Matchday 25 Preview

9:27Phil Kitromilides:Yeah, no, I absolutely would go for a home win in this one, to be honest. And you're right, Betis are making this quite interesting now. They're making it look like there is half a chance that there's a proper fight for the two Champions League places that aren't Madrid and Barcelona. Villarreal currently have a three-point advantage over Atletico Madrid. Atletico have a four-point advantage over Betis. But given Atletico's focus, certainly for the next three weeks, is going to be other competitions, given how poor they are away from home, and given that momentum that Betis feels like they're starting to build, I think we could have a very interesting fight for that.

9:59Phil Kitromilides:And it will matter because it looks very likely that fifth place won't be a Champions League position this season. And so therefore, in fact, I don't know if that might already be guaranteed. I think it's not quite guaranteed yet. So I think this is very significant. And Betis, yeah, I think they are favourites. Phil, you played football this morning, didn't you? I did. This is an amazing segue, but trust me, it's how badly did your shirt stink at the end of it? After you've been running around sweating? Didn't smell great. Didn't smell great. You know, Betis are playing in their special shirt this weekend.

10:30Phil Kitromilides:Have you seen this? I love this. So, Betis have bought out a shirt for this game, their sustainability game. You know, they do a kind of a sustainability game once a year. Yeah. You've just sniffed yourself, haven't you? Just to check. Right? Their shirt is made of oranges, of Seville oranges. And I didn't know this, but this is glorious. If you scratch it, it smells of the orange blossom that Seville smells of in the spring. You've got a scratch and sniff football shirt. It's amazing.

10:59Sid Lowe:Not of rancid body odour.

11:01Phil Kitromilides:Exactly. It's just tremendous, isn't it?

11:04Sid Lowe:It is. It is. I don't know where to go from that, but there we go. An orange smelling shirt for Betis. And obviously a lot made of Anthony down the right wing, but Ez Abde is back and flying down the left wing as well.

11:18Phil Kitromilides:He's a player that you've always felt that there's a lot of talent there. if he could, to be honest, if he understood the patterns of the game better, if his decision-making was better, if he was kind of sharper in that sense, he'd be a really, really good player. Because the basic technical quality and the speed of this game is very, very high indeed.

11:36Sid Lowe:It certainly is. All right, so that's Betis against Raya. We're going for another home win there, Sydney. Three home wins in a row. I think we might be about to change that.

11:44Phil Kitromilides:No, no.

11:45Sid Lowe:At El Sadar, it's also sooner against Real Madrid. Now, this traditionally, traditionally, in theory, is a difficult away game for Real Madrid. Going to El Sardar, it's one of the most hostile places, particularly for Real Madrid. When I say this is the biggest game of the season for Osasuna, possibly along with Athletic Club, that's a local rivalry, Derby, great atmosphere there. They absolutely hate Real Madrid. It will be very, very hostile, packed. And yet, I was looking at the record. Oh, it's very good for Real Madrid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Osasuna haven't beaten Real Madrid since 2011. That's a long time.

12:21Sid Lowe:I thought they'd been, you know, a sort of cheeky little home win there at El Sardar over the last year. They hasn't. And actually, Real Madrid have dealt with it pretty well. That said, last season, Jude Bellingham got himself sent off in the first half and Real Madrid dropped points there. It finished 1-1. But actually, this is a game that Real Madrid have been able to deal with and handle and manage pretty well over the last few years.

12:43Phil Kitromilides:Yeah, that one last year, of course, was the famous game where we ended up having the big debate about the difference between F-Off and F-U. so much so that a TV set, a TV set in Spain was emblazoned with the words F off and not F off. It was written out in full and F you. Yes. Passive letters. And the radio station decided to find out whether or not it was offensive to say F off by literally phoning a random number in London at one o 'clock in the morning, having the guy pick up the phone and go hello and go F off on the phone. The guy hung up. I'd like to point that out. The guy hung up and sounded a bit...

13:20Phil Kitromilides:There was a kind of a pause of bewilderment and then he hung up. I would have liked him to have told them where to go or somehow to have worked out that they were Spaniards and, you know, crapped on the milk of their mother.

13:31Sid Lowe:Come back to the game, Sid. Let's go. Ossesuna Real Madrid.

