Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome Date: 17/02/2016 Kick-off: 07:45 PM GMT / 2:45 PM EST Match Roma News Roma have enjoyed a wonderful turnaround in fortunes following the appointment of Luciano Spaletti as manager and the Italian giants are currently on a four match winning streak after defeating Carpi 3-1 last time out. Now Roma prepare for a clash against Real Madrid in the Round of 16 Champions League encounter on Wednesday night and one can be sure that Spaletti’s men will have to perform extremely well in order to be able to claim a good result in the first leg. Injury Doubts: Ezequiel Ponce, … [Read more...]
Barcelona Probable Lineup vs Sporting Gijon: Turan and Rakitic to start
Venue: Estadio Municipal El Molinón, Gijon Date: 17/02/2016 Kick-off: 05:30 PM GMT / 12:30 PM EST Match Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo did not have much to do during the 6-1 victory over Celta Vigo last time out but he did concede through a John Guidetti penalty. As a result, Bravo will be intent on keeping a clean sheet against Sporting Gijon this time around but it will not be as straightforward as people think due to the fact that the minnows have been showing a bit of attacking flair in recent time. Defence The Barcelona defence consisting of Jordi Alva, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique and … [Read more...]
Sporting Gijon vs Barcelona: Preview, Predicted Lineups and Prediction
Venue: Estadio Municipal El Molinón, Gijon Date: 17/02/2016 Kick-off: 05:30 PM GMT / 12:30 PM EST Match Sporting Gijon News After looking doomed and gloomed earlier on in the season, Sporting Gijon have managed to give themselves a great chance of avoiding the drop following a run of four matches without a single defeat in La Liga. The run has certainly given Gijon a lot of confidence but things remain very tight at the bottom of the Premier League table and manager Abelardo will not be allowing his players to get complacent anytime soon. Now Sporting prepare for a huge test when they … [Read more...]
Valencia v Barcelona: Reasons to be Optimistic (at least, a little)
It looked like a pre-season friendly, a game of little or no relevance, with both coaches opting to rest most of their senior players and give their second-tier players some game time. But, as a Valencia supporter I have to admit that the return leg of the Valencia v Barca cup tie was far more interesting and entertaining than I had expected. No, los che didn’t win, and certainly should have. But the game had a number of positives, and in this season, the worst I can remember, we have to seize the positives whenever they appear. … [Read more...]
Will there be any twists in La Liga this season?
With the final leg of the season fast approaching, it’s time to consider whether La Liga fans will witness any shock upsets or whether it will just be business as usual in the Spanish top division? Can anyone knock the mighty Barcelona off the top? Can Gary Neville salvage anything from the wreckage at Valencia? Or are they doomed to go down? The top Looking at the league table, it seems difficult to imagine anyone overtaking Barcelona in the title run-in. They are in incredible form and have recently broken another club record. The team are unbeaten in 29 games across all competitions … [Read more...]