'Derby del Turia' on cards, Barcelona aim to maintain 100% record: Liga F Week 8 Preview
The Derby del Turia is looming as hosts Levante prepare for a clash against Valencia at the Estadi Ciutat de València on Sunday evening.
The hosts will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season as they play their local rivals whilst the latter will be aiming to make it five games without a loss after registering two wins and two draws in their last four matches.
The hosts’ attack has been bolstered with the return of Colombian forward Mayra Ramírez. She scored the winner on her return against Madrid CFF last weekend and is expected to lead the line alongside last season’s top goalscorer forward Alba Redondo.
On the other hand, Valencia go into this match buoyed by last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Sporting Huelva.
They are hoping that forwards Fiamma Iannuzzi and Ana Marcos will be at their best supported by the evergreen midfielder Marta Carro to breach the hosts’ impressive defence that has conceded only four goals in seven matches so far.
A win for Levante will take them to 18 points whilst a win for Valencia will take them to 14 points.
The teams have met 25 times with Levante winning 12, losing seven and drawing six.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be hoping to overcome the Real Sociedad test at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Friday night.
The Madrid side will be looking to utilise home advantage to collect maximum points and keep pace with log leaders Barcelona who will be in action on Saturday.
The hosts hope that Danish forward Signe Bruun will continue with her goalscoring form to propel them to victory over an inconsistent Sociedad side.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be aiming to make it two wins in a row after their late 1-0 win last weekend against Villarreal.
Their hopes will be pinned on inspirational skipper midfielder Nerea Eizaguirre with support from midfielder Andreia Jacinto and forward Synne Jensen.
A win for Real Madrid will take them level on 21 points with Barcelona for 24 hours whilst Real Sociedad’s win will take them to 13 points.
The teams have met seven times in competitive matches with Real Madrid winning four, losing two and drawing one.
Real Madrid have won three of their four meetings at this venue, giving them an upper hand going into this match.
Villarreal are in for a tough time as they welcome a marauding Barcelona side to the Ciudad Deportiva on Saturday evening.
Villarreal have been struggling this season whilst Barcelona have been in fine form making a 100% record in the seven matches played so far.
After demolishing Sevilla 8-0 last weekend, Barcelona will be looking forward to another big-score performance on Saturday.
The hosts’ rearguard will have to deal with a deadly visitors’ attack led by sensational young forward Salma Paralluelo alongside fellow forward Caroline Graham Hansen and skipper Alexia Putellas supported by the evergreen Ballon D’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí and Keira Walsh in the heart of midfield.
Villarreal will be hoping that their rearguard led by defenders Yenifer Giménez and Queralt Gómez is at its best to provide enough cover to goalkeeper Carmen Carbonell Gil.
A win for Barcelona will see them maintain their 100% record and put them on 24 points whilst a Villarreal win will put them on seven points.
The teams have met four times with Barcelona winning all the matches, scoring 23 goals and conceding two in the process.
Atlético Madrid will be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to UDCA Tenerife last weekend when they face visiting SD Eibar at the Centro Deportivo Alcalá de Henares on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will be aiming to utilise home advantage as well as the poor form of Eibar to collect maximum points and stay in touch with top teams whilst the visitors will be aiming to replicate last weekend’s performance where they restricted Real Madrid for most of the match.
Atlético will be hoping that former Villarreal forward Sheila Guijarro is at her best alongside fellow forward Rasheedat Ajibade who was instrumental after coming on as a second half substitute last weekend whilst Eibar will be hoping that forward Esparanza Pizarro leads them to victory.
A win for the hosts will take them to 16 points whilst Eibar will move to seven points if they manage to register a win.
The teams have met four times with Atlético winning all of them, giving them an advantage over their weekend opponents.
Levante Las Planas will be looking to continue with their fine start to the season when they face visiting UDCA Granadilla at the Camp Municipal Les Planes on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts will be hoping that forwards Jessica Martínez and Irina Uribe are at their best to provide the goals whilst the visitors will be pinning their hopes on forwards Gift Monday, Koko Ange and defensive stalwart Patri Gavira for inspiration.
Both teams are on 12 points so a win for either team will take them to 15 points.
The teams have met twice in competitive matches with each team winning once.
Madrid CFF will be looking to bounce back from their narrow 1-0 defeat to Levante last weekend when they clash with hosts Athletic Club at the Lezama Facilities on Sunday evening.
The visitors will be looking to reinstate their top goalscorer forward Racheal Kundananji in the starting lineup after she started on the bench in their defeat last weekend as they aim to collect maximum points.
On the other hand, Athletic Club will have to utilise home advantage to contain the visitors who have the second highest goal tally in the league so far this season if they entertain any hopes of collecting maximum points.
The hosts will be aiming to move up the standings as they have nine points from a possible 21.
A win for the hosts will take them to 12 points whilst the same result for the visitors will take them to 18 points.
The teams have met 13 times before with Athletic Club winning seven times whilst Madrid CFF won the other six matches pointing to an exciting match on the cards.
Sevilla will be looking to inflict a seventh consecutive defeat to visiting Granada CF when the two sides meet at the Ramón Cisneros Palacios on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams have been struggling although the visitors have been on the worse side losing six matches in a row and find themselves in the relegation zone after seven matches.
The hosts are coming from their heaviest defeat after losing 8-0 to log leaders Barcelona last weekend.
The hosts will be hoping that midfielder Eva Llamas leads them to victory with support from forwards Inma Gabarro and Cristina Martín-Prieto whilst the visitors will be banking on forward Laura Requena Sánchez and midfielder Alicia Redondo for inspiration.
A win for Sevilla will take them to nine points whilst a win will take the visitors to six points and boost their hopes of remaining in the league come end of season.
The teams have met twice in competitive matches with Sevilla winning both.
Bottom-placed Sporting Huelva will be looking to collect their first set of maximum points when they clash with visiting Real Betis at the Campo Federativo de la Orden on Saturday evening.
Betis will be aiming to make it two wins in a row with victory over winless Huelva to move up the log standings and their hopes will be pinned on midfielders Rosa Márquez and Leles to provide incisive passes to forward Carla Armengol.
The hosts, on the other hand, will be aiming to build on their midweek win over Real Union in the Copa De La Reina to collect points in their early relegation fight.
Their hopes will be pinned on forwards Jessica De Filippo and Patrícia Hmírová to lead them to their first win of the season which will take them to four points whilst a win for the visitors will take them to 10 points.
The teams have met 13 times in competitive matches with Betis winning six, losing three and drawing four.
Fixtures (Friday): Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad (20:00)
Fixtures (Saturday): Atletico Madrid vs SD Eibar (12:00); Villarreal vs Barcelona (16:30); Sporting Huelva vs Real Betis (18:30)
Fixtures (Sunday): Sevilla vs Granada CF (12:00); Levante Las Planas vs UDCA Tenerife (12:00); Levante vs Valencia (16:30); Athletic Club vs Madrid CFF (18:30)