13:35Phil Kitromilides:Sorry, I'm in a slightly silly mood today. You might have noticed. Ossesuna Real Madrid. Ossesuna are actually very, very good lately. Five games unbeaten. Five games unbeaten. Three wins, two draws. Yeah, they with Real Madrid are the team that have the best record in the second half of the season. And as we've said lots of times, the second half of the season does mean something because you play everyone in one half and then you start again. It's not a mirror image as it used to be, but you do. Those results, obviously, a 3-2 against Oviedo. I must confess, and I say this obviously as an Oviedo fan, I thought they were perhaps a tiny bit fortunate in that.

14:08Phil Kitromilides:They beat Rai Vaikana and also scored three. They beat Celta 2-1. Even their two draws have been reasonably good ones. away at Elche. They didn't play well. Elche with a better side, drew 0-0. But then they got a draw with a 2-2 draw with Villarreal at home and actually probably felt they were a little bit unlucky in the end not to win that. But I think they look good. I think there's a clarity about what they want to do. Earlier in the season, we looked at them and thought they might be one of those teams that would get dragged into the regulation zone. In fact, when they had that 3-2 win against Soviedo, and then the week after against Rayo Vallecano, when we were talking about what have they got against our clubs, at that point I think both of us as potential candidates for relegation Oviedo and Rayo looked at Ossun and thought that's a pity because they're a team that could be dragged into it now it doesn't look like that at all and they are the sort of if you like the highest of the teams in that run of teams that could be relegated and could get in European football and I think actually now I'm thinking they're not going to get relegated it's just not going to happen they've got a six-point lead over the relegation zone and you say playing very well A couple of people to look out for, I suppose, if you want that.

15:14Phil Kitromilides:We inevitably will talk a little bit this year about Victor Munoz because, of course, he came from Real Madrid. But he's really exciting. He's very dynamic. He goes at people. His acceleration is hugely impressive. And then he's made quite a difference to them. Albeit, I still sort of feel like there's still a team based on crossing and he's not really a crosser of the ball.

15:34Sid Lowe:No.

15:36Phil Kitromilides:He's very fast. Very, very fast, yeah. Yeah, very, very fast indeed. He's fun to watch because there is something sort of a little bit like I always say with Ty Dolan. His legs seem to be moving really quickly. Everything happens quickly.

15:50Sid Lowe:Do we think Real Madrid are going to rest players given that they've got this game against Benfica coming up?

15:55Phil Kitromilides:Do you know what? I was wondering about that this morning. I was putting together what I thought the Real Madrid team would be. I think they'll rest one of the central defenders, whether Hausson or Rudiger. And I think Raul Asentia will play.

16:06Sid Lowe:Yes.

16:06Phil Kitromilides:And do you know what? Apart from that, I'm not sure they will rest anyone. What about Mbappe? Yeah, I did wonder about Mbappe because, of course, they're dealing with this knee issue. But I think their mindset might have shifted a little bit because they're now top. There's an awareness now, actually, this league title race genuinely is on. Rather than a few weeks ago, even when they were close to Barcelona, they were playing so differently in terms of the level to Barcelona. You kind of thought, yeah, but it's a bit false, isn't it? At some point, Barcelona will pull away from them. And we're now not so sure that's the case, are we?

16:37Phil Kitromilides:I mean, I think you said a couple of weeks ago, didn't you, that Barcelona will win the league. Yeah. I was thinking, I'm just not sure that's true now. Or at least Madrid are in a mindset where they can genuinely believe they're going for this. So I think that possibly reduces the urge to rotate. I think they might be tempted to protect Kylian Mbappe. They might be. But my guess is there won't be more than a couple of changes in this side.

16:59Sid Lowe:Okay. Interesting. Interesting. Let's see.

17:02Phil Kitromilides:You're going for? I'm going for an away win Okay

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18:37Sid Lowe:Okay, final game of Saturday is at the Metropolitano. God only knows what's going to happen with Atletico Madrid and Espanyol. Atletico Madrid have been wildly unpredictable in the last few weeks. And they drew midweek 3-3 with Club Bruges having been 2-0 up.

18:56Phil Kitromilides:And they weren't very good, by the way. They were 2-0 up without actually being very good. but it's not like they were dominating this and let it slip. They were winning it and let it slip, but they weren't playing particularly well.

19:04Sid Lowe:They lost 3-0 to Rai Vallecano before that. They beat Barcelona 4-0 the game before that. They lost 1-0 to Real Betis the game before that. They won 5-0 against Real Betis the game before that. They drew 0-0 with Levante the game before that. What's going on?

