Tuesday, April 21, 2009

LOS BLANCOS TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON BARCE .....

SPAIN LA LIGA

REAL MADRID - GETAFE

This is a derby game, hardly a massive one in world football terms, but definitely the biggest match in Getafe's calendar. Both could do with the points for very different reasons, just at quick glance at the league table will tell you why. The visitors still have a four point cushion over the drop zone, but will need to find a couple of wins before the end of the season and it is hard not to see them getting further sucked into the dogfight at the bottom. The teams immediately above them in the table look stronger and those below are now picking up points. Getafe have won only three of their last 16 starts, two of those came against bottom four teams, the other, incredibly, away at Sevilla. However, their high flying opponents are/were in a very strange position in the league, especially going into that game, looking almost definitely booked for third place in the table, with a quarter of the season still to play and I suspect motivation was a problem.

Real will have taken note of that result and motivation will hardly be a problem for them. They have spent all season chasing Barcelona, with the gap at six points and "el clasico" just 11 days away and their big rivals meeting Sevilla and Valencia this week, they are not going to throw all the hard work away, by not putting Getafe to the sword. Real are creating plenty of chances, their 1-0 win at Recreativo on saturday, could easily have been by a much bigger margin and they are 15-1-0 in their last sixteen starts, with eleven clean sheets. The visitors have been softened up by chasing Barce shadows for 90 minutes at the weekend, again the scoreline might only have been 1-0, but the league leaders had 70% possession and did not allow the home side a single shot on target.

Real will win, this is one of the few times that they have played the day before Barce and the chance to put some pressure on their great rivals ahead of a tough fixture cannot be missed,although recent meetings have been close, I suspect they might run away with this one. Revenge will also be on their mind, after losing the reverse fixture 3-1at a time when they were in poor shape.

6.5 points Real Madrid -1.5 goals 2.03 asian line.

Good Luck.

No comments: