Granada hoping for European qualification for next season

When we think of La Liga we tend to dive in and look for Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, and those clubs have warranted why we do that. The big 3 will be dominating for some time one suspects. But this season there have been some surprise packages from Real Sociedad to Villarreal. Another club that has caught the eye is Granada.

Granada are currently in 7th position and have 27 points and they are only 3 points away from a European finish which would be incredibly beneficial for the club. Last season Granada finished seventh and this is quite remarkable because in the previous season they were playing their football in the Segunda Division. A lot has changed for the club in such a short time.

A lot of Granada’s good fortune comes down to current coach Diego Martinez who joined the club in 2018 when they were in Spain’s second tier and he has not only guided the club back to La Liga but also last season they qualified for the Europa League.

Martinez has plenty of good experience too coaching Sevilla’s B teams during the 2010s and helping out as an assistant to Sevilla during their successful spell in the Europa League during the 2010s, and he is only 40 years old.

Martinez has come in with fresh ideas and has been hailed as a possible future great coach, right now he is doing wonders for Granada who when promoted may have been content with finishing in midtable and just surviving but for the second season in a row they remain a force to be reckoned with.

This season Granada have qualified from their Europa League group and next month they will play their 2 legged round of 32 match against Italians Napoli.

Domestically the goals have been shared around and Jorge Molina and veteran Roberto Soldado have scored the most with 3 goals each. The player with the most points in the fantasy rankings is striker Darwin Machis and Molina who have 12 points each. Machis is valued at 5.5m and while he has been struggling with goals scoring just twice so far he has assisted in a further three goals.

Perhaps this season the club could aim a little higher too with more consistency given that they are only 5 points short of a Champions League place and that really would be historic for the club.

Granada are a team who have proven that a good work ethic can have a team expected to be fighting in the middle of the table actually pushing for Europe and deserving to be there too.

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La Liga: Best 11 Players from Week 25

Barcelona took top spot again as Real Madrid lost to Levante in a shock result and for Barca Lionel Messi got back on form scoring 4 goals as Barcelona beat Eibar 5-0. We take a look at the best performing players in La Liga from the weekend.

Formation: 4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Tomas Vaclik- Sevilla 7pts

Tomas Vaclik really stuck out at the weekend as he kept a clean sheet in Sevilla’s 3-0 win over Getafe. This result has helped the club move into the top four. Vaclik earned 7 points and this puts his total to 50 for the season so far.

Defender: Nacho Monreal- Real Sociedad 9pts

Nacho Monreal had a great weekend as he was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet as Sociedad strolled to an 3-0 win over Valencia, the icing on the cake was that Monreal scored the 2nd goal.

Defender: Zaldua- Real Sociedad 7pts

Zaldua helped keep a clean sheet in Sociedad’s 3-0 win but also assisted in the teams first goal which got the ball rolling and for that he was able to earn a very solid 7 points. It is his 5th clean sheet of the season.

Defender: Diego Carlos- Sevilla 5pts

Diego Carlos earned 5 points as Sevilla easily won their game beating 3-0. Carlos has been one of the most important defenders in Spain where he has now kept an impressive 10 clean sheets.

Defender: Clement Lenglet- Barcelona 5pts

Lenglet played an important role to keep a clean sheet as Barcelona beat Eibar 5-0. It was important for the player who has sometimes got criticism in his role, but it was the players 5th clean sheet of the season for the Catalan giants.

Midfielder: Angel Correra- Atletico Madrid 6pts

Angel Correra is ranked as the 3rd best midfielder in La Liga and for good reason and another 6 points were earned as his team beat Villarreal 3-1. He opened the scoring and then assisted in the 2nd goal and now has a total of 43 points.

Midfielder: Fernando- Sevilla 8pts

Fernando has 17 points in total and at times has struggled this season but he had a very positive weekend scoring Sevilla’s 2nd goal and then making the assist for the 3rd.

Midfielder: Arthur- Barcelona 6pts

Arthur scored Barcelona’s 5th goal as they club beat Eibar 5-0 to go top of the table. It was the players 3rd goal of the season and this was such an important win and he capped the games victory off nicely.

Midfielder: Jorge Koke- Atletico Madrid 6pts

Koke had another great game scoring the 2nd and then setting up Felix for the 3rd goal as Atletico beat Villarreal 3-1. Koke now has 31 points and is ranked as one of the best midfielders in La Liga.

