The end of a league campaign is often decided with fate deciding matches. Titles, relegation battles and European qualifications, that mid table clashes are often left out. The Sundays scheduled in the Spanish La Liga brings to us two exciting clashes. The first match is one between Deportivo La Coruna who will entertain visitors RCD Espanyol, as they try to steer safe from relegation, for which they need minimum of 3 points more in the last 4 matches of their season. The next match is between Malaga and Celta Vigo, as the neighbors in the middle of the table attempt to either breach the gap, or increase it.
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA vs RCD ESPANYOL
Three-way: 1: DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA +110; X: +265; Draw 2: RCD ESPANYOL +290
Spread -0.5: DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA +108; RCD ESPANYOL -114
TOTAL +2.5: Over +112; Under -116
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA
Danger still lurks for the Deportivo La Coruna in the league, as they still need to grab at least 3 more points to be safe of their participation in the Spanish La Liga next season. Otherwise, it is still possible that the Sporting Gijon could overtake them and push Deportivo into relegation waters, as only the last team to be relegated has to be decided. With a win this weekend, they will be sure of staying up, which only adds to the pressure.
Having only accumulated 31 points so far, Deportivo La Coruna sits in the 16th position, just two positions adrift of relegation. Of those 31 points, 23 have been won at home, suggesting a much poorer away form. Their last six home game record is 1-2-3. They have been winless in their last two matches. The 2:6 home thumping against Real Madrid was followed by a 2:2 away draw against Osasuna. Their most common score line this season has been a 0:1 loss, and a 1:1 draw, both having occurred 5 times each. This shows how ineffective they have been.
Deportivo doesn’t have a great attack, nor do they have a reliable defense. They have scored just 38 goals this season, with 22 of those coming in front of the home fans. A poor defense means that they have conceded a total of 58 goals, with just 7 clean sheets. 20 of those goals have been conceded at home. This results in a goal difference of -20.
Florin Andone has been their top scorer in the league, with 9 goals to his name, along with 2 assists. Following him is Celso Borges, who has 6 goals to his name. Emre Colak is the player with the most assists in the team, with 5 to his name so far. Three players will be missing this weekend’s game for Deportivo. Joselu and Pedro Mosquera are out for the season, while Raul Albentosa is suspended for the match. Sidnei is a doubt, even though there are chances that he might make the squad.
RCD ESPANYOL
Espanyol is coming towards the end of what has been another decent season in the spais La Liga. Even though they would have loved to finish higher, but a highest possible finish at the 8th position isn’t too bad either. They will be glad that they aren’t in the bottom half of the table. They surely must be gunning for a victory after a poor performance against local rivals Barcelona last weekend.
Currently sitting at the 9th position, Espanyol has accumulated a total of 50 points, which is interestingly, 31 points behind the top, and 31 points away from the bottom, exactly midway. Of those 50 points, 29 have been won at home matches. Their current form over the last 6 games isn’t really motivating as it reads 2-1-3. Of their lost two matches, they have drawn one, and lost one. A 1:1 draw away at Sporting Gijon was followed by a 0:3 home loss against local rivals Barcalona last weekend. Their most common result this season has been a 1:0 win, which has occurred a total of 5 times.
They do not possess a mighty attack. They have scored only 47 goals this season, with 28 of them coming at home. Even their defense is not the one that exudes confidence, as it has conceded a total of 47 goals, but they have still managed to keep 11 clean sheets so far. 23 of those goals have been conceded in front of the home crowd.
Attacker Gerd Moreno has the highest league goals this season in the team, with 12 goals to his name. He has also created 4 assists for his teammates. Argentine Pablo Piatti is the leader in the team for assists, with 9 to his name, along with an impressive 10 goals in the league. Spanish Goalkeeper Diego Lopez has kept 11 clean sheets so far, bettered only by 4 more goalkeepers.
Javi Lopez and Oscar Gaitan are long term absentees in the team. They have many doubtful players for the weekend. Alvaro Vazquez, Aaron Caricol, Jose Antonio Reyes and Ruben Duarte, all are recovering from various leg injuries, and hence are not confirmed in or out of the squad yet. Caricol is suspended for the match anyway.
DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA vs RCD ESPANYOL MATCH PREDICTION
Deportivo La Coruna will be highly motivated for this match, as they need to get the three points, which they can get in other matches too, but no one would like to take an unnecessary risk.
On the other side, the visitors are sitting firmly at the 8th spot, with not too much pressure from behind or of chasing the higher rankings.
With that being said, the host should come out attacking the visitors goal and looking to score early on, which should open the game up and leave space for some counter attacks for the visiting side. I expect the visitors to nick the goal as well, which is why I am taking the Both teams to score!!!
