The seventh round of matches in Spain moves into matchday eight without a day’s rest for La Liga and with the Madrid derby as the main course. Here are some things to look out for in Spain this weekend.

1. 48 hours to make a difference for Real Madrid?

Real Madrid may have lost Kylian Mbappe for Sunday’s short trip to Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium, but they have reasons to be optimistic about the Madrid derby: the first reason to be cheerful is Eduardo Camavinga’s return from injury and the second is that they should be much fresher and better prepared than their rivals.

Real Madrid played at home to Alaves on Tuesday night, while Atletico’s midweek match was away to Celta Vigo on Thursday night. That means while Real Madrid players were tucked up in bed shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Atletico players didn’t get home until the early hours of Friday, leaving coach Diego Simeone with just one session to prepare for Sunday’s match.

While it’s sometimes impossible to give teams the same recover
y time, the fact Real Madrid have two more days to prepare for such an important game gives them a big advantage and it’s no surprise that Atletico are not impressed by the timing.

2. Can Barcelona make it eight wins from eight?

Barcelona kept on their winning run and Robert Lewandowski maintained his impressive scoring record in Wednesday’s 1-0 win at home to Getafe, but it was noticeable that although the Pole’s seventh goal of the campaign gave them another three points, Barca’s energy levels look to be sagging.

Coach Hansi Flick rested Pedri and Ferran Torres on Wednesday, but the lack of options mean that Inigo Martinez, Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal all started once again and they are all likely to start away to Osasuna on Saturday night.

Getafe made Barca work hard for their win and Flick’s men clearly lacked their recent spark, which will make Osasuna optimistic that if they can keep things tight, they have the chance of ending Barca’s run.

3.
Something has to give in San Sebastian

Real Sociedad took a 1-1 draw in Nice in their UEFA Europa League debut on Thursday, but it can’t disguise a disappointing start to the season for a side used to top-six finishes in recent years.

The side from San Sebastian have been badly hit by injuries and the sales of Robin Le Normand and Mikel Merino, but it’s still a surprise to see them with just one win and three goals after seven matches.

‘La Real’ have lost all three home games this season, which will give hope to Valencia, who are one place below them in the standings as a long-term lack of investment continues to hurt the club.

A win for either side would ease the pressure, but one of the two sides is going to come out of Saturday’s game deep in crisis.

4. Schedule causing too many injuries

Mbappe misses the Madrid derby due to a muscle problem he picked up on Tuesday night, while Sevilla will be without Saul for a couple of months after he suffered a serious muscle injury in their game at home to Valla
dolid.

Meanwhile, Oihan Sancet, who is so important for Athletic Bilbao, is also out for Sunday’s game at home to Sevilla after a muscle problem saw him miss Athletic’s Europa League debut on Thursday.

The season in Spain is not yet two months old, but it has already seen two sets of midweek fixtures.

This comes at a moment when players are working to full fitness and a look down the clubs’ injury lists seems to show that such intensity so early in the season is leading to players getting injured.

Source: The Namibia News Agency