This weekend promises to be one of the very best in El Infierno. There are several games on the slate with major consequences for teams in place for promotion, attempting to get to the promotion zone and of course teams hoping to avoid relegation. Let's talk about some of them.
Rayo Vallecano - Tenerife
Rayo officials have already declared that the game is sold out. With Rayo sitting in 4th spot, just a point behind 3rd place Hercules, they'll need their best effort against (surprise!) new leader Tenerife. The environment at Estadio Teresa Rivero will be electric. Rayo is handing out 15.000 red and white flags to fans attending the game, plus another 2,000 trumpets will be given to fans throughout the stadium. This game to be played on Saturday could either vault Tenerife into a very commanding position to earn promotion, or tighten up a race that seems destined to end on the final day of the season. Rayo is so tough at home and the Vallecas stadium will be rocking. I'd mark down a good ol' '1' on the Quiniela.
Murcia-Xerez
Well, well, well.... Xerez has finally fallen from the 1st place spot in El Infierno and have thus created panic and anxiety among their fan base. Xerez travels to a very much improved Murcia side and will have their hands full. Murcia coach Jose Miguel Campos is still foaming at the mouth after his side unjustly lost the three points against bottom feeder Sevilla Atletico after the referee gave the 'colista' not one or two, but three penalties, of which all three were converted to end the game in a 3-3 tie. Campos has all but saved Murcia's season, making him one of the hottest young coaches in Spain.
Meanwhile, Xerez is playing the, "we're not worried, we're focused, we'll be ok" card after they dropped a 2-1 result last weekend at home against Zaragoza. However a press conference yesterday by defenseman Juan Redondo was a little more revealing when he said, "if we don't get promoted this year, I'm not quite sure what will happen.." Sounds a little foreboding, no? And to top that off, now the Xerez fans are clamoring for Jozy Altidore to get a shot. All he did was score four goals in two games in CONCACAF qualifying for the US. As one Xerez fan said online, "Well, I think we should use him and take advantage of him before Villarreal takes him back." Now there's a novel idea. Ya veremos. I'm picking the sorpresa and another '1' in my Quiniela. Murcia gets it done and the Xerez crisis continues.
Elche-Alaves
Keep an eye out for this game as Alaves is looking to climb out of the relegation zone. Both Las Palmas and Cordoba are two points ahead of the Basque side and both are at home this weekend where they are tough to beat. Alaves will need a really strong road effort to have a chance to beat mid-table Elche. If both Las Palmas and Cordoba were to win their and Alaves loses, that's a massive gap of five points between safety and relegation. Considering Deportivo Alaves was the toast of Europe when they dramatically lost to Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cup final on an own goal in extra time. Obscure to most in Europe, their play earned praise from all over the continent. Now, they are on the brink of relegation to the Segunda B, and who knows if we'd ever hear from then again.
Resultados - Jornada 30
Celta - Albacete 0-0
Tenerife - Cordoba 2-0
Alavés - Hercules 1-3
Eibar - Rayo 0-1
Huesca - Salamanca 0-0
Castellón - Real Sociedad 0-3
Gimnástic - Levante 2-0
Xerez - Zaragoza 1-2
Girona - Las Palmas 2-2
Alicante - Elche 0-3
Sevilla At - Murcia 3-3
Clasificacion:
1. Tenerife - 55
2. Xerez - 54
3. Hércules - 53
4. Rayo - 52
5. Zaragoza - 51
6. R. Sociedad - 48
7. Salamanca - 45
8. Castellón - 44
9. Huesca - 44
10. Levante - 43
11. Gimnástic - 41
12. Elche - 39
13. Girona - 39
14. Murcia - 39
15. Albacete - 37
16. Celta - 36
17. Las Palmas - 33
18. Córdoba - 33
19. Alavés - 31
20. Eibar - 28
21. Alicante - 24
22. Sevilla At - 12
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