Two of the most active clubs in the January transfer window meet together this weekend in an Andalucian derby at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán between Sevilla and Málaga.  Málaga and new owner Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani scoured the world in January for bright, young talents and seasoned veterans (or washed-up former stars depending on […]

The headlines emanating from Bilbao have had little to do with Athletic's white-hot form, as the rumors swirling around Fernando Llorente's future destination have blanketed this historic club.  Tottenham Hotspur has been the main culprit of the Llorente saga, originally offering €30 million, but after Athletic rejected the bid, they upped the ante to an […]

Espanyol's surprising start has not only stretched to this juncture of the season but has also improved from a club that only garnered points at home to a team that can win the tough matches away from home.  Impressively winning at Sevilla and Getafe in their last two games have shown that a top-six finish […]

La Liga officially begins the second half of its season this weekend, and FC Barcelona has continued its stellar form with a staggering fifty-two points out of a possible fifty-seven points, a Spanish record for the opening half of any campaign.  Despite this extended run of breathtaking football, Barça only has a four point lead […]

Back from personal vacation, this weekend's round of matches is the last one of the 2010 calendar year before the players go on their own vacations during the La Liga winter break.  To top off the end of 2010, El Derbi Barceloní headlines the round as FC Barcelona travels to the south of the city […]

Now that the El Clásico tornado has swept through Spain, leaving bits of Real Madrid debris in its wake, everyone can take a breath and move on with the rest of the season.  Real must pick up the pieces and stay in the present rather than dwell on the 5-0 beating that Barcelona handed them […]

The Valencian Derby between Villarreal and Valencia jumps out as the headline match of the weekend in La Liga.  Since Villarreal rose to La Liga for the first time in 1998, their record at home against their neighbors Valencia is an impressive 7-2-2, including winning five of their last six meetings.  While Villarreal lost 3-1 […]

The highlight match of the weekend will occur at the Camp Nou, where Villarreal will want to display their résumé as a legitimate threat to a dominion currently ruled by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.  After a topsy-turvy month of results where they looked somewhat hapless in away fixtures at Hércules and Sporting Gijón in […]

As with most local derbies (national derbies such as El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona, Le Classique between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, De Klassieker between Ajax and Feyenoord, etc. excluded), the derby means a little more to one club than the other.  While Arsenal always wants to defeat their north London neighbor Tottenham Hotspur, […]

In Atlético Madrid's 1-2 win in the UEFA Europa League over Rosenborg in Norway on Thursday, Rosenborg enjoyed long spells of dominance over their Spanish opponents but could not convert more than once on their many scoring opportunities.  Atlético capitalized on two of their only three chances in the match and escaped with a valuable […]

With the reinstitution of the Galáctico policy following Florentino Pérez's return as President of Real Madrid last summer, Pérez wasted no time in the second construction of his universe-beating side.  Lost in the shuffle of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, and Xabi Alonso joining the club, Karim Benzema quietly transferred from Olympique Lyonnais to Real Madrid, if […]

For a seemingly middling, 13th placed promoted team from La Liga Adelante with a 2-3-3 record, Hércules Club de Fútbol has debunked the increasingly popular theory that there is little competitive balance in Spain's top division.  A two-goal victory at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona, a 2-0 win over Sevilla, a 2-2 draw against […]

Amidst the whirlwind of José Mourinho at Real Madrid, the somewhat human play of Barcelona, and the managerial change in Sevilla, Villarreal's impressive start to their La Liga campaign has gone mostly unnoticed.  Villarreal had a chance to top the table for the first time in its history with a win against their Valencian neighbors […]

This weekend, the Camp Nou hosts the first match between legitimate title contenders as FC Barcelona invites league leaders Valencia into the Catalan crucible on Saturday evening.  Some might argue that the Atlético Madrid – Barcelona match in Jornada 3 provided the first clash between clubs that have a real chance to win La Liga, […]

Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán houses the match of the weekend, although the LFP did not grant the match with a glamorous time, as Sevilla hosts Atlético Madrid in a match where both teams will likely fight for a Champions League spot by the end of the season.  Sevilla sacked Antonio Álvarez after they could not […]