Matchday 18 Preview

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1:22Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first TSFP of the year. It's the Friday Preview Pod. We're looking ahead to what's coming up in the first weekend of action of 2026. Hello, Sydney. Hello, Philip. How are you? I'm good. You're recording in your car because a very selfish neighbour is doing work next door. So we hope that in the car it will be somewhat insulated from the selfish work of the aforementioned neighbour.

1:50Phil Kitromilides:It's 2026 starting with a bang, quite literally. Literally, right. speaking of starting with a bang first game of the year yes my god this is going to be bad honestly guys don't watch this I'll watch it you don't have to I'll go it's Rio against Getafe Friday night in Vallecas two of the lowest scoring teams in Europe Rio scored one goal in the last seven games Getafe scored one goal in the last six games it's going to be abysmal I'm looking forward to it I think it's going to be great it's not it's nothing great You're right, you're right. Nothing will be great about this game. Apart from the amount of cold, I will feel, a great amount of cold in the stadium.

2:32Then on Saturday, the Celta Vigo against Valencia. Valencia is still with Carlos Corbaran in charge. He's closed in on a year now in charge at Valencia. I think he's basically still there because, A, they're still paying Ruben Baraja, and B, he's mates with the CEO of Angule, because otherwise the situation that Valencia find themselves in just outside the relegation. So it's not really tenable. up against the Celta Vigo side, who are seventh. They've only won five of their 17 games, Celta, but they do have eight draws. They're a very difficult team to beat, and they'll fancy their chances at home to Valencia.

3:05Then it's a Basque-ish derby at El Cedar. It's Osasuna against Athletic Club. Actually, this is, and we spoke about this, I think, last season in the newsletter for patrons about why this is a derby and how Osasuna fans view this as their derby. It's a really big game, so it'll be a cracking atmosphere. at El Sadat. El Chebier Real is, you know, kind of a derby. It's not a derby. It's not really,

3:29Phil Kitromilides:is it? No, it's quite a long way away. It's a very long way away. You're going. I am going to that, yeah. Yeah, which is good. And then there is an actual derby, very much a derby, a proper derby, the Catalan derby, Saturday night at the RCDE Stadium, high-flying Espanyol against even higher flying Barcelona. And then on Sunday, you've got Sevilla against bottom side Levante, who are actually bottom, not spiritually bottom, like Oviedo. Real Beshes traveling to the Bernabeu to take on Real Madrid. Alaves against Oviedo. Mallorca against Girona. And Real Sociedad against Atletico Madrid. So that's what's coming up this weekend.

4:07Absolutely no need to dwell on that Real Getafe game for many reasons, not least because it's a Friday night one. We'll start then with that Catalan derby between Espanyol and Barcelona. It's been a long time since Espanyol beat Barcelona. It's been an even longer time since they beat them at home. 2007 was the last time they beat Barcelona at home. They've never beaten them in the RCDE stadium and they might never get a better chance given the run that they're on, Sid. It's quite an extraordinary turnaround compared to last season. This season, they're fifth. It's their second highest points tally at this stage of the season ever.

4:46Can they cause Barcelona some problems?

4:48Phil Kitromilides:Yeah, they can. Absolutely, they can. It's worth pointing out the old myth, which was always that, oh, Espanol, they fight two for nail against Barcelona and then they down-talls against Real Madrid. Well, their record against Real Madrid over the last 15 years is better than it is against Barcelona. So, you know, this isn't a team that down-talls against either of them, in truth. The other thing to say about this is that you talked about the performance in the first half of the season and how the turnaround has happened over the last 12 months. I think it's really important to put this in its context, which is at this point last year, Espanyol looked almost certain to go down.

5:25Phil Kitromilides:They'd had a terrible first half of the season. Their movements in the transfer window were really, really good. In particular, of course, the arrival of Roberto up front, who scored, I think it was six goals in the second half of the season and changed the way that they played. I think the other thing that they did was that they backed the manager at a time when it felt like the pressure was building on Manolo Gonzalez. if there was a real sense that, you know, what the sporting director, Fran Garagatha, did at that point was essentially say to everyone, he's not going, you know, you're not going to force this guy out.

