Real Madrid return to their own personal hell this weekend when they take on Deportivo de la Coruña at the Riazor stadium. ‘Los Blancos’ have not beaten Deportivo on their home turf for over seventeen years and I doubt whether this year will be any different. The match will be won by the side who wants the three points more, and that is definitely Deportivo.

Real Madrid are eight points clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga, and after the deception of being thrown out of the Champions league by the home defeat to Roma, only have the domestic league title to play for. Deportivo meanwhile, are fighting for something possibly even more important: survival. Even though they are on a three match unbeaten run for just the second time this season (they have lost just once in the last seven games), they are still very much involved in the relegation battle. Two points is all that separates Lotina’s men from the drop zone, although now they can look down on the teams occupying it instead of being in it.

Deportivo’s recent good form appears to come from coach Lotina’s new found faith in his four-three-three formation, and the arrival of the Swedish international Wilhelmsson. Last weekend they came from a two nil deficit to draw away at Valencia and before that notched up two good wins at home to Sevilla and Espanyol.

For their part Madrid will more than likely be without top goal scorer Ruud Van Nistelrooy yet again, and both Metzelder and Robben are still out injured. Spain’s top team are not playing the good flowing football of three months ago and now have to fight for every point. Last weekend saw them win at home to Espanyol after the visitors had taken the lead. This seems to be a growing trait for Real Madrid, who can’t seem to play well if they aren’t losing.

I’m going for a draw in this match. Deportivo de la Coruña are having a nightmare season but just seem to be getting it right at the right time. I can’t see them winning this though, as they haven’t been up against a really organized team for quite a while. Madrid will be traveling to Riazor knowing they haven’t won there since 1992, and this will bare them down quite a bit. They also know that Barcelona are eight points away and that they can afford to lose a couple of points now and then.
Prediction: Draw (2-2)

A Deportivo – Sevilla game is always a good one to watch and there are usually plenty of goals. In recent years Sevilla has been the team to take all the points as Deportivo’s policy of not buying decent players and relying on their youth team is starting to tell.
Deportivo are still occupying the last relegation place and are in desperate need of the three points, although there has been signs of a mini revolution of late. They have won three of their last five games and drawn another, but that hasn’t been enough to get them to safety.
Sevilla on the other hand seem to have finally found their Champions league form in the domestic league and are putting together a very nice run of five games unbeaten which includes four wins. This has rocketed them up to fifth in the league and are now just two points from a Champions league place. Not bad considering that it wasn’t too long ago that they were talking about a crisis in Sevilla when the team were fifteenth in the table. They play on Saturday evening at the same time as Atlético Madrid take on in form Barcelona and could even finish the weekend in fourth if Atlético lose.
Deportivo de la Coruña haven’t qualified for the Champions league in four years, and looking at their squad it is unlikely they will qualify again in the next four years, either. Coach Lotina doesn’t have any star names in his squad and the president of the club won’t be looking to buy any next season even if they do beat the relegation drop. Lotina is expected to field the same side that beat an exhausted Espanyol by two goals to one at Deportivo’s Riazor stadium last weekend, but he will have to expect a different reaction when he faces Sevilla.
I’m going for an away win here. Sevilla are a much strong side and they proved that last weekend with an immense display when they beat Zaragoza at home by five goals to nil. As long as they don’t have their heads on the Champions league second leg tie with Fenerbahce the week after, they shouldn’t have too many problems here.
Prediction: Away win (0-2)

Deportivo de la Coruña are starting to face the stark reality of losing their place in the top flight of Spanish football. At the weekend they lost again, this time to fellow strugglers Recreativo de Huelva, and the defeat put an end to a promising run of three matches without a defeat, harvesting seven points from a possible nine. They remain third from bottom and are now two points from Osasuna and salvation.
Espanyol aren’t in the mood for throwing parties at the moment, either. Although they don’t have anywhere near the problems facing Deportivo, they have seen their European dreams almost evaporate after losing five of their last six matches. This plunge in form coincides with Raul Tamudo’s broken arm but one player alone can’t be the answer to Espanyol’s disappointing year so far. The Catalan team has seen themselves drop from third to fifth and their seventeen match unbeaten run is now a rapidly fading memory.
In team news, apart from the Tamudo injury, Espanyol will have to face Deportivo without influential midfielder Ivan de la Peña who is suspended, and Iñaki Lafuente is also still out. The good news for coach Ernesto Valverde though comes in the shape of left back David García, who has been out for the last two weeks with a muscle strain.
Deportivo meanwhile don’t have too many injury problems to worry about, but coach Miguel Angel Lotina has other things to concern himself with, mainly his job. He changed Deportivo’s system of play a couple of games ago to a five man defense and it seemed to have paid off. But after last weekend’s defeat he might now have to rethink his idea. With his job on the line leading up to this game it might not be wise for him to make any more changes.
I’m going for a home win here. Deportivo can’t run the risk of going five points from safety and will be out there to win, while Espanyol have too many important absentees to get all three points.
Prediction: Home win (1-0)