19:21Phil Kitromilides:Well, I mean, I suppose if you strip away the other competitions and look at it as La Liga, it's three without a win now.

19:27Sid Lowe:Yeah.

19:27Phil Kitromilides:You know, and it's pretty shocking that, to be honest. And it's four of the last six that they haven't won. I mean, I can't see anything other than a home win here. But I just don't...

19:38Sid Lowe:At home, they are strong. Yeah.

19:40Phil Kitromilides:Except, of course, that, you know, that they then got beaten by Betis at home. But that was partly A, Betis for a good side. B, Betis played on a counter-attack. C, it was off the back of having beaten Betis in the cup. And it was before facing Barcelona in the cup. Now, this is obviously, again, this is before the next leg of the game in the Champions League. And I do think that Atletico Madrid's focus over the next two and a half weeks is going to be the other two competitions. But Espanyol haven't won in 2026. It is at home. I think there will be huge rotations in the Atletico team. I think there'll be a lot of rotations, but I think their squad is strong enough.

20:17Phil Kitromilides:I'm going for a home win. I'm going for a home win.

20:19Sid Lowe:OK, they had big rotations last week and they got spanked 3-0. Yeah, I know. I know.

20:25Phil Kitromilides:And this is why there's a bit of me that thinks it wouldn't be an enormous surprise if they lost it. But I mean, in a way, it's not a problem, this, but it sort of is, isn't it? Because it's almost worse in a way to lose games when you're winning other games, because it kind of looks like you've chosen to lose, which is the way Old Black put it last week. And that's not a good look. Yeah, it's not a good look.

20:47Sid Lowe:OK, that's on Saturday night and you're just about going for a home win. Yeah, just about. Getafe against Sevilla is the early game on Sunday. Should be a beautiful day in Madrid. Temperatures are around 19, 20 degrees Celsius. Glorious sunshine.

21:02Phil Kitromilides:So I will be sitting in the Coliseum in the sun. Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Well, I mean, it might not be in the sun because... You know, Getafe ball. Yeah, and Getafe against Sevilla probably won't be pretty. Obviously, Sevilla without their coach. Almeida has been given, I think, a six-game ban. Seven. Seven, sorry. He misses this. He misses the derby. He misses Barcelona. He misses Rio. It's just half the games that they have left. Yeah. Yeah, he misses Oviedo as well. I mean, that's a massive one. Honestly, you've got no chance without your manager against Oviedo. Atletico Madrid as well.

21:34Phil Kitromilides:I can't remember who else. I did have a list somewhere, but I can't remember the entire list now. I think I've probably got all of them there. They are a bit of a mess, Sevilla. And they are under a huge amount of pressure. And they are a team that I don't think are that good at taking in the game to the other team.

21:52Sid Lowe:No.

21:54Phil Kitromilides:and Getafe will probably encourage them to do that home win baby I think so yeah I think so and it would imagine that if it is a home win it would be three in a row for Getafe who I think had gone nine without winning before that and really genuinely did look in trouble and what an impact that winter window has had with a lot of players who in truth we didn't know very much about certainly and they've come in and had a they've come in they've all played they've all started from the very beginning They've had a big impact, the two forwards in particular.

22:26Sid Lowe:Yeah. Okay, so we're going for a home win there. We are. I mean, we are absolutely going for a home win in the next game, Barcelona against Levante.

22:36Phil Kitromilides:Let me tell you something about Levante. Not that it matters enormously, but I'm just going to tell you something about it. I did their midweek game, which was the catch-up game. The catch-up game, which left Villarreal with a seven-point cushion in the Champions League place and left Levante seven points away from safety. And I thought, was the game that said, okay, it's done. A bit like I'd said that Oviedo, I think, had done now. I think Levante looked at this and said, OK, it's done. The thing that really struck me about this was that they'd only left four players in the side that had played the derby.

23:02Phil Kitromilides:And they took out all the forwards who you've heard of and all the forwards who you think are quite good and all the forwards who have played almost every game. So Ivan Romero, and I've got the stats here, which is why I'm telling you, just because I thought it was very interesting. Ivan Romero had started 19 games. Etta Young had started 15 games. Carlos Alves had started 20 games. They were replaced by a guy who had started one, another guy who had started one, and a guy who had started five. Victor Garcia, Carlos Espi, and Paco Cortes, who's a kid from the youth system who was out on loan at Couture Aleonesa, where he wasn't playing.

