Atlético Madrid missed a great chance last weekend of practically securing their Champions league place next season, by drawing away to Valladolid in a game they should really have own. At the moment they are playing some very irregular football. The league game before last they beat a good Almeria outfit by six goals to three, but before that lost three – nil to Villarreal. Now Racing de Santander are breathing down their necks in fifth spot and just one point behind them, so anything other than a win here and they could be in serious danger or not getting into the top European competition.
Betis meanwhile lost weekend at home to Levante by three goals to nil. This rather surprising defeat leaves Betis pretty much in no man’s land. They are ten points from a UEFA cup spot, which, with just six games to go would seem to be impossible to reach now. The good news is that they are seven points from the relegation zone, which means they are practically safe for another season. Coach Paco Chaparro has done a great job though with this Betis side. He took over when the team was third form bottom and has practically saved the club from relegation for the second time in two seasons. He is now in talks with Betis chiefs regarding his renovation for the next campaign and everything points to him continuing.
I’m opting for a home win here as Atlético do seem to be stronger in front of their home fans. They have lost just four times at home this season which is one of the reasons why they are where they are. Betis seem to be happy with just surviving in the top flight, and after watching them lose to bottom side Levante last weekend, their season seems to be petering out rather quickly.
Prediction: Home win (2-0)

Betis seem to have found a new lease of life recently with three wins from three matches including that surprising three goal to two victory over Barcelona at the Ruiz de Lopera stadium. On Sunday they beat a crisis hit Zaragoza away by three goals to nil and have risen to eleventh in the league, with an eight point cushion over Zaragoza, who are now occupying the last relegation spot.
Levante are all but dead on their feet, unfortunately. In their last game at the weekend they lacked ideas, lacked morale, lacked pretty much everything and fell at home to fellow strugglers Valladolid by three goals to nil. It is very clear that Levante’s players don’t believe in the miracle of salvation and have already given up hope of survival (although I think some of the players gave p a long time ago). They are now seventeen points away from avoiding relegation with twenty one points still to play for, so it is still mathematically possible but I wouldn’t put any money on it (and neither would anyone else).
Betis coach Paco Chaparro is delighted with his players and they with him. When he took over from ousted former coach Hector Cuper, Betis were in crisis and looked to be heading for the second division by the fastest route possible. However, five months later Betis have gone from second to bottom to eleventh in the league and it is all thanks to the coach.
I really can’t see Levante taking any points from this match. They have won just once away from home this season and drawn another, losing thirteen others. That’s four points from a possible forty five, and they are also on a run of five defeats from their last five games. Betis now have their sights on city rivals Sevilla, who are seven points in front. Betis fans might not see their team in Europe this year, but if they finish above Sevilla then the season will have been a success.
Prediction: Home win (2-0)

Barcelona go into this match with their ears pricked and ready to do some serious damage to Betis. Last weekend’s results were very much in favor of the Catalan giants and they are now just four points from leaders Real Madrid. Madrid inexplicably lost at home to Valencia by three goals to two after leading two one, and they now seem to be in a state of turmoil. To make matters worse for Madrid, they take on Sevilla at the Bernabeu stadium, and Madrid never like playing Sevilla.
Barca won four goals to one against Valladolid on Sunday, but it wasn’t as easy a game as one would expect from the result. They were booed off the pitch at half time by their own fans after Valladolid equalized in the thirtieth minute, but after the break the visitors seemed to take a holiday and allowed Barca to score three more goals, thus sealing an important victory and getting back into the title race.
Betis meanwhile recovered somewhat from last weekend’s suspended match by traveling to Osasuna and going home with a one goal to nil victory. Those three points did the Andalucian club the world of good and are now three points away from the relegation zone. However, knowing who they have in front of them in this match they won’t be able to relax for long. They haven’t beaten Barcelona in the league at the Ruiz de Lopera stadium for almost four years, and another victory for the green and whites will be very difficult for them to achieve. Barcelona now know that they league title is up for grabs and they can’t afford another bad game. The Valladolid game was their first league win in the last four matches, and they are still having a ton of problems with injuries.
Betis may have used all their luck against Osasuna, as they had only two shots on goal in the whole game (as opposed to Osasuna’s nineteen) and if it wasn’t for young goalkeeper Casto, who was in goal to substitute the injured Ricardo, they would most probably been on the receiving end of a good thrashing.
You really have to go for a Barcelona win here. Even though they haven’t been playing as well as they know they can, the firepower they possess in front of goal in the shape of Henry, Eto’o, Borjan, etc, will be too much for this Betis side, who will most likely sit back and allow Barca to come forward then try to catch out the Catalans on the break.
Prediction: Away win (1-3)

