Three things to look out for in LaLiga this weekend
Domestic action is back underway and here are some narratives to follow in LaLiga over the weekend.
LaLiga made its return on the island of Mallorca on Friday night and it featured two of the more common features of the 2022/23 season: a red card and a paucity of goals. As the ten-man hosts held on against Copa-distracted Osasuna, it proved to be an anticlimactic starting point. However, there is much to look forward to as the league heads into its denouement, with plenty still to be resolved. Here are a few things to keep an eye on on Matchday 27 this weekend.
Old faces
Since the final whistle blew at the Camp Nou a fortnight ago to wrap up MD26, we have witnessed more movements on the benches. In Seville, panic stations were ramped up following their defeat at Getafe and they dismissed Jorge Sampaoli. Despite being in the quarter-finals of their favourite competition, fears of slipping into the relegation zone are still all too real for the hierarchy to comprehend, so they took the decision.
It heralded the return of José Luis Mendilibar, veteran and wise sage of Spanish football. He takes charge of his seventh LaLiga club and his return to the bench means he has coached in each of the last 16 top-flight seasons, impressive longevity by anyone’s standards.
His first match is an underrated baptism of fire. A spicy Andaluz derby in Cádiz, where the hosts have not tasted defeat since September, setting a club record ten games unbeaten in front of their fans. On the flip side, Sevilla have not won on the road since mid-October, and the reverse fixture was only settled by an 89th-minute Ivan Rakitić penalty. As a curiosity, Mendilibar faces Sergio for the first time since their duels as coaches of Eibar and Real Valladolid, both suffering relegation in the same season in 2020/21.
New faces
Elche decided to sack Pablo Machín too, despite showing better results than the previous occupants of the revolving door at the Martínez Valero this season. Finally it seems that they have accepted their inevitable fate and are preparing for life in Segunda next season. Their new man is a novice in Sebastián Beccacece, former long-running assistant to Jorge Sampaoli. Another with strong links to owner Christian Bragarnik, Elche fans will demand to see evidence of improvements and a plan to bounce back, so there is still plenty for them to fight for. On Saturday evening they welcome the league leaders, so it couldn’t be a much tougher start for the Argentine.
Six-pointers
As the season enters the business end, the objectives of each team begins to crystallise. This weekend helpfully includes some direct duels to help the narrative along. Having already touched upon the crucial match in Cádiz, both sides are locked on 28 points in the middle of eight teams separated by just five points. The relegation battle is promising to be the closest thing to a dogfight we have seen in many years. Also in this category is a Catalan derby not involving Barcelona, as Girona welcome Espanyol to Montilivi, a match which feels hugely significant for Diego Martínez in particular. The project is still yet to deliver its kickstart moment, and despite Joselu’s goals, the club are still in trouble.
At the other end, four of the European hopefuls face off on Sunday. Villarreal take on Real Sociedad before Atlético Madrid entertain Betis. Sixth against fourth and third against fifth will be a fascinating glimpse at which sides will finish the season the strongest. Now all four are out of Europe, the league is the only focus and the coaches know it. Manuel Pellegrini’s side will be without Sergio Canales following his four-game sanction for comments made to Mateu Lahoz back in October. It’s not fútbol…etc but nobody benefits from this.
Can Atleti continue their renaissance? Will La Real remember how to score? Can Villarreal be consistent? Will Betis make the step into the top four? These questions will remain, but some clues will be offered on Sunday.