El Compadre de la Semana

Another weekend, another packed fixture list for our boys in Europe. Lets dive in

(Game Times are Central Time Zone)

9/20/14

9:00am Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna- Ancelotti already said Chicharito will come off the bench in this one as well. Maybe he will get a better chance to play if he can show Ancelotti he can play other positions..

Jorge Campos part II ?

1:00pm Atletico Madrid v Celta Vigo– Jimenez is starting and will continue to see minutes as Mandzukic will be out for a couple of weeks w/an injury. Raul will get a chance to solidify his standing with Cholo as he will likely be starting while Mandzukic is hurt. The next few weeks will go a long way to determine to much he sees the field this season.
3:00pm Espanyol v Malaga – Moreno is still hurt and is pretty much done for 2014. On the other hand, a healthy Memo will probably be on the bench yet again.
9/21/14
5:00am Real Sociedad v Almeria – Vela started his first match last week and I see him doing the same this week. Real sold his attacking partner and will look to him to spark them offensively.
5:30am FC Twente v Heracles– Tecatito was man of the match last week and needs to build on that performance. He was even included in the Eredivisie Team of the Week. He had a strong start to last season before fading away hard. Everyone knows he is capable of putting on a show now and then. But that is the problem: his quality in matches has been inconsistent. I had him as “El Compadre de la Semana” but he needs to keep this quality for longer than 1 match.

7:30am PSV v Cambuur – I was surprised Guardado did not play in their mid-week Europa League game. I’d look for him to find his place in the starting 11 again.
10:00am Villareal v Rayo Vallecano – Aquino will sit this one out as he cannot play against his parent club. I wish he could play and continue his good form but it will have to wait until next week. Gio will likely be out until the next international break in mid-October. I hope they take their time with this injury so it will not linger throughout the season.  Jona has already made his debut and shown he can play on the right wing. Maybe he can earn some more minutes in this match. Nayib had a nice write up of Jona’s performance and outlook.

 

1:45pm Hellas Verona v Torino– El Kaiser put in another strong performance last time out for Hellas. He is the stabilizing force in the back for his Italian club. Rafa put on another great performance and led the team to 3 points but more importantly..

2:15pm FC Porto v Boavista– Herrera started their mid-week Champions League and went 69mins in the 6-0 beat down of BATE. He should be in the starting XI but Reyes will likely start from the bench again. Diego celebrated his birthday this week by starting and going the distance in a reserve league game.