It has been a good couple of weeks for Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Lotina and his squad. They have finally put two league wins together when they beat Betis away from home last weekend. This positive run comes exactly one year after they won two league games on the trot for the last time. After nine league games Deportivo have finally left the relegation zone and the mood in the training ground seems to have changed too. The two first choice goalkeepers, Munúa and Anouate, are back in training after their dressing room fight ending in a two year suspended prison sentence for the Uruguayan Munúa, but both players could find themselves picked for the squad for this match.
Deportivo have also unveiled ex-Bolton and Swedish international Christian Wilhelmsson, who comes on loan until the end of the season and really belongs to French team Nante. He is the only reinforcement this winter and will go a long way to improving their midfield.
Getafe travel to Deportivo’s Riazor stadium knowing a win will give them their fiftieth victory in La Liga, and could also reignite their challenge for a place in the UEFA cup, although if they manage to beat Racing de Santander in the semi finals of the King’s cup, they could also qualify that way, as long as Barcelona beat Valencia in the other semi final game. Although Getafe are in a comfortable thirteenth position in the table, they are just four points from a relegation spot and know they can’t afford to relax for one minute against this Deportivo side who seem to have found their winning form at long last. Getafe lost last weekend at home to Espanyol and haven’t been able to keep a clean sheet for the last five matches. Deportivo meanwhile have scored eight times in the last six games which is quite a novelty for the Galician side, and hope to add to that tally in front of their home fans.
I’m going for a third victory on the trot for Deportivo. They finally seem to be getting their act together and Christian Wilhelmsson is set to make his debut which will strengthen Deportivo’s weak midfield a lot. Getafe on the other hand will have their minds more on their semi final game and I doubt whether they will get the three points, although I do think they will get a goal here.
Prediction: Home win (2-1)

At the half way stage in the present league, Almería go into this match with a little more optimism after a surprise victory over Espanyol. The team, coached by Unai Emery, jumped from sixteenth to tenth in the table and should be favorites to get all three points against this disappointing Deportivo side. The two sides played each other in the first game of the season and it was Almeria who took three points from Deportivo’s Riazor stadium. On that occasion they romped to a three nil away win and everything points to a similar result here.
Deportivo form continued to dive at the weekend, when they went down four three away to Villarreal. At least they scored more than one goal, which must be encouraging for Lotina’s men, and even went in the lead twice before Nihat appeared with another two goals. Lotina is still in a job on Monday morning but for how much longer is anyone’s guess, but there will be a meeting between the coach and president Lendoiro. Officially is will be to discuss the measures to be taken with the two goalkeepers who were involved in a dressing room fight after last week’s training session. Apparently, Uruguayan first team choice Munúa walked into the dressing room and after a short exchange with the Israeli Aouate, he punched him in the face. Aouate needed eight stitches to his eye and is now considering legal action. This goes to show that Deportivo’s players are all very much on edge with what is going on both on and off the pitch, and while things seem to have calmed down a little, the club knows it must take action and quickly too. Lotina doesn’t want anything to do with either of them, but obviously, he can’t rely on a third team choice goalkeeper for the rest of the season and it will be very difficult for Deportivo to look to the winter transfer market as there is a distinct lack of cash available.
I’m going for an Almeria win in this match. The team seems to have come together just at the right time and with a couple more wins should have their relegation fears put to rest. The same can’t be said for Deportivo however, who are lurching from one crisis to another.
Prediction: home win (1-0)

Villarreal may be going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment, but that shouldn’t stop them from beating this Deportivo side who are registering some of the worst results in their history. Deportivo coach Manuel Angel Lotina’s job hangs by a thread and there has already been plenty of speculation as to who will take over from him when (not if) he is sacked. A defeat here in this match will surely spell the end to his reign, and it is more than likely that he has resigned himself to the fact that by Monday he will be out of a job. You can’t really blame him completely though. Deportivo de la Coruña have slowly but surely been getting worse and worse for the last four or five seasons. Their policy of selling good players and relying on their youth team players has not paid off, and it is more than probable that they will be playing second division football come September.
Villarreal’s little bad run started at the end of November and they have now won just once in six games. This slump in form has seen them drop from second in the table to fifth, and they really need to get back to their winning ways if they want to experience European football next year. You have to fancy them here though, even if Villarreal haven’t been capable of keeping a clean sheet since October. Deportivo’s statistics are surprisingly bad. They have scored just six home goals and ten away, compared to Villarreal’s thirty. I’m going for a home win here, and maybe, just maybe, Villarreal can win a game without conceding any.
Prediction: Home win (2-0)