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (-106)
MALAGA CF vs CELTA DE VIGO
Three-way: 1: MALAGA CF -208; X: +400 Draw; 2: CELTA VIGO +719
Spread -1.5: MALAGA CF +139; CELTA VIGO -143
TOTAL +2.5: Over -128; Under +121
MALAGA CF
Another season in the Spanish La Liga iscoming to a close, and Malaga is almost assured of a mid table finish. They sit just below their opponents of this weekend, Celta Vigo. If all the results including the opponents’, go in the favor of Malaga, than they can finish as high as the 8th position in the final league table, which will be a satisfactory result surely for the club and the fans, who are hoping to see their team win this weekend.
Occupying the 12th position in the Spanish La Liga, just below Celta Vigo by 2 points, Malaga has had a topsy-turvy season, as they haven’t really been spectacular enough to have grab one of the European spots, but still haven’t been bad enough to be a relegation struggler. Their home record over the last 6 games is 3-0-3. They have won all three of their last three league games. Their last match was an away victory against Sevilla, with a goal-fest of 6 goals, where they won 4:2. This was preceded by an away 2:0 victory against Granada. Their most common score line this season has been a 1:1 draw, which has happened 5 times so far. Of the 42 points accrued so far, 29 have been won in front of the home crowd.
They have scored 44 goals in the league, out of which 29 have been scored at their home stadium. They do not have the best of defenses in the league, which is highlighted by the fact that they have conceded 51 goals so far, keeping 7 clean sheets in the process. They have also failed to score in a total of 11 matches this season.
Former Barcelona forward has impressed for Malaga this season in the Spanish La Liga, scoring an impressive 13 goals so far, with 2 assists to his name also. Pablo Fornals has also chipped in 6 goals and 2 assists this season in the league. Goalkeeper Carlos Kameni has kept 7 clean sheets in the league, with only six goalkeepers having more.
The injury table does present some concerns for Malaga. Bakary Kone and Juanpi Anor are out for the season with muscular injuries. Kuzmanovic, Robson Weligton, Carlos Kameni, and Roberto Rosales, are all a doubt for this match and will be evaluated. Maestre is out for the match, and will return only in the later weeks of May in all probability
CELTA VIGO
This has been a decent season for Celta Vigo. They have gained somewhat of a reputation of being a force against the big ones in Spanish La Liga football, after defeating Barcelona 4:3 this season, even though they were hammered with 5:0 in the reverse fixture. With four games still left to play, they can even finish at 8th position, if all the league results go in their favor. The fans would be hoping for a fine performance, after they were defeated in a close match against Manchester United in the Europa League, with a 1:0 score line at home, to English wonder boy Marcus Rashford’s stunning free kick.
Sitting comfortably at the 11th position in the Spanish La Liga, Celta Vigo will be hoping to put in a better performance after the midweek disappointment in the Europa league. Of the 44 points that they have accrued so far, 28 have been at home. Their current form is woeful, as they have won only one and lost five in their last 6 matches. Their last match was a 0:3 humbling against Atheltic Bilbao at home, which was after a 1:2 loss at Sevilla. Their most frequent result this season has been a 0-1 loss, which has happened 5 times.
Average is a word that can rightly describe both the attack and the defense of the Celta Vigo team this season in the Spanish La Liga, barring one or two players. They have scored a total of 49 goals, 27 of which have been at home matches. Their defense has conceded 57 goals so far in the league, 26 of which have been in front of the home crowd. They have kept 7 clean sheets in the process.
Premier League flop Iago Aspas has been playing very well in the Spanish La Liga. With 17 goals to his name, he is 4th in the top scorers list in La Liga. He has also chipped in with 3 assists in the league. Daniel Wass has scored 3 and assisted 4 in the league for Celta Vigo. Apart from Aspas, no other player has really taken the responsibility to score goals for the team.
Celta Vigo do not have many issues about players missing out. Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi is out for the season with a ligament injury. Ruben Blanco, recovering from a thigh injury, is a major doubt for the match. Andreu Fontas is suspended for the match due to cards.
MALAGA CF vs CELTA DE VIGO MATCH PREDICTION
Both mid table sides have been having average seasons, and can, in the best case scenario, finish as high as ranked 8th in the Spanish La Liga. Both the teams have a weak defense, so scoring goals should not be a difficult task for either of them against each other.
Malaga is in somewhat better form than Celta Vigo, especially as of late, and considering that they are playing in front of their own crowd, I would not be surprised if the snap all three points in this one. However, as noted before, it will be a clash between two teams that are not known for the best defensive ends, so I would assume that we are going to see a lot of goals. Therefore, I am taking the over the 2.5 goals, which is offered at a reasonable -128.
MY PICK: Over 2.5 goals (-128)
