Barcelona juggernaut heads to Lezama as ‘El Gran Derbi’ on cards: Liga F Week 10 Preview
The Barcelona juggernaut heads to the Lezama Facilities on Sunday evening where they face hosts Athletic Club who have been blowing hot and cold week in, week out.
The Blaugranes will be looking to extend their 100% record and also look to continue with their league dominance over their opponents.
The visitors go into this match missing the services of their inspirational skipper and midfielder Alexia Putellas who suffered an injury against Benfica in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) last week.
However, the hosts face a daunting task of stopping a marauding Barcelona attack led by the rejuvenated forward Caroline Graham Hansen, who has 11 goal contributions (six goals and five assists) in seven matches, and the sensational young forward Salma Paralluelo, who scored a brace against Eintracht Frankfurt in the UWCL away in Germany on Wednesday.
A win for Barcelona will take them to 30 points after just 10 matches in the season whilst Athletic Club will take their points tally to 15 with a win against the defending champions.
The teams have met 26 times with Barcelona winning 19, losing three and drawing four. The hosts have won twice in 14 meetings at this venue, giving the visitors an upperhand.
Meanwhile, second-placed Real Madrid will be aiming to bounce back from their 5-0 drubbing by Barcelona last weekend when they host struggling Sporting Huelva at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts will be hoping that Danish forward Signe Bruun continues with her goal scoring form alongside in-form fellow forward Athenea del Castillo. They will also bank on the form of defender Olga Carmona.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be putting their hopes on forward Jessica de Filippo to lead the attack with support from fellow forwards Isina and Patrícia Hmírová.
The hosts will have to do without young Colombian forward Linda Caicedo who suffered a sprained ankle against Barcelona last weekend and is expected back at the beginning of January next year.
A win for the hosts will move them to 24 points to stay closer to Barcelona whilst a win for the visitors will take them to four points, although it will not be enough to take them out of the relegation zone.
The teams have met eight times with Real Madrid winning six, losing one and drawing one.
Levante square off with visiting SD Eibar at the Ciudad Deportiva de Buñol - Campo 1 on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors will be hoping to cause an upset and make it two wins in a row after their narrow 1-0 win against Sporting Huelva last weekend whilst the hosts will be looking for their fifth win in a row to keep in touch with the top two teams.
Levante will be hoping that forward Alba Redondo continues with her scoring form after registering her name on the scoresheet last weekend having endured a long dry spell.
A win for the hosts will take them to 24 points whilst an Eibar win will move them to 10 points.
The teams have met four times with Levante winning three and drawing one.
Buoyant following a convincing 4-1 victory over cross-town rivals Madrid CFF in a local derby last weekend, Atlético Madrid face visiting Granada CF on Sunday afternoon at the Centro Deportivo Alcalá de Henares.
The hosts will be hoping that forward Sheila Guijarro continues with her fine form which has seen her score six goals in the first nine matches after joining from Villarreal at the start of the season. Her goal scoring will, however, also depend on the consistency of fellow forward Eva Navarro who has assisted four times this season.
On the other hand, the visitors will be hoping to get it right this time around as they look for their second win of the season and end an eight match losing streak.
A win for the hosts will take them to 22 points whilst Granada’s win will take them six points, although they will remain in the relegation zone.
The teams have met three times with Atlético Madrid winning twice and losing once.
Fifth-placed Madrid CFF lock horns with sixth-placed Levante Las Planas away at the Camp Municipal Les Planes on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams lost their matches last weekend, with Las Planas losing by a solitary goal to Betis whilst Madrid CFF lost 4-1 to neighbours Atlético Madrid.
The visitors will be hoping that top scorer Racheal Kundananji is back on the score charts after going for three matches without a goal whilst the hosts will be banking on forwards Irina Uribe and Anissa Lahmari for goals.
A win for the hosts will take them level on 18 points with their opponents whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 21 points.
The teams have met twice with Madrid CFF winning once and drawing once.
Real Betis will be looking to make it four wins in a row when they clash with hosts Sevilla in the El Gran Derbi at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Saturday night.
The derby promises to be a tight contest for the two teams who are separated by a point. A win for the hosts will take them to 15 points and leapfrog their neighbours whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 16 points and open a four point gap between them.
The visitors will be hoping that defender Dorine Chuigoué continues with her fine form having been named player of the match against Levante Las Planas last week with a masterclass defensive contribution whilst the hosts will be banking on forward Inma Gabarro for goals.
The teams have met 10 times with Betis winning four, losing three and drawing three.
Struggling Real Sociedad clash with visiting Valencia at the Instalacións de Zubieta on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will be hoping that inspirational skipper and forward Nerea Eizagirre is at her best whilst the visitors will be hoping that forward Ivonne Chacón and midfielder Pauleta will be at their best to inspire the team to victory.
The hosts will be without forward Jacqueline Owusu who is suspended after she was shown two yellow cards against Sevilla last weekend.
The teams are separated by a point and a win for the hosts will take them to 13 points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 14 points.
The teams have met 25 times with Sociedad winning 11, losing eight and drawing six.
UDCA Tenerife date hosts Villarreal on Saturday afternoon at the Ciudad Deportiva.
The visitors will be hoping to end their two match losing streak with a win to relaunch their campaign whilst the hosts will be aiming to make it two wins in a row after their 2-1 win against Granada last weekend.
Tenerife have all the arsenal in the mould of forwards Jassina Blom, Gift Monday and Rinsola Babajide whilst Villarreal will turn their hopes to forwards Claudia Iglesias and Kayla McKenna to inspire their team to victory.
A win for the hosts will take them to 10 points whilst a win for the visitors will move them to 15 points.
The teams have met four times with Tenerife winning all the matches, giving them added advantage going into this match.
Fixtures (Saturday): Villarreal vs UDCA Tenerife (12:00); Real Sociedad vs Valencia (12:00); Levante vs SD Eibar (16:00); Sevilla vs Real Betis (20:30)
Fixtures (Sunday): Atlético Madrid vs Granada CF (12:00); Real Madrid vs Sporting Huelva (14:00); Levante Las Planas vs Madrid CFF (16:00); Athletic Club vs Barcelona (18:00)
All times are in Central European Time (CET)