23:31Phil Kitromilides:So they brought him back, thinking, oh, well, he won't play here either, but he might at least be training with us. But he played, and he was quite good. But it felt to me like the starting XI of a coach who sort of said, nah.

23:43Sid Lowe:You know the weirdest thing about this, about that starting XI? The weirdest thing is that Eta Ejong was on the bench, came off the bench, played. And because he played, they have to pay€100 ,000. Yeah, I didn't understand that. He was in his contract when he moved from Villarreal. If you're going to pay€100 ,000, give him 90 minutes.

24:04Phil Kitromilides:You're going to pay€100 ,000 for an impact, sir. He came on on 65 minutes. That's a very expensive shift. He didn't do anything. No, he didn't. And actually, in truth, he hasn't done anything for a long time. He hasn't scored since I'm over. But yes, exactly. When he wasn't in the starting XI, I thought, OK, what seems like a weird starting XI to me is, at least in his case, explained by not wanting to pay this€100 ,000. But then they brought him on. And as I say, I felt, I mean, I am absolutely reading between the lines here. I'm absolutely not basing this on information, but just kind of feeling that this felt like a manager saying, You've all let me down.

24:40Phil Kitromilides:Sod you. These guys can play. And I think it's gone now. And I think they get beat.

24:48Sid Lowe:They've lost every game they've ever played in the camp now. I didn't know that.

24:52Phil Kitromilides:That's a good stat. I didn't know that.

24:53Sid Lowe:16 defeats out of 16. If there is one game that Barcelona would want to get back on track after those back-to-back defeats, it is Levante at home. I'm not saying it's a guaranteed win, but it is a guaranteed win.

25:09Phil Kitromilides:In fact, it's one of those that's so guaranteed that you think if Barcelona win 2-0, it kind of won't feel like it's enough. There'll almost be a feeling that unless you stick six past this lot, it sort of doesn't count.

25:21Sid Lowe:Remember Barcelona, who lost on Monday night to Girona, Hansi Flick gave the side two days off, actually. He said, go away, just reset a little bit, and then we need to come back and refocus. And they were poor.

25:33Phil Kitromilides:They were really poor. I mean, I know a lot of the focus was on the goal that was disallowed. or sorry, the goal that wasn't disallowed when there's a foul and the build up to it. But, you know, the broader analysis has to be that Barcelona play really, really poorly. And do you know what? Shall I do the thing? Shall I say the thing? Shall I use the words? High line. You know, I was watching this game and I thought, you know what? I try really hard not to just talk about that. And I've constantly caveated it and talked about it being not as simple as just the line. But sometimes you watch me and think, you make it really difficult for me to not just go, Well, there's the line, obviously.

26:09You know?

26:10Sid Lowe:I mean, that shouldn't be too much of a problem against Levante, but we'll see.

26:14Phil Kitromilides:It shouldn't be, to be honest. It shouldn't be, yeah.

26:17Sid Lowe:We'll see who's fit as well. There were some issues around Marcus Rashford and Eric Garcia. We'll see whether or not they're both available for this game. Barcelona, of course, who don't have midweek Champions League. Distractions, so they can fully focus on playing the strongest team possible. Joel Pedri is nearing being able to train with everyone.

26:39Phil Kitromilides:Yeah, he trained this week, I think, half of the session yesterday.

26:42Sid Lowe:Half of the session. So we'll see. He has obviously been a big, big loss for Barcelona. But obviously we're going for a home win here. Celta against Mallorca. I'm commentating this game as well. Are you? Okay.

26:56Phil Kitromilides:I think this might be the game. Why what I said earlier isn't true. When I said that this is a weekend in which Elche could be the 10th team to slip into the relegation zone. I don't think they will be because I don't think Mallorca will win because Mallorca go away to Celta. However, I've just used the word however, which is actually, I must admit, a word I really dislike. Anyway, never mind. I've done it now. However, Celta's form is not actually that great. They haven't won any of the last four. They played in European competition yesterday and won in Tumba, against Tumba, in Tumba. I don't know whether Tumba is a place or the name of a team.

27:32Phil Kitromilides:I genuinely don't.

27:32Sid Lowe:Toma is the name of the stadium where Pauk Salonica plays.

27:35Phil Kitromilides:Right. Okay. Sorry. Yes. I just was looking at it. I don't know why. Yeah, I am embarrassed for myself as well. But you know why? I allowed myself to... This morning I was looking at it and thinking, oh, there's so many good headlines. You know, el Celta tumba al Pauk, el Celta, you know, Barry tumba al rival and blah, blah. But Barry Aspers had a great game. I don't think he'll play in this. Yeah. I don't think he'll play in this one. I think it will be a home win.

