La Liga Round 8 Preview

Saturday OCTOBER 22	KO	Sunday OCTOBER 23	KO
Racing - Espanyol	1200	Betis - Rayo	1200
Sporting Gijon - Granada	1800	Real Sociedad - Getafe	1600
Malaga - Real Madrid	2000	Osasuna - Zaragoza	1800
Barcelona - Sevilla	2200	Atletico Madrid - Mallorca	1800
		Valencia - Athletic Bilbao	2000
all kick-offs in CET		Villarreal - Levante	2200

Racing

vs

Espanyol

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Tono Frances, Gonzalez, Bernardo, Christian Diop, Tziolis Jairo, Munitis, Serrano Nahuelpan		Alvarez Moreno, Forlin, Galan, Didac Vila Javi Lopez, Romaric, Javi Marquez, Verdu Rui Fonte, Sergio Garcia
TEAM NEWS
Racing are in deep trouble following their start to this season. They find themselves second from bottom having picked up just four points. Hector Cuper's side have collected all of their points by drawing their matches, three of which have been at El Sardinero. Racing are without injured duo Lautaro Acosta & Osmar who will be sidelined for some time.		Espanyol's narrow 1-0 victory over Rayo last weekend leaves them in 10th with nine points from seven matches. The Periquitos are struggling with life after Pablo Osvaldo, having managed just six goals this term - the lowest of anyone in the top half of the table. Alvaro Vazquez is available after returning from injury, but Juan Albin and Felipe Mattioni are both out.

Sporting Gijon

vs

Granada

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Juan Pablo Lora, Botia, Hernandez, Callena Castro, Rivera, De Las Cuevas Trejo, Barral, Sangoy		Roberto Nyom, Diakhate, Mainz, Jaime Moises, Yebda Jara, Geijo, Benitez Uche
TEAM NEWS
Sporting Gijon are rooted to the bottom of the table following their 2-1 defeat against Sevilla last weekend. They have the joint worst goal difference (-9) alongside Osasuna in La Liga. Ricardo Leon is out after picking up an injury last weekend, whilst Nacho Novo and Gonzalez Carmelo are still unavailable.		Granada picked up their fifth point of the season in a 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid last weekend. Fabri Gonzalez's side come against a side branded 'relegation rivals' with the two teams occupying 18th (Granada) and 20th (Sporting). Jose Juan picked up an injury last weekend and is Gonzalez's sole concern.

Malaga

vs

Real Madrid

Big-spending Malaga host Real Madrid with Mourinho's men hoping to leap frog Barcelona, who kick-off after them, to the top of La Liga and put the pressure on Guardiola's side to respond. The match kicks-off at 2000 CET. A full preview of this fixture can be found here

Barcelona

vs

Sevilla

Barcelona will hope to continue their fine form that has lifted them to the summit of La Liga when Sevilla travel to Camp Nou. Kick-off is at 2200 CET. A full preview of this fixture can be found here

Betis

vs

Rayo

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Espinosa Chica, Amaya, Dorado, Perez Etxeberria, Iriney Vadillo, Sevilla, Canas Santa Cruz		Gimenez Tito, Arribas, Labaka, Casado Fuego, Movilla, Koke, Michu, Botelho Piti
TEAM NEWS
Betis were comprehensively beaten last weekend by Real Madrid, but the newly-promoted side gave a good account of themselves up until Gonzalo Higuan netted his second of the night. The defeat to Mourinho's men leaves Betis in seventh, having notched 12 points. Pepe Mel must face Rayo without Nelson and Jefferson Montero, who are out injured.		Rayo were narrowly beaten 1-0 last weekend against Espanyol leaving them 16th in La Liga. Both sides were promoted into the top tier this season, and Betis won this fixture in the Segunda 4-0 last year. Rayo welcome back striker Alexjandro Arribas after injury kept him out of last week's defeat.

