the game now and if SPL is to harness this from Asia (Which is going to go from strength to strength), then SPL needs to prepone their game timing. Is this a possibility and is this being discussed in Spain? Thanks
Posted 01:30 19th February 2010
Chetan Saundankar (Chelsea fan) says...
Nice column, as usual. Btw in CL, Real Madrid played against Lyon and not Roma.
Posted 19:58 18th February 2010
Hassan Arain (Manchester United fan) says...
I was wondering would Cristiano Ronaldo come back to Manchester United because I've read some interviews and he said he wouldn't mind going back to Manchester United. So do you see this happening and if not why?
Posted 19:57 18th February 2010
Dan Tank (Chelsea fan) says...
hello big fan of yours wonderd if sergio aguero would be on the move to chelsea is their any chnce of that happening...
Posted 19:06 18th February 2010
Russell Tyler (West Ham United fan) says...
Hi guillem,great colummn as we've all come to expect, my question to you is, based upon the season so far what would be your first team line up for spain for the world cup when it starts in june, I think barring a miracle or seveeral major injuries (not trying to jinx it of course) spain should at least reach the semi finals with all the players they have but how do you fit so many great attackin players particuarly midfielders into 1 team and what system would u choose? Cheers russell hertfordshire
Posted 17:53 18th February 2010
A Patel (Arsenal fan) says...
Hi Guillem. The EPL have recently thought about creating a play off system for the Champions League spots with the clubs 4-7. Personally I think it's a terrible idea and will make the Europa League seem less and less important and to be honest I think that teams that finish 7th don't deserve Champions League football but I was wondering if you think it's a good idea and would it work in La Liga? Obviously there are the big two Real and Barca but apart from that there are a few teams like Sevilla, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Deportivo and Mallorca that all have a good team and can all make the CL (maybe bar Atletico) and it might open it up for those teams but on the other hand do teams that finish 7th deserve it?
Posted 15:55 18th February 2010
Joe Cardoza (Manchester United fan) says...
Hi, Forget all the talk about Benzema. What about Ronaldo coming back to United? He seems to really miss Manchester and the Club, the players, the manager. But will Fergie take him back, now that Rooney has found his ideal position and moving forward the team will be shaped around him. Can Ronaldo fit in as a pure winger like Valencia or Park or even Nani? Do you see it happening in the future?
Posted 14:17 18th February 2010
Adetola Osindero (Leeds United fan) says...
Hello Guillem, a very big fan of yours....i think EPL is the greatest and the best league because they take football more serious than the others....EPL clubs know home grown coaches and footballers cant do the job so they buy from outside.Look at it, there are 3 champ league winners as coaches in EPL, what do you think is expected from such coaches?CHAMP LEAGUE of course...the BIG 4 expectation is win champ lg nothing else whereas semi final birth is perfect for sevilla, fiorentina,roma,valencia,inter etc.. Do you think Real Madrid needs del rossi and vidjic?
Posted 13:38 18th February 2010
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