La Liga Preview: Emery files notice that Valencia are a force to be reckoned with

Spanish Football / Tobias Gourlay / 29 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

Juan Mata points to a brighter future for Valencia.

Recommended Bets: Back Valencia at [2.02] to beat Málaga; back Sevilla Clean Sheet at [2.34] v Xerez

Deportivo might not be alright after all, but Tobias Gourlay is, and he's keen to atone for the disappointments of last week.

The Copa Del Rey has not recently been a priority for Real Madrid. La Liga's most successful club haven't won the national cup competition since 1993, and last year they were knocked out on away goals by a third-division team. Manuel Pellegrini, however, should not make a habit of losing 4-0 to clubs that play in the same league as Real's youth team, for Tuesday night's embarrassing defeat to Alcorcón - the club's third loss in five games - has started unsettling speculation about his future as coach.

The Chilean's first opportunity to quieten the gossipers is Saturday evening's home game with Getafe. It's a Madrid derby, and might soon become the Madrid derby if Quique Sánchez Flores can't improve Atlético. Real won 3-2 last season, but that was only the second time in 10 that Getafe had gone to one of the Big Two and produced a match with three goals or more. Cristiano Ronaldo is still injured, and last week's shutout at Sporting Gijón is fresh in the memory, so Under 2.5 Goals is worthy of consideration at [2.74].

Three of league-leading Barcelona's four away matches have gone Under 2.5 Goals so far, but it's an odds-against shot ([2.44]) for their game with Osasuna too. Six goals against Real Zaragoza a week ago suggest they weren't so tired after all, and their hosts' brutish strike-force - Walter Pandiani and Carlos Aranda - have been an effective large-and-large pairing thus far, so the low-goals bet on the Real game is the more interesting one.

Since a 3-0 win against Atlético Madrid on the opening day of the season, a result made less impressive by the opposition's subsequent difficulties, Málaga have been sleeping on a bed of thorns at the Rose Garden, losing their last three home games. Last season, the Costa del Sol club finished its first campaign back in the top-flight in eighth place, but Antonio Tapia left for Real Betis in the summer, and his replacement, Juan Ramón Muñiz, oversees a team without Eliseu, a lissom winger gone to Serie A, and without confidence.

Valencia, their opponents on Sunday, are a team with David Villa - seven goals in seven Liga games this season - fit again, three wins from four away matches in 2009/10, and three consecutive clean sheets for the first time under Unai Emery (they're [3.05] to keep a fourth on Sunday, but bear in mind that their hosts have scored in 3/4 at home so far). This column won't get away with just another paean to its favourite striker, so there are commendations for Juan Mata and Pablo Hernández instead.

Mata, 21, arrived at the club a couple of years ago from Real's B team - they now want him for the A team and Barcelona wouldn't turn their noses up either - and became a left-sided midfielder of uncommon vision and technical ability last season, scoring 11 times in 35 league starts. He has maintained his good form, starting every game of the new league campaign and scoring three times.

Pablo is older (24), and made his debut for Spain at the Confederations Cup in the summer, but it was only towards the end of last season that he displaced Joaquín as the regular starter on the right-hand side. Last week, he did this. With Villa and David Silva sticking around until January at least, Los Che are in good shape and too long at [2.02] to win on Sunday.

Xerez have scored in half of their four home games, locating the onion bag against Málaga, who were poor, and Villarreal, who were unlucky. Sevilla have been neither poor nor unlucky this season, and in the past Manolo Jiménez's team has been ruthless visiting bottom-half sides, locking down such opponents in nine of the most recent 11 games. This weekend the Sevilla Clean Sheet is available at [2.34].