Sociedad

vs

Getafe

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Bravo C. Martinez, I. Martinez, Demidov, Bella Aranburu, Mariga Prieto, Zurutuza, Griezmann Agirretxe		Rodriguez Torres, Lopo, Diaz, Masilela Pedro Leon, J. Rodriguez, Rios, Sarabia Guiza, Miku
TEAM NEWS
Sociedad were well beaten 2-0 by Zaragoza last weekend, leaving them 15th in La Liga. Carlos Vela remains a doubt for the match, whilst Diego Ifran is rated at 50/50. This match last term ended in a 1-1 draw, neither side would be satisfied with a point as they look to move away from the relegation zone.		Getafe managed to keep out Villarreal last week in a 0-0 draw earning them their fifth point of the season. Getafe are featuring in their eighth consecutive la Liga season having been promoted from Segunda division in 2004. Jordi Rodriguez may continue to deputise for Moya in goal, whilst Medhi Lacen in suspended.

Osasuna

vs

Zaragoza

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
FernandezRaitala, Lolo, Flano, Bertran Lama, Punal, Raul Garcia Cejudo, Nino   Sola		Roberto Silva, Parades, Meira Juarez, Ruben, Ponzio, Lafita Barrera, Garcia Postiga
TEAM NEWS
Osasuna lost 3-1 against Athletic Bilbao last weekend leaving them 16th in the table. Neither side could break the deadlock last term as they played out a 0-0 draw. Osasuna will be without Ruben for the visit of Zaragoza, whilst midfielder Masoud Shojaei could miss the rest of the season after an operation to his foot.		Zaragoza's 2-0 win over Sociedad last week saw them rise to ninth in the table - the highest position they managed all last season. Zaragoza have yet to win away from home in their three matches; they have drawn two and lost one. Maurizio Lanzaro is suspended for the trip to Osasuna, whilst there are doubts over the fitness of Abraham Minero, Nobrega Braulio and Adam Pinter.

Atletico Madrid

vs

Mallorca

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Courtois Perea, Miranda, Dominguez, Filipe Luis Gabi, Tiago Reyes, Diego, Salvio Falcao		Aouate Zuiverloon, Chico, Ramis Caceres Victor, Pina Alfaro, Tejera, Castro Tomer Hemed
TEAM NEWS
Atletico Madrid are eighth in La Liga following a mediocre start to the campaign which sees their record read 2-3-2. In matches that Atletico have picked up a point in they have not conceded a single goal. Gregorio Manzano will be without Arda Turan, Antonio Lopez, Diego Costa and Silvio for Mallorca's visit.		Mallorca managed a 1-1 draw against high-flying Valencia last weekend thanks to an injury time penalty from Hemed. The point leaves Mallorca 12th in La Liga. Kevin Garcia has been sidelined for four months after tearing a muscle in his thigh, meanwhile Emilio Nsue is suspended for the encounter.

Valencia

vs

Athletic Bilbao

Valencia host Athetic Bilbao as two side's searching for a Champions League spot go head-to-head at the Mestalla Stadium on Sunday at 2000 CET.

Villarreal

vs

Levante

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Cesar Zapata, Gonzalo, Musacchio, Joan Oriol Marchena, Bruno De Guzman, Borja Valero, Cani  Rossi		Munua Javi Venta, Ballesteros, Nano, Juanfran X. Torres, Iborra Valdo, Barkero, Juanlu Kone
TEAM NEWS
Villarreal surrendered a goal advantage against Manchester City in the Champions League, with Sergio Aguero scoring the winner in injury time. The Yellow Submarine have one solitary win in La Liga; the side that finished fourth last season find themselves in 14th as a result. Nilmar remains unfit and is likely to be out for some time, while Marco Ruben is also sidelined, meaning Rossi will feature as a lone forward, with Cani supporting from deep.		Levante continued their impressive start to the season with a 3-0 win over Malaga last weekend. The Valencian based club currently separate La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, finding themselves in second spot. Rafael Jorda continues his spell on the sidelines, other than his absence Levante have a fully-fit squad as they look to continue their unbeaten start to the season.