5:51Phil Kitromilides:This is it now. This is what we move on with. And their second half of the season was fantastic in a very, what would you call it? I suppose a very simplistic approach. It was bend very deep, play on the counter-attack, be very aggressive. I think this season, they're a much more front-footed team than they were last season. They have shifted over the summer because I think because of the new arrivals and also just because it's bedded in more. They know what they're doing. Let me give you some of the numbers comparing them to last season. At this stage of the season last year, they were 18th. They were in the relegation zone with 16 points.

6:25They start this weekend in fifth with 33 points. They've got six more goals scored than last season, 13 fewer conceded. They had the second worst defence in La Liga at this stage last season and they've currently got the fourth best defensive record. It's been one of the biggest turnarounds in recent years over a period of a year.

6:47Phil Kitromilides:And I think a really significant turnaround because here's the key part of that. Those statistics you're talking about, those 16 points at the halfway stage, a long, long way off the kind of ratio of points per games that you need to survive, really and truly was the way it should be. So you weren't looking at them and thinking they're underachieving. You were looking at them saying, well, this is Espanol. They've just come up for the second division via the playoffs. this is their basic reality. We knew that institutionally they weren't in a good shape either. And so what they did, I think, at the halfway stage of the season, and you've seen the importance of performances from Roberto, from Urko, the improvement of Romero, who's been absolutely brilliant at fullback.

7:23Phil Kitromilides:Then, of course, you know, to go back to what I was saying about good performances against Real Madrid, they beat Real Madrid at home, perhaps a little fortunate to do so. Yes, perhaps a little bit controversial in doing so. Yes, that's true as well. But they found a way to get results and get results and get results. And that intensity that was always there started playing off, in part because they chose. They took a conscious decision to try and protect themselves better. You're talking about those defensive stats. I think that's really, really important. And this year, I think they're far more attacking than they were at the back end of last season.

7:51Let's talk about Barcelona. Laminia Mal turned up for training yesterday and then went home. He wouldn't be the first teenager around the world to turn up for work on New Year's Day and not be in a fit state to work. But stomach issues, apparently. We'll see if he manages to train today.

8:11Phil Kitromilides:Did they literally, I must confess, I hadn't seen it. Did they literally call it gastroenteritis? Yeah, I think it was. So do you remember Xavi Hernandez after he'd left Barcelona and he was talking, I think, fundamentally about the Ronaldinho period at the club. And he said gastroenteritis is the thing that they, gastroenteritis, sorry, in English, is the thing that they always say it is when it's basically, you can't train for reasons that really shouldn't be the reasons. Yes. Indispuesto. So let's see. Indispuesto, yeah. Not in great shape. Is that the best translation of indispuesto? It probably is, isn't it?

8:45Phil Kitromilides:Not in great shape. I guess so. Maybe we're being, I'm sure we're being extremely unfair on young Lamin. But yes, Barcelona travelling to Espanol with pretty much most players available. the infermeria is vaciada the infirmary is empty not too many I do love that phrase I love the idea that they've got a little infirmary at the club, it's like oh look it's empty someone walks past in the morning and says there's no one in there today and obviously look Barcelona are in very good form, I do think Espanol can cause some problems, I'd be interested to see how Espanol approach it because I think they will be aware that while it is true that there is a basic template for Barcelona which is up to a point is allow them to come to you and then go into the space beyond.

9:32Phil Kitromilides:But I think you can't allow yourself to cede territory entirely against Barcelona. Because while Barcelona are more happy running beyond you, because this is one of the curious things about this whole high line thing with Barcelona. Barcelona quite like the other teams to have a high line as well. They quite liked being able to release and run. But if you allow them to have possession, they will keep possession. They will turn the screws bit by bit. They will push you further and further back into your area. And the chances are they will eventually get there. Now, you've probably got the stat in front of you.