Striker: Darwin Machis- Granada 8pts

Granada beat Osasuna 3-0 and Machis scored the 2 opening goals in just over 20 minutes to earn a fantastic 8 points in fantasy La Liga. He now has 5 goals for the season.

Striker: Lionel Messi- Barcelona 18 pts

18!, you read that right 18 points for the master player Lionel Messi was earned at the weekend as he scored an incredible 4 goals past Eibar as Barcelona went top of the league. A hat trick seemed sufficient but the great Messi scored another and he now has aptly 18 goals in the league.

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Serie A Injury Report – Round 11

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Juventus: Mario Mandzukic has practiced fully this week so he has recovered from an ankle sprain. Sami Khedira has resumed training regularly in the last couple of days after a hamstring strain and he could be available in limited capacity on Saturday. Giorgio Chiellini and Federico Bernardeschi are fatigued and have been ruled out by coach Allegri. Emre Can will miss 30-40 days after having his thyroid removed for some nodules.

Inter:  Radja Nainggolan has worked his way back from an ankle sprain and he could play few minutes on Saturday.
Continue reading

Serie A Injury Report – Round 9

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Juventus: Paulo Dybala had a little scare with Argentina, but his knee is fine. Daniele Rugani nursed a rib fracture during the break. The only injured player is Sami Khedira, who is dealing with a hamstring strain. Leonardo Spinazzola is close, but he has not been called up for this weekend.

Napoli: Lorenzo Insigne has picked up a minor injury and will not be available. Kalidou Koulibaly returned early from international duties because of muscle fatigue and he is likely to rest. Faouzi Ghoulam (kneecap fracture), Amin Younes (torn Achilles) and Alex Meret (arm fracture) are inching closer to a return but the could be held out for another week. Sebastiano Luperto is fatigued. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 8

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It will be inevitably a quieter round compared to the previous ginormous one, but Serie A never lacks reasons to tune in.

Udinese-Juventus: the Zebrette have certainly been more interesting this season, but after losing just once in the first five games, they have been defeated two times in a row, against Lazio and Bologna, so their point total is not that conspicuous. The Bianconeri from Piedmont, on the other hand, are coming off a seminal win over the main title contenders, Napoli, and have prevailed in the first nine games of the season. They will eventually come a cropper, but they have had a lot of success in the past in this stadium. Rodrigo De Paul has been leading the charge for the home team, but very little help scoring-wise from his teammates: Kevin Lasagna notched just one, Lukasz Teodorczyk and Darwin Machis are still scoreless, Ignacio Pussetto found his first last week. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 3

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The next round presents a couple of interesting matches.

Milan-Roma: the Rossoneri looked decent in their debut in Naples, but lasted only about an hour, up until their second goal, then showed the defensive deficiencies that held them back last season. While they work on how to feed Gonzalo Higuain properly, the usual fantasy studs shined as Giacomo Bonaventura scored and Suso provided an assist. The return of Hakan Calhanoglu will give them a boost. The Wolf is even more a work in progress after the departure of Kevin Strootman and brand-new hierarchies in the midfield and in the attack. Continue reading

Serie A Fantasy Predictions – Round 2

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After some flashes in the first match day, the second one is more intriguing on paper.

Juventus-Lazio: the Old Lady had to toil to defeat Chievo, but the attack confirmed to be deep and hard to contain, even though few players had an off game, while the defence needs some fine-tuning. Cristiano Ronaldo was electric, but teammates had troubles finding him and Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa suffered from the fact that the spaces were all clogged up. Among the forwards, Federico Bernardeschi certainly looked the most in-form. Perhaps things will be a little more open against better competition. The Portuguese was devastating on the wing, which is good news for Mario Mandzukic, his ideal partner in crime, and for Alex Sandro as well because he had much more room to operate. Continue reading

Serie A Weekly News Recap

Alisson Becker

It was a quieter week on the transfer market front, but a ginormous deal still went down as Roma sold Alisson to Liverpool. Milan will participate to Europa League as they won the appeal in front of the CAS. Parma and Chievo are still awaiting judgement on the trials that have put their Serie A stay in danger.

SPAL made a considerable investment to bring in Andrea Petagna from Atalanta, who would cost €15M if they avoided relegation, therefore triggering the obligation to buy. They had signed a similar striker in Marco Borriello last year, but that did not pay off. Continue reading