Real problems

Last updated: 12th January 2008

Real problems

Diarra: missing for Madrid

While Diarra is away we will see a different Real Madrid and possibly one that struggles to win matches.

Guillem Balague
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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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Barcelona v Murcia - Saturday, 7pm, Sky Sports Xtra

People think that the absence of Ronaldinho and Deco in the match against Sevilla was a little bit suspicious.

Every time there is not a clear reason for something, then conspiracy theories start flying around and that doesn't create the best of atmospheres at the Camp Nou.

But while neither of them have injuries as such, the problem they both have is pains. Those are undetectable and that has made people think it is a cover-up and Frank Rijkaard is blaming those two for the team's poor performances.

They were probably going to be left on the bench against Sevilla, but they decided not to travel. Ronaldinho has not trained with the group since December 31st and nobody seems to know when he will return.

But on a more positive note, Thierry Henry played the full 90 minutes against Sevilla, but he will have to mix rest and playing for the next month or so.

However, in that time I expect him to play more than he rests because Samuel Eto'o is going to the African Nations Cup and Rijkaard is demanding that Henry proves his worth after his big-money move last summer.

Athletic Bilbao v Sevilla - Saturday, 9pm, Sky Sports Xtra

Sevilla tend to raise their game against the big teams and we saw that again against Barcelona in the Cup when they were probably the better side.

But on Saturday they will be playing an Athletic Bilbao side that Joaquin Caparros is building from the back.

They don't get enough success at home, but they have a bunch of great young players. Keep an eye out for the centre-back Fernando Amorebieta because he is being tracked by a number of Premier League clubs.

Levante v Real Madrid - Sunday, 6pm, Sky Sports 1

Levante's problems are continuing and their players are still not getting paid. Some of them have decided to abandon the club and did not even come back from their holidays.

It's a very poor situation there, so Real Madrid will certainly be clear favourites in this match.

But Real will be without Mahamadou Diarra because he has gone to the African Nations Cup and that is going to be a big blow for them. They don't have another defensive midfielder in the squad and there is no obvious replacement for him.

I suspect Guti will return to the side, but he doesn't play too well with Fernando Gago and I don't think that is the ideal solution.

While Diarra is away we will therefore see a different Real Madrid and possibly one that struggles to win matches.

Atletico Madrid v Valencia - Sunday, 8pm, Sky Sports 1

What a great match to finish the weekend on Sky Sports!

Valencia are obviously not as strong as they have been in the past and they are on the look out for new players. Liverpool's Momo Sissoko has been given an offer and could end up there

In the meantime, they are trying to use the young players that they have got in the side and they have got rid of people like Manuel Fernandes, who has gone to Everton.

However, the fans still do not like Ronald Koeman - his car was pushed around by angry supporters as he left the stadium after the draw with Levante last weekend.

By contrast, Atletico Madrid have got one of the best strike partnerships in La Liga in Diego Forlan and Kun Aguero.

Nobody seems to be giving Kun Aguero the credit he deserves because he is not playing in the Champions League. But he is one of the top five players in Europe, without a doubt.

Do you agree with Guillem? Let us know what you think by using the feedback form below and continue to email him your questions here

Now to your email...

Hi Guillem, I am a huge fan of Revista De La Liga. My brother and I watch it whenever it is on. I love finding out about all the latest transfer news and I also like to look out for good players, I especially like Jesus Navas of Sevilla! I am an Everton fan but I wondered is he available and how much would he cost? I know we haven't been interested in him but has anyone? Also I have seen something on a Spanish website and even though I'm doing GCSE Spanish mine isn't that good! It says that we are after Angulo who is on Ronald Koeman's 'Black List'... are we? Thank you, Ben Goodman.

GUILLEM SAYS: Jesus Navas is a young player who is full of talent, but he does have a problem. He has an anxiety problem - an illness if you like - and that means he cannot leave Seville for long.

That has stopped him becoming an international player and he was unable to leave Seville in pre-season. So I don't see him ever leaving Sevilla.

Angulo is actually wanted by Chelsea, among others. Everton, Bolton and Birmingham have also been looking at him, but to date they have not made contact with his agent. He is available for free and Everton have got good reports on him, so that situation may change in the next few days.

Hi Guillem, You pride yourself as a big supporter of Espanyol. So tell me how can they ever become a big team if they can't fill up their stadium for matches as important as the one against Villarreal? Here you have a game against a direct competitor for Champions League places, a team with flair and what do I see? Huge swathes of empty seats! Also, why are they building a new stadium if they can't even fill this one? Regards, Shush

GUILLEM REPLIES: First of all the new stadium will cater for the 30,000 season-ticket holders that Espanyol have and it will also have room for a further 5,000 visiting supporters. We will be looking at a stadium for about 40,000 people.

Secondly, our ground is a 55,000-seater stadium quite a way out of town and that match was on television, which never helps. More importantly though, that night was King's Night - which is like Christmas Eve for us. The three kings take presents to houses and before they do that, they go around the city throwing sweets to children. That coincided with the match and I imagine a lot of parents would have chosen to take their children to see the three kings. It was a shame and everybody at the club was upset that the match was not moved to Sunday.

Hello Guillem, I am a Newcastle fan and was quite excited when we signed Jose Enrique from Villarreal in summer. But after a couple of poor performances he has been dropped to the bench. I was wondering how highly you rate Enrique after watching him in La Liga and if you think he will come good in the Premier League? Thanks, Oscar French, Gateshead

GUILLEM REPLIES: Jose Enrique is a player that needs time, as a lot of Spanish players do. I felt that Sam Allardyce was nursing him in the right way by bringing him into the team slowly and I admit he had a couple of poor performances. He cost far too much money, but he reminds me a lot of Corluka at Manchester City, so give him time. If Newcastle appoint a coach that prefers full-backs to go forward, you will get much more out of him.

Hi Guillem, simple question, but one that has been bugging me for a while now and came back into my head during Saturday's game. Why ARE Espanyol called the Budgies??? Bob Smith

GUILLEM REPLIES: The story is that in the 1930's there was a comic strip which featured a cat called Budgie along with four other cats. Sarria, our stadium at that time, was usually pretty empty and there were only four cats going to watch the team! So people started calling the team Budgies after the cat in the comic book. Furthermore, the blue and white strip reminds people of the colour of some budgies. There are lots of different explanations, but that is the most famous one. Eventually, the board adopted the nickname and came up with a mascot to match.

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