Osasuna are La Liga’s dark horse. You can never know what to expect from them. At the moment they are on a four match unbeaten run, although two of those games ended in goalless draws (away to Valladolid last weekend and at Villarreal’s Madrigal stadium at the beginning of March. This present good form hasn’t quite been enough to lift them to the comfort zone, and Osasuna are currently thirteenth in the league and just two points above the relegation zone. However, this is more than can be said for Betis, who are three spots below them and with two points less.
There isn’t so much a crisis of results at Betis, rather there is a general crisis that is always present. They have lost their last two matches, but the game last weekend was special as the referee suspended the match after seventy minutes when a Betis fan throw a bottle at Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Armando. This unfortunately hit him just below the eye causing a cut which needed four stitches. So Betis lost the match by default and their stadium will be closed for their next two home matches.
Osasuna meanwhile have been watching everything that has been going on and will expect an angry Betis side in this encounter. The Betis players have publicly stated that they are not happy with the penalty handed down by the Spanish federation, given that it was the action of just one lunatic and thousands of decent fans will lose out, not to mention and precarious situation Betis are in the league and the negative effects the decision will have on their survival chances.
I’m going for a home win here, as Osasuna have had quite a bit of success over the Andalucian side recently. They have scored thirteen goals against Betis in the last three encounters and conceded just one. Earlier on in the season Osasuna won three nil at the Ruiz de Lopera stadium, and last season beat Betis five nil away and five one at home. So more pressure for Betis and if they aren’t careful they could be looking at yet another relegation scrap come the end of the season.
Prediction: Home win (2-1)

The revelation of the season, Racing de Santander, take on a much improved Betis side at the Sardinero stadium this weekend and in match that should be quite interesting to watch. The last time Betis traveled to Santander was the last game of the anterior season. Then Betis were in the relegation zone but Brazilian striker Edu scored twice to keep his team in the top flight of Spanish football in a dramatic all or nothing match. This year though, both teams are breathing a lot easier, especially Racing, who are in with a chance of qualifying for the UEFA cup and on the brink of a King’s cup final, all for the first time in their long history. Obviously, Racing fans are living in a dream at the moment and have really gotten behind their team, and they will definitely do again yet again here.
Betis go into this match in the comfort zone after a well deserved four goals to nil home win over Murcia last weekend. That win brought Betis their third consecutive game without losing, including a memorable win over Real Madrid. The Andalucian side are now eleventh in the league but know that a couple of defeats and they will be back struggling to survive.
As for Racing, they take on Betis knowing that they could even end the weekend in a Champions league spot, although for that to happen they would have to win and Espanyol and Atlético Madrid both lose. There is an air of change at the moment among the Racing squad, as they know that they are on the brink of something absolutely historic in the club and they will want to get the three points to keep them in sixth position for another week. Only Sevilla can overtake them this weekend, and now that they are out of the Champions league they only have the league to think about. So no mistakes for Racing, because just one error and Sevilla will be there ready to pounce. In fact, this is one of the very few times that Sevilla will want Betis (their bitter city rivals) to win.
I’m going for a Racing de Santander home win here, as they have more to lose than Betis, and also because the home team’s defense at home is one of the best in the league as they have conceded only eight goals in twelve games. In fact, only Barcelona can boast better home statistics than that with six goals conceded.
Prediction: Home win (2-0)

This Real Madrid side is starting to look like definite La Liga winners. There is still time for Barcelona to make a comeback, but with every match this seems less and less of a possibility. Madrid put in another awesome display at their Bernabeu stadium on Sunday, this time blowing away Valladolid by a massive seven goals to nil. Valladolid surprisingly started the match quite well and for the first twenty minutes were giving Madrid as good as they got. But Madrid’s counter attack kicked in and there really was no looking back. Their dominance was almost supernatural and by half time they were leading by five goals to nil. This victory puts them eight points clear of second placed Barcelona, who were very lucky to get the draw against a self destructive Sevilla side. Now Madrid must travel to Betis’ Ruiz de Lopera stadium and produce the goods another time. This might be easier than they expect, as Betis are starting to look very shaky indeed. Paco Chaparro started his first team coaching job in excellent fashion, but after losing to Valencia three times in less than a month, they seem tired looking as they go in to this match. They have lost their last two league games; a one nil home defeat at the hands of Deportivo de la Coruña, and on Sunday evening away to Valencia. This defeat means Betis are back in the relegation fight. They dropped two places to sixteenth in the table and are now just a point from the bottom three. Not really the kind of time anyone would want to go up against this Real Madrid side.
Madrid coach Bernd Schuster risked playing Dutch hitman Robben from the start of the match on Sunday owing to Van Nistelrooy’s unexpected absence and it paid off handsomely. The international has been plagued with injury problems since his move from Chelsea, but here he had an outstanding game, being involved in most of the goals and seeming to have a great time of it. The bad news is the injury to Robinho in the fourteenth minute and he is unlikely to start this match. Sergio Ramos also had to go off and Diarra finished the game a little the worse for wear, but both are expected to take part against Betis.
I’m going for a clear Real Madrid victory here. The Ruiz de Lopera stadium always seems to bring good results for Madrid, and owing to their current form, I can’t see Betis getting anything here.
Result: Away win (1-3)