9:58Phil Kitromilides:So correct me if I'm wrong, I think it's an entire year's worth of games now where they've scored. So the last time they didn't score was at home to Leganes on the 15th of December. There you go. Do you know who was in goal for Leganes that day? I'm assuming it was Dmitrovic, but I don't know for sure. It is? Who is the current Espanol? Of course. Do you know what? I'm assuming that I actually hadn't even drawn the connection. Yes, absolutely right. Speaking of goalkeepers, Joan Garcia obviously coming up against his former club and Espanol, taking plenty of measures to try and avoid any ugly scenes.

10:31They've erected nets behind the goals. Yeah. Just stop people throwing stuff at Joan Garcia. Hopefully, nothing untoward happens.

10:39Phil Kitromilides:Did you know that Rayo Vallecano and Real Oviedo are planning to do the same thing, but it's so that the players who have a shot can actually feel what it's like to hit the net for once? Yay! Oh! Yes. Anyway, we move on. Brief word about the game that you're going to sit. Elche against Villarreal a priori, in theory, on paper. Yeah, very good game. I think on paper as well, a game of contrasting styles, albeit they are two teams that want the ball that want to attack. I think they attack him very, very good. Villarreal don't want the ball. Exactly. That's where I was going with this. They want to attack you in very different ways.

11:13Phil Kitromilides:Villarreal, they want the ball to run with it. They don't want the ball to play with it, if you see what I mean. Whereas Elche very much do. And so I can see a scenario in which Elche have loads of possession and which Villarreal look to try and produce those quick counter-attacks. Fort is, of course, out. He got injured in the celebration of that goal the other day with a dislocated shoulder, which actually looks like it might be more serious than it first seemed, because sometimes dislocated shoulder, it's pretty much a case of, I mean, this is really bad doctor talk here, but it's pretty much a case of push it back in and you'll be fine, son.

11:42Phil Kitromilides:This isn't the case, because it's damaged some of the ligaments in doing so. So he'll be out for a while. It's a real pity, because just as he was starting to take on a really key role in that Elche side, the bottom line here is, I think this could actually be quite good fun. Let's see. Let's see how Villarreal start the year. Of course, they ended it in a pretty disappointing fashion, going out of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and then beaten by Barcelona in the final game of the year. They say you should learn something new every day, like how you should only drink Jägermeister at zero degrees Fahrenheit, ice cold, like those frozen cavemen they find, which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think of Jägermeister?

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13:30Real Madrid against Real Betis, no killing Mbappé for Real Madrid, which is obviously very bad news, Sid, for Real Madrid.

13:39Phil Kitromilides:Yes, and it poses all sorts of questions about how they replace him, because I don't think it's an obvious option. Now, you would say on the face of the world... Rodrigo Goiz. Well, exactly. Rodrigo Goiz will play, but I think Rodrigo might have played anyway, given how regularly he's been playing recently. And so the obvious option, is it that just Gonzalo Garcia goes in up front and that's the end of it and it's a very clear like-for-like change? Is it that you put the two Brazilians up front and you reinforce a bit more the midfield, which is, I think, what he might go for, but I'm absolutely not sure on this.

14:08Phil Kitromilides:I don't know about you, I feel like this is happening a bit recently, that Mbappé's had these little injuries that you think, well, they're ruling him out maybe for a game or two, but not much more. and I don't know if that's a problem. And I don't know if it's... What do you mean, then, if it's a problem? Well, what I mean is, I don't know, is the fact that this is recurring an issue? Are there parts of his body that are not quite holding up? Is there a sort of, if you like, an overall fatigue that is causing other injuries, if you sort of mean? Or is there a sort of a sense of not wanting to risk with him where maybe they would risk with other players?

14:39Phil Kitromilides:So that if there is a small injury that other players will play through, because of the significance of him, because of the dependence upon him, Is there a kind of a, I don't know, sort of an ultra caution with him when he gets a bit of a knock? Because, of course, he'll be out for this game. And what they're saying is that he may miss one or both of the Super Cup games as well. I mean, he's played every game, Sid. Yeah. Yeah. So he's not being kept out of too many games. No, but we're all getting this same thing coming up to games. Do you know what this reminds me of? and I was saying this yesterday actually to Iluwaki at home.

