The weekend returns, and so does the excitement in the Spanish La Liga games. This Saturday, we will see Deportivo welcome an impressive Getafe side as they vie for three points. On the other side, Sevilla will play host to Malaga, who will be hoping to put up some resistance against the hosts.
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA vs. GETAFE
Three-way: 1: Deportivo La Coruna +131; X: +258 Draw; 2: Getafe +266
Spread -0.5: Deportivo La Coruna +120; Getafe -130
Total +2.5: Over +106; Under -114
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA
The start to the La Liga campaign has not been close to the level the fans would be hoping for, in all honesty. And even more disappointing is the fact, that barring champions Real Madrid in the season opener, they haven’t even faced any top four contenders so far. Their defense has continued to show the weakness that pulled them towards the lower reaches of the La Liga table, as well as their inability to make use of their ability to create goal scoring chances. The fans have been growing impatient with the team, as they are afraid that Deportivo will be pulled into a relegation battle, and this time, won’t be able to come out of it.
If one wants to look at a positive from the first six fixtures of Deportivos campaign, it will be their ability to constantly breach the opposition defense and score at least a goal in all their matches except the first. The fact that they are mostly not able to add more goals to it is another matter entirely. Their record over the last six games is 1-1-4, showing how they have struggled for points this season. In these games, they have scored a total of 7 goals, which isn’t a bad tally. However, the defense has totally failed to control opposition, having conceded a horrible 15 times in the same time period.
Their last match was an away fixture against Espanyol, who thrashed them 4:1, in a display that was devoid of any cohesion in the team. Before this disappointing defeat, they had actually managed to put in a good and effective performance at home against Alaves, as they defeated the visitors 1:0, which showed that it isn’t impossible for the Deportivo team to put in strong, sturdy defensive performances.
A good thing about the current squad is they aren’t entirely reliant on one player to provide the goals or creativity. Winger Cartabia has scored 2 goals, while strikers Florin Andone and Adrian Lopez have both scored a goal each. They also have given two and one assists respectively. Luisinho has been a good outlet for goals from the defense, as the fullback has scored one goal and assisted another.
The injury list is quite long for the Deportivo squad. Winger Carles Gil has not played a single match this season as he remains sidelined due to a groin injury. Keeper Martinez, Centre back Sidnei and midfielder Mosquera will most likely remain on the injury table, with their respective injuries that they got towards the middle of September.
GETAFE
After a terrific second half in the second division last year, it looks like Getafe are intent on making it clear to the other teams in La Liga that they are no pushovers. With fearless performances against the likes of Barcelona, the fans will be forgiven if they think that their beloved club might put up a serious challenge this year and finish in the top half of the table.
It is really impressive that the only two defeats they have had so far this season have been against strong Barcelona and Sevilla teams. Their record over the last six games is 2-2-2, showing that even though they haven’t been steamrolling past opponents, they have shown enough resilience to hold out opponents. During this period, they have scored a decent 8 goals, while the defense has also been solid, in spite of conceding 5 times, as they have managed to keep two clean sheets also.
Their last away fixture was drab 1:1 draw at Celta Vigo, where Getafe showed enough resilience to hold the host to a draw. This match was followed by a thumping win against Villareal. The yellow submarines visited Getafe hoping to take all the three points, but instead were in for a surprise as the succumbed to a dominant performance by the hosts as they cruised to a 4:0 win. Getafe will be hoping that they can take the positives from this thrashing of a top rival and continue to a top half finish for the season.
Angel Rodriguez is proving to be a shrewd signing for Getafe, as the thirty-year-old who arrived on a free transfer has already scored three goals in his four appearances in the league. Apart from him, midfielders Bergara and Alvaro Jimenez, along with forward Jorge Molina have all scored one goal and assisted one each.
They will be missing the services of wingers Karim Yoda and Dani Pacheco as they are out until the next month at the very least with an ACL Rupture and Shoulder injury respectively. They will also be missing midfielder Shibasaki and centre back Gorosito, as they are out with foot injury and muscular problems respectively.
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA vs. GETAFE – Match Prediction
With the home crowd behind them, it is very much possible that Deportivo will find extra motivation to grab some points from this fixture, but looking at the players in the Getafe squad, it is hard to see them getting swayed away by a home crowd cheering. Moreover, Getafe has a considerably higher moral because they have been getting good results so far this season. Therefore, I suggest going for a double chance on Getafe.
