Madrid, April 6 (IANS) Matchday 28 in La Liga could see a major hangover from this week’s Copa del Rey semifinals that will affect both the top and the bottom of the table.
The weekend kicks off on Friday with Jose Luis Mendilibar making his home debut as Sevilla coach as his side entertain Celta Vigo. Mendilibar’s first game in charge saw Sevilla win away to Cadiz, and three more points against a rival that is in mid-table would start to lift Sevilla clear of the threat of relegation.
Osasuna booked only their second Copa del Rey final appearance in their history on Tuesday night as they beat Athletic Club 2-1 on aggregate after extra time and that emotion and 120 minutes of intense football could leave them with heavy legs ahead of their home game against Elche, a Xinhua report said.
Sebastian Beccacece’s debut as Elche coach ended in a 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona last weekend and he will be hoping for better from their visit to Pamplona.
Luis Garcia makes his debut as Espanyol coach after Diego Martinez’s sacking last week and he does so at home to Athletic Club Bilbao, with his new side third from bottom of the table. The new coach will hope to provoke a reaction against a rival still trying to accept their cup defeat after missing enough chances against Osasuna to have qualified with ease.
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde has to lift morale and will make several changes to his side, with Unai Simon likely to return in goal after injury.
Getafe ground out a 0-0 draw in Bilbao last weekend as they slowly climb towards safety and coach Quique Sanchez Flores will be optimistic of another clean sheet on their visit to San Sebastian to play Real Sociedad, who have failed to score in eight of their last 12 games in all competitions.
Saturday ends with Real Madrid at home to Villarreal, and although they have little recovery time, Madrid’s morale will be sky-high after their 4-0 win over FC Barcelona to book their Copa del Rey final place.
Sixth place Villarreal will provide a tough test after four wins in five games have given them a chance of a top-four finish, although striker Gerard Moreno is still out with a calf injury.
Paulo Pezzolano makes his debut as Valladolid coach on Sunday lunchtime as his side, who have slipped to fifth from bottom, entertain Mallorca needing three points in their fight against relegation.
Betis and Cadiz then face off in an Andalusian derby, with Betis still chasing a top-four finish, while Cadiz have to recover from their defeat last weekend to Sevilla, which left them perilously close to the bottom three.
Second from bottom Almeria entertain fourth bottom Valencia in an absolutely vital game for both sides, and perhaps for Almeria coach, ‘Rubi’, before what promises to be an entertaining derby between Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid.
Atletico all-but ensured a top-four finish with last weekend’s win at home to Betis and have won eight of their last 10 La Liga matches. Rayo meanwhile were only denied a win in Valencia by a very questionable handball decision late in the game.
Barcelona have until Monday to lick their wounds after Wednesday’s thrashing at home to Real Madrid. Girona visit the Camp Nou. However, although Xavi Hernandez has time to recover tired legs, Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen are all likely to miss another game through injury and as Wednesday’s defeat showed, Barca’s squad lacks the depth to deal with many absentees.
–IANS
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