15:15Phil Kitromilides:This reminds me of David Beckham, right? Because you get this thing where the knee hurts. Oh, he might miss the next game. Then either he does or he doesn't. I think he's only... Has he started every single game? He played every game. The only game he missed was Man City. Right, well, there you go. And that was off the... Correct me if I'm wrong. Was the Man City game... The league he's played every game. Was the Man City game off the back of Athletic. I'm trying to think which all of those went in. It was like a handful of... It was three good games in a row, wasn't it? Was it Athletic followed by Celta followed by Man City?

15:43Phil Kitromilides:I've got a feeling it was. It was Athletic, then Celta, then Man City. And so the reason this reminds me of Beckham is that thing where, I mean, many of our listeners are far too young to remember this, but when Beckham was at Real Madrid, I felt like I wrote the, oh no, David Beckham might miss England duty story a million times because he kept getting these injuries, which I'll be honest with you, happened so often that we started doubting that they really were injuries. in the week before the England get-together. And there was a bit of me that felt like, is this actually a little bit of kind of, I don't know, sort of feeling, oh, I've got a little bit of a knock and sort of expressing it and sort of, I don't know, almost wanting people to say, oh, we really hope you're all right.

16:23It feels like you might be playing amateur psychologist here, Sid.

16:25Phil Kitromilides:I think I might be. A little bit. Yeah, a little bit of amateur psychologist. I think I might be. Anyway, Mbappé is going to make you feel it. A combination of amateur psychologist and cynic, perhaps? Is that what I'm doing? It might be. It sounds like it. But yeah, obviously he's scored an enormously high percentage of Real Madrid's goals this season. Vinicius hasn't scored in 14 games. Vinicius will score in this game. Yeah, you heard it. There's my prediction. Vinicius scores in this game, has a great performance. And then, of course, we get into that spiral of amazing debate about the role of Vinicius and Mbappé.

16:58It's a shame that Isco isn't going to be available for Betis. He's actually never played against Real Madrid since joining. Betis always seems to be injured. I didn't know that. fixture, they are also missing Abdeh as well, who is aware of the African Cup of Nations and Sofia Namrabat as well. But this is definitely a team that can cause some problems to Real Madrid and particularly this Real Madrid who, yes they ended 2025 with three consecutive victories but there was not a good performance in those three victories, certainly not for my money, and there are still plenty of question marks over the side at the start of the year and heading off to the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia next week.

17:41So, yeah, this is a big game for them.

17:43Phil Kitromilides:I feel like Betis... I mean, obviously, I say this off the top of my head and you may well come up with an example that's better than this. I feel like Betis are one of the teams, possibly the team that's most well-equipped to play Real Madrid the way that Celta did. To want the ball and to keep the ball and to keep the ball away from Real Madrid for reasonably long periods of time, But without that necessarily meaning that they expose themselves by throwing lots of people forward, that they build their way forward rather than throw their way forward, and that they can play you on the counter a little bit.

18:13Phil Kitromilides:They're not as well equipped to do it, I think, as, for example, Villarraue, who then didn't play well at the Bernabeu and got beaten comfortably. In fact, that was possibly Real Madrid's most convincing performance, along with the Clásico of the home games. Although, albeit that was a game where there were one or two moments when Madrid felt comfortable as well. I feel like Betis... I still think Betis won't beat Real Madrid. But I feel like Betis are reasonably well-equipped to approach it in a similar way. Yeah, should be a good one, Sunday afternoon. And then Sunday night, it is a big one, particularly for our transatlantic listeners, because it's Pellegrino Materazzo, the American coach of Real Sociedad, up against Atletico Madrid.

18:56We'll see whether or not Johnny Cardoso is involved for them. But yeah, lots of American interest potentially in this game. Pellegrino Materazzo is an interesting character, Sid. He's not someone that we'd heard too much of, if we're being honest, before his appointment at Real Sociedad. He's an American with an Italian name. He's spent 25 years in Germany. He's got a maths degree from Columbia University. And he is something of an unknown quantity for us here. So we're looking forward to seeing what he can do with this Real Sociedad side. Speaking of turnarounds, as we were, with the Espanyol, comparing them at this stage last season.