MY PICK: Getafe DC X2 (-132)
SEVILLA vs. MALAGA
Three-way: 1: Sevilla -227; X: +480 Draw; 2: Malaga +906
Spread -1.5: Sevilla +102; Malaga -106
Total +3: Over -104; Under +100
SEVILLA
The Sevilla team has started off the La Liga season like everyone had expected them too; resolute play with some fast, direct attacks, which had taken them on an unbeaten run till last weekend. Sevilla has shown that they are more than just a one-dimensional side. When presented with the opportunity, they are more than happy to turn on the style and play incisive attacking football. However, when things aren’t going their way, they can be equally efficient in scoring and then defend a single goal lead. Such versatility in the style of play will be very vital to their season.
They started their season a few days ago as opposed to most of the La Liga teams, as they were a part of the Champions League qualifiers. Nevertheless, they were absolutely brilliant in all their games, as they efficiently weaved their way past every match to go on an 8 match unbeaten run in all competitions, while winning all their league games in that duration. Their record over the last six games in all competitions is 4-1-1, with the away loss being the only time that they have failed to pick up any points this season. Moreover, they also managed to keep a total of five clean sheets in these six matches, which shows how strong they are on the defensive front.
In their last league match, they had to encounter the mighty Atletico in their equally impressive new stadium-the Wanda Metropolitano, where they suffered their first defeat of the season, as the Atleti triumphed 2:1. However, Sevilla picked themselves up and went on to have a routine 3:0 win in the Champions league over Maribor, showing their mental resolve, although it was against a team that has virtually no hopes of progressing ahead of the group stages.
Striker Wissam Ben Yedder has really started the season on fire, as he has scored 7 goals in 8 games, including a hattrick in the last champions league match against Maribor. Brazilian playmaker Ganso has also done well by pulling the strings in midfield while scoring two goals in the league. Moreover, their left back Sergio Escudero has also proved to be an attacking outlet as the Spaniard has scored two goals from his fullback position.
To the relief of the manager, the only injury concern going into this weekend’s match is of Danish Centre back Simon Kjaer who will be out with a shoulder injury suffered a week ago.
MALAGA
If we were to try and describe Malaga’s start to the La Liga season, even horrible might be an understatement. They have failed to win a single game yet, and they have failed terribly at converting the chances that they create during matches. Nobody expected them to be in blistering form at the start of the season, but it is safe to say no one thought that it would be this poor. Sitting in 19th position after six La Liga games, it is important for the team to start getting good results, because longer they stay in the bottom reaches of the table, the harder it will get for the players to keep their morale high.
They have only managed 1 point so far in the league this season after six games. They were in a horrible rut before last week, as they endured a five-match losing streak, with their next result being a draw, their first points since the start of the season. During these six games, they have managed to score just four goals, with three of those coming in the last match. And moreover, they conceded 14 goals too, with three of them coming in narrow 1:0 defeats.
Their last match was a pulsating encounter against Bilbao, as the match ended 3:3 at home. it was a far cry from the disoriented attack that we had seen of late from Malaga, although three goals conceded, along with the penalty conceded and the red card, will have given a lot to ponder upon for the manager. Nevertheless, the fact that they had the mental resilience to come back from 3:1 down, and grab a draw will give motivation to the fans that their team can still climb up the table and have a good finish to the season.
Forward Diego Rolan was instrumental in grabbing the first point of their La Liga season as he scored a brace to inspire the comeback against Bilbao. The other two goals scored so far have both been from centre-backs Baysse and Gonzalez, showing that the midfield and forward line are clearly struggling to get to the opposition third.
There are a couple of injury concerns for the manager to deal with going into this weekend fixture. Forwards Penaranda and Cheroy Castro are both out with a fractured leg and a muscular injury respectively. Moreover, they will also be missing the services of midfielder Kuzmanovic as he is suspended for the fixture.
SEVILLA vs. MALAGA-Match Prediction:
Looking at the form guide, there is only one winner that comes to our minds. Sevilla has been on a good run of form, with the defeat against Atleti seemingly only a blip. However, Malaga has not been in the most positive of times, as they had to struggle to get a point against Bilbao last week. And with the home crowd behind them, I believe that Sevilla should not have any struggle in winning this match. The odds on the Sevilla win are not appealing, which is why I will expect a high scoring game and stick with the over, as these two foes like to see their matchups play out.
MY PICK: Over 3 goals (-104)
