Spanish Football 
/ Tobias Gourlay / 11 March 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Sevilla's Luis Fabiano is out of the picture for the Barcelona game this weekend
"Martin Lasarte’s Real Sociedad have rewarded their backers at Inoeta this season, returning a good profit from all matches"
Tobias Gourlay enters Basque Country, but only has eyes for the formbook.
Real Madrid v Hercules (Saturday 1900 GMT)
Hercules have not scored an away goal in La Liga since 24 October. They are ten games without one and it is hard to conceive of anything other than a routine home win for Real Madrid on Saturday evening.
Cristiano Ronaldo is injured, but Real have never previously suffered much in his absence. The rest of the squad might be thinking about next week's Champions League game with Lyon, but 13 wins out of 13 and five clean sheets in seven games at the Bernabeu say they should Win to Nil again this weekend.
Real Sociedad v Malaga (Sunday 1600 GMT)
Martin Lasarte's Real Sociedad have rewarded their backers at Inoeta this season, returning a good profit from all matches and a bigger one from those in which they have started as favourites.
This weekend, they are [2.1] to beat Malaga, whose previous away result was a 7-0 besting at the Bernabeu. More shocking even than that was last weekend's home defeat to Osasuna, who had gone a very long time without an away win.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini admitted defeat before the Real game in order to concentrate on the Osasuna encounter. Will he be able to concentrate at all now that the Osasuna game has been lost and the media are berating him for his pragmatism?
Sociedad have won 8/13 home games this season and three of the last four - only newly rejuvenated Levante (more of whom below) have stopped them recently.
The Basques are [2.1] to win on Sunday.
Levante v Real Mallorca (Sunday 1600 GMT)
So, Levante. We discussed their renaissance here last week. (Or is it a 'naissance' if they have never been this good before?)
Whatever it is, long may it continue. Or, at least, long may the layers continue not to recognise it. They are [2.3] to beat Real Mallorca at home this weekend and the sweet smell of value hangs over that price.
Mallorca won at Espanyol recently, but their hosts were in the middle of losing six out of seven Liga games. That is most definitely not the case with Levante, who have won five of the last seven.
Sevilla v Barcelona (Sunday 2000 GMT)
Luis Fabiano was injured in Sevilla's last match and is out for six weeks. The Brazil No. 9 is not as important to his club as his reputation might suggest - his strike partner, Freddie Kanoute, is the real leader of the line. But the Andalusians might notice Fabiano's absence against the champions this weekend.
At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, eight of the last 10 games involving the Big Two have produced Over 2.5 Goals. The problem in backing that outcome in this game is twofold. First, Barcelona are not scoring as freely as they were earlier in the season. Second, who is going to get the ball to Freddie Kanoute and Alvaro Negredo for Sevilla?
Gregorio Manzano identified Sevilla's midfield as the problem area almost as soon as he was appointed last year. He wanted midfielders to come in through the transfer window, and Schalke's Ivan Rakitic and Chilean hardman Gary Medel have arrived.
If the skills they have shown at other clubs are transferable, then Sevilla's defence will be better protected and its attackers better supplied, but the integration of the pair is not yet complete.
Barcelona marmalised Sevilla at the Camp Nou earlier this season and have won 2/2 in Seville under Pep Guardiola. They are heavily odds-on to complete a hat trick on Sunday.
If Guardiola is fit to lead the team south and Carles Puyol is fit again, [1.9] for the Win to Nil will be worth considering.
Best Bet: Back Real Sociedad at [2.1] to beat Malaga
Recommended Bet: Back Levante at [2.3] to beat Real Mallorca
Tobias Gourlay enters Basque Country, but only has eyes for the formbook....
He has been the forgotten man of Real Madrid's frontline but in an unexpected twist of events, the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and the short-term injury to Cristiano Ronaldo have suddenly caused an upturn in fortunes for the former Lyon...
Tobias Gourlay has been flat out trying to keep up with all that the Primera Division action this week, but he is still not as stretched as Sevilla's defence....
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