28:02Sid Lowe:Okay. Looking for a home win. Celta against... Actually, no, I'm not.

28:05Phil Kitromilides:I've changed my mind.

28:07Sid Lowe:I'm going for a draw. You're going for a draw, aren't you? Yeah. Sitting on the fence, going for a little draw. That is absolutely fine. And then, dun-dun-dun, Villarreal against Valencia, which is a game which, I mean, it would have been bigger for Valencia had they not won their cross-city derby against Levante last weekend. But they did. Villarreal obviously played in midweek. They won 1-0. The game that you did against Levante, not amazing, but still puts them clear in third. They're at home against this Valencia side who are trying to edge away from the relegation zone. But this is a home win, Sid?

28:41Sid Lowe:I think it probably is, yeah.

28:43Phil Kitromilides:I mean, Valencia have won three of the last five, is it? Or of the last six or the last five, I think. And they deserve to beat Levante, but as I said, I don't think Levante are that great. I think they were probably a little bit fortunate to beat Espanyol. In fact, very fortunate, given the nature of the penalty in the 94th minute and all the rest of it. I don't think Valencia are great, but I do think they've got enough to survive, but I don't think they'll win this one. So that was lots of this, but that, and the this, but that, concluded with Villar winning at home.

29:13Sid Lowe:We've gone for loads of home wins this weekend, but that's fine. It's the logical scenario. And then on Monday night, Alaves against Girona. Girona side were playing well. It wasn't just that victory against Barcelona last weekend or on Monday night. They've been playing well before that. They've really turned the corner. They've got some good players who have turned things around in terms of their individual performances. And they look like a good unit now.

29:44Phil Kitromilides:They sort of do. Although it is true that a couple of weeks ago they lost to Oviedo and didn't do a huge amount.

29:49Sid Lowe:That's just the one little drop. If you look at it, that was just the one result since the turn of the year where they had an off day. but apart from that they've played really well.

29:58Phil Kitromilides:Yeah, yeah. I mean there's a couple of draws isn't there in the last three weeks as well with I think with Getafe and with Sevilla but I do think they've played well.

30:05Sid Lowe:That's a Sevilla game they should have won. They absolutely battered Sevilla. Game against Getafe. Well, it's Getafe.

30:15Phil Kitromilides:Getafe are an amazing outlier of a team, aren't they? They're the team that ruin everything when you're trying to think about what sort of makes sense because every now and again in fact quite often as is shown by Getafe's place on the table they're actually not very good however much we say they're difficult sometimes they're really easy you know they get it wrong you score early and then they but actually recently they've improved anyway yeah I do think Girona are the better side but away at Mendy

30:43Phil Kitromilides:I'm going for a I'm going I'm going for a draw

30:50Sid Lowe:you're going for a draw okay there we go Sid's predictions Not mine. Disclaimer. Kittumelidis does not endorse this product. Not entirely. Not entirely. But that's okay. So those are predictions.

31:07Phil Kitromilides:An orange smelling shirt, wouldn't you? I'm just so completely bowled over by this. There's a bit of a thing. There's no way this can actually work. But I like the idea of scratching it a bit and going, wow. Smells of Seville.

31:19Sid Lowe:Yeah, I would find that unnerving. I'm comforted by the... sort of rank sweaty smell. I'll tell you what,

31:27Phil Kitromilides:if you had to wash a teenage boy's Real Oviedo shirt, you wouldn't be comforted by the smell at all.

31:35Sid Lowe:No, no, fair enough. Get him an orange smelling better shirt. I might have to get him, yeah, exactly. A pivot to that. All right, we'll leave it there. That's Match Day 25. That's coming up this weekend. Enjoy the football. Whatever games that you watch this weekend, we'll be back on Monday to discuss everything that happens across La Liga EA Sports. Remember, if you want extra content, we're over at patreon.com forward slash TSFP. We do a newsletter every week for every patron. There's a Q &A podcast for every patron, a bonus podcast for every patron, and then other beautiful delights for different tiers of membership.

32:09Sid Lowe:So come and join us. It starts from€4.75 a month, not a week, a month. So it's just over€1 a week for loads of extra content. See you then, amigos. Adios. Cheerio.

32:34We'll see you next time.

32:57Sid Lowe:We'll see you next time.

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