A chance to strike

Guillem Balague looks at a big weekend for Real's Emmanuel Adebayor on which Barcelona could falter.

Guillem gives his verdict as he previews this week's live La Liga games

Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Guillem Balague looks at this week's Sky Live La Liga games. If you've got a question for Guillem, send it to skysportsclub@bskyb.com.
Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon
Getafe v Valencia
Villarreal v Barcelona
Sevilla v Real Zaragoza
Osasuna v Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon
5pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4

Real Madrid will be without Karim Benzema, so this is a real chance for Emmanuel Adebayor to show what he can do. Jose Mourinho likes him a lot and said of him, when Adebayor first arrived, 'I don't need to see him; I know I want him to stay next season'. It looks increasingly as though Mourinho, after twice flirting with the idea of leaving, is going to stay for another year so those clubs in England who are interested in his services will have to wait that little bit longer.

Getafe v Valencia
7pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4

Valencia have had one or two problems with Vicente; a friend of his fought with a couple of guys who were hassling Vicente at a disco at 5am in the morning but it's very unusual for him to be associated with things like this. He is only 29 but he was at the top of his game when he was 23, since when he has suffered injuries to each ankle and subsequently lost his hunger for football at times. He's got it back; his contract finishes at the end of the season and after that he would like to go to the Premier League.

Villarreal v Barcelona
9pm, Sat, Sky Sports 4

This is the sort of game Barcelona will need to drop points in if they are not going to win the league this season. They do have a habit of not being on top of their game after an international week - the so-called Fifa virus - and in addition there are worries about Lionel Messi, who appears a little jaded; his muscle problems suggest he has overplayed this season. He's the type of player who wants to play in every game and he stayed on in one even though Pep Guardiola asked him to come off, saying 'please, do it for me'. Now we are seeing the consequences of that and Barcelona have their fingers crossed that he doesn't get injured as a result. Real Madrid are coming from behind, playing better as a team and appear mentally stronger whereas Barcelona aren't converting as many of their chances as they were, which suggests that the team is feeling the pressure. It's still Barcelona's title to win but Real now have a chance they might not have expected.

Sevilla v Real Zaragoza
6pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1

The interesting thing about Sevilla is that they are unlikely to renew Gregorio Manzano's contract even though they are climbing up the table. There have been chats with former Chilean coach Marcelo Bielsa, who has got the idea of club football in his head but doesn't want to be just a first-team coach. He seems to fit Sevilla's profile. He is known as 'crazy' Bielsa for many different reasons and if he goes to Sevilla I will tell you why.

Osasuna v Atletico Madrid
8pm, Sun, Sky Sports HD1

Atletico Madrid want to sell everyone apart from Kun Aguero; they have to reduce their budget because they won't be in the Champions League. Florentino Perez made an offer for Kun in January and may try in the summer as well, so one way or another there will be a fight for the player. Chelsea are interested in him too but feel they will have to pay too much money to intermediaries to get him. They are upset about that and the cost of Kun Aguero's wages, which would be much higher than anyone else at Stamford Bridge.

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. GETAFE MIRACLE
Hola Guillen, great column as always. As a Celtic fan, is there any truth in the rumours that Barca are looking at Celtic full back, Emilio Izaguirre???. Also the main question, Do Getafe act as a feeder club for Real? they seem to sign a lot of players from Real who insert buy back clauses into the transfer contract? Do they do this to get round the rule of the B team not competing in the same league as the main team? Chris Munro GUILLEM SAYS: It is true that Barcelona are after a left full-back and that Izaguirre's name has come up; they don't have anybody coming through from the lower ranks, so this is definitely one of the positions they will try to reinforce in the summer. There is a long list of possible signings and yes, Izaguirre is one of them. As for your main question, Chris, I'd say Getafe is more of a little miracle than a feeder club for Real given the size of their fan base. Chairman Ángel Torres Sánchez has worked wonders there; he tries to get his hands on players who cannot get into clubs like Atletico Madrid, Barcelona or Real but who have gone through the ranks and have quality as the foundation of their game. Then, if they do well for Getafe, he sells them. So it's good business - buy them cheap, sell them at a profit. As for the point you make about buy-back clauses, this is a case of 'everybody wins'. Real get the opportunity to loan out their players or go with the option to get them back cheaply. REAL HURDLE
Hi Guillem, I'm a huge fan and you are my go to guy when I want to know what's happening in La Liga. My question is: despite the success of Madrid cantera at producing players that will go on to play in other primera liga teams, they've had so little success grooming them for a career in the Real Madrid first team. The new coach, Alberto Toril, seems to have them playing attractive football in the true Real Madrid way. Do you think he is the man to finally help open the gates for these players to make it to the first team? Many thanks, Alan O'Grady (Real Madrid fan) GUILLEM SAYS: The Real Madrid set-up seems to be a little bit more solid now. They've got a bunch of players who are coming through - but the biggest hurdle, as always, is breaking into that first team. The kind of level you need to achieve to do that is hard to come by. These are players who could be on the bench but probably won't make that final step. What Real tend to do is let them go out on loan, to Getafe for instance! Jose Mourinho would like someone like Morata in the first team but he is probably still a little too green and immature to be there. Players like these tend to go away until they are ready to slot into the first team - the aim is to get two or three players from the lower sides into the first team - but it's never quite as straightforward as that. As Jorge Valdano said himself, Real Madrid is not a place for teenagers at the moment, or rather, under-aged kids unless they have genuine star quality. BALE TALE
Hi Guillem, Great column as usual, as a Spurs fan I wanted to know the Gareth Bale situation? Are Barcelona going to come in for him in the summer, I read in the paper that he's had scouts watching him, if so would we be willing to so or would the player want to go? Also is there any news on whether or not we are going to go back in for the four La Liga strikers we went in for in Jan? (Rossi, Llorente, Negredo and Aguero) Keep up the good work! James GUILLEM SAYS: I met Gareth Bale this week and he will be back in training from Friday. Basically, he wants to continue his career at Spurs. I know there will be interest in his services across Europe but Barcelona don't have the money and it's probably too early for Real Madrid to go in for him, even if he turns it on in the Champions League. Spurs are more than happy to do their utmost to keep him and he is happy to stay, so I don't see him moving in the immediate future. I've been told that they have already said no to an offer higher than 40 million euros, which just about sums things up.