|
|
|
BETTING ANALYSIS |
|
Spanish La Liga
Sat Mar 5
|
|
|
VALENCIA
|
|
v
|
REAL MADRID
|
|
THIS WEEKS OTHER PREVIEWS : |
|
|
|
AVAILABLE FREE BETS: VALENCIA V REAL MADRID |
| MATCH
ANALYSIS |
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas believes that a
win against the defending champions in the Mestalla
is vital if the Primera Liga title is not to elude
his gloved grasp for the second year running.
Injury-hit Madrid kick off against fifth-placed
Valencia, just as league leaders Barcelona finish
their game against Osasuna in Pamplona.
The Meringues could find themselves in the position
of narrowing the gap at the top to just three
points, something that looked unlikely when they
slumped 2-0 to Deportivo La Coruna last weekend.
Nevertheless, a 3-1 victory against Real Betis,
coupled with Barcelona's failure to break down a
massed Espanyol defence at the Nou Camp in midweek,
has once again seen the gap at the top of the table
dwindle.
Casillas said: ``This is going to be important
because we are playing Valencia, who are a great
team, while Barcelona travel to Pamplona and things
could happen there. If we can win in Valencia and
Barca don't win in Pamplona then things are going to
close up a bit. We have to stand up and be counted
away from home; three of our next four away games
are away from home and if we win our morale will
grow.''
Casillas looks almost certain to play despite having
to leave the pitch 10 minutes into the second half
against Betis with a groin strain.
At the time it appeared as if his deputy, Cesar
Sanchez, was going to get a rare opportunity to
shine, but Casillas, who had a similar problem
during the 2002 World Cup, was always confident that
he would recover in time.
However, although Casillas is likely to recover,
Madrid coach Wanderley Luxemburgo has serious injury
worries for the Valencia game.
Michel Salgado is still out with a twisted knee,
while Raul has failed to recover from flu and
Zinedine Zidane's knee problems means he is being
rested ahead of Wednesday's trip to Turin to face
Juventus in the Champions League.
That should have left the door open for Michael Owen
to continue his run in the starting line-up but a
stomach bug has forced the England striker out,
meaning Javier Portillo will now partner Ronaldo in
attack.
Ronaldo is under pressure and was booed by a section
of the Madrid fans against Betis but Luxemburgo
knows that leaving him on the bench is not the way
to get Ronaldo's confidence back.
Whoever does start will find themselves up against
Valencia's key man at the back, Roberto Ayala, who
is back to full fitness following a season blighted
by injury.
The Argentina stopper's return to fitness has
corresponded with Antonio Lopez replacing Claudio
Ranieri in the Valencia dugout and the change has
needed little time to take effect.
Valencia, with most of Ranieri's Italian signings on
the bench, showed a new attitude as they fought back
to beat Betis 2-1 last Sunday and, but for Xisco's
effort being disallowed in the last minute of their
game against Sevilla, they would have followed that
up with a 3-2 win in the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Ayala said: ``The results are arriving, which is
what we have been looking for, I don't know if we
were lacking motivation, but we had lost strength
and unity on the pitch.''
Valencia were beaten 1-0 in the Bernabeu earlier
this season as Ranieri put out an ultra-defensive
side but they are expected to take the game to a
weakened Madrid as they look to get back into the
top four, and i thin they can get something today.
The look a fresh side again and at odds of 7/5 I
fancy them to beat an under strength Madrid today.
Get On!
CLAIM
YOUR FREE £20 BET WITH BETFAIR HERE! |
|
Quick! Claim a free bet with Betfair who
are offering all new customers upto
£20/or equivalent currency free! Sign
up and Enter 'Football' in the 'Refer
a friend code / promotion reference' then
take a bet on anything you want!
|
LATEST ODDS ON VALENCIA V REAL MADRID |
SIGN
UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER! |
Want
to stay upto date of all the latest free offers,
cash back and free bets promotions? Sign up
to our new newsletter, developed by our sister
site www.freebetshere.com! |
|
|
WE'RE
LOOKING FOR YOU! |
| Fancy writing some analysis for Bonus-Bet.com?
If you think you know your football and can can
write a short paragraph of betting advice, be
it English, Spanish, Italian or German football
leagues, get in touch with us
HERE! -Get YOUR face on the website!
|
|
|
| MATCH
OUTCOME |
Real Madrid striker Ronaldo fired a warning to Champion
League rivals Juventus that he is still a force to be
reckoned with but could not prevent his side dropping eight
points behind Primera Liga leaders Barcelona.
Ronaldo showed why he is such an important player as he
latched onto a Guti pass after 27 minutes and skipped around
Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares before side-footing home
Madrid's equaliser.
Pablo Aimar had earlier given Valencia the lead.
Ronaldo had a quiet second half but nearly won the game for
Madrid in injury time, forcing a brilliant one-on-one save
from Canizares.
He also set up team-mate Albert Celades, who should have
done better than blaze over the bar from eight yards out.
Defeat would have been harsh on Valencia. New coach Antonio
Lopez has had only eight days in charge of the club since
the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, but in that short time he
has forged a new mentality.
Valencia now resemble the team Rafael Benitez led to last
year's league title far more than the outfit that Ranieri
dismantled in seven short months in his second stint in the
post.
Against a Madrid team who are deeply unpopular in the
Mestalla, they took the game by the scruff of the neck and
were rewarded when Aimar gave them the lead after 13 minutes
after exchanging passes with Miguel Angel Mista.
Madrid tried to react, but both Roberto Carlos and David
Beckham wasted set-pieces.
However, Ronaldo, under pressure after failing to score for
48 days, levelled matters after 27 minutes.
That was the end of the scoring but it was not the end of
the drama.
Valencia started the second half like a team on a mission,
while Madrid were on the back foot albeit without losing
their shape for a moment.
In the 48th minute, Francisco Rufete fired wide, while two
minutes later a run by defender Mohamed Sissoko carried him
into the Madrid area, before he was blocked by the
impressive Walter Samuel.
It was all Valencia with Aimar again shooting wide and
Roberto Ayala sending a left-foot effort wide of the post
when he should have scored.
David Beckham picked up his fifth league booking of the
season on 62 minutes and will miss next weekend's trip to
Getafe, but Madrid continued to work hard in search of the
two extra points.
They were nearly rewarded in injury time when Ronaldo once
again sprang to life, but Canizares stood firm and Valencia
would have won the game deep into injury time had Aimar's
looping header dropped into the net rather than hit the
Madrid crossbar.
As it is, Valencia's ambitions to return to the Champions
League are still intact, but Madrid once again drop to eight
points behind Barcelona and time is running out for them to
mount a challenge for the title.
|
|
| BETFAIR |
|
Want a free £20 bet with Betfair? Its
EASY!
Enter ''Football' in the 'Refer
a friend code / promotion reference' box
Bet £20FREE
£20 BET!
Claim
your FREE £20 Here! |
| CORAL |
|
The UK betting giant, Coral , bring their
wealth of experience to the net. They will offer new customers
a free £10 bet of your choice!
Claim
your FREE £10 Here! |
|
SPORTINGODDS |
|
SportingOdds an extremely popular internet bookmaker will
offer all new customers a free £20 Bet! Get
on this one!!
|
|
STANLEYBET |
|
Stanleybet, the huge UK bookmaker are offering
all new customers a whopping £25 Free Bett!
Great new offer!
|
|
SPORTINGBET |
|
SPORTINGBET, the Asian Handicap specialists,
will offer all new customers a free £50 for signing
up! Why not have a free bet?
Claim
your FREE £50 Here!! |
|
|
|
|
|
