Sporting Gijon Weekend Preview

By: Corey | October 23rd, 2009

El Molinon, One Of The Most Colorful Grounds In Spain

After a tough and rather frustrating loss against AC Milan now behind us, we return to domestic action with a match against Sporting Gijon on Saturday at the El Molinon up in Asturias. But this match will be no cake walk, as Gijon are one of the in form teams in La Liga right now, having knocked off two of the early pace setters in Mallorca and Atheltic Bilbao in the past two match days. Up to an impressive 7th in the table, they are certainly prepared for the match with Real, and Manuel Preciado has had the week to prepare his men for the game. Manuel Pellegrini on the other hand is working with an injury hit squad that had a huge morale dip after a poor showing against Milan. A fault of their own of course, Pellegrini will need to the squad to respond with a dominating performance against Gijon this weekend.

Gijon has to be every La Liga fans soft spot team. A small town in the north of Spain that has only two foreign players (although Bilic has been in Spain for awhile now), many of whom are canteranos and a vibrant fan base certainly makes these trips enjoyable. Gijon are a plucky side, capable of swift counter attacks but also use to moving the ball around effectively. They may lack a sharp edge at the tip of their attack, but goals from midfield have so far seen them progress up the table nicely. I watched them play against Athletic last weekend until the GolTV feed fell through. That seems to happen all to frequently these days, but none the less, they were solid against a very physical team at home, and they were able to move the ball quickly through Bilbao’s midfield and exert pressure on the defense that lead to their goals. Defensively they are organized, although they are beatable along the ground with through balls and width to pull them out of their compact shape.

I mentioned I liked Gijon already, but I will say it again. Along with Getafe, they are a small team I can really get behind. Some of the other teams in this league are just sort of there, like Mallorca or Santander. Gijon has a fluency and style in their play, along with great support, use of their cantera system and a very Spanish feel to the club that makes you enjoy their triumphs and feel their losses. No such quarter will be given though on Saturday, as I am firmly in the corner of Real as they come in looking for points.

Gijon Team News:

Botia has returned to the back line to partner Gregory, which means Sporting has two very strong and tall players to marshall the back line. Botia I think was given a raw deal at Barca, because he is surely better then Marquez. But then again, you cant argue with Pep’s judgement on youth players so far. Still, Sporting has a pretty good defense despite conceding just one less then they have scored. The goal difference is misleading because Sporting have been anemic in front of goal more then shipping goals at the back. Their goal differential is 6-2 at home though, so they have Roberto Canella, a personal favorite and possible Real Madrid signing in the future, commands the left flank very well for a young player and he provides a solid platform for second leading goal scorer Diego Castro to attack continuously.

On the right Alberto Ramos Lora and Luis Moran form a quick tandem down the right flank. Ramos attacks a lot at home, so Marcelo will have his hands full. Luis Moran also is smart enough to cover for his full back from time to time, meaning they have good chemistry. In the center of midfield, former canterano Alberto Rivera leads the line for Sporting and has been impressive this year for Sporting. A piece of trivia for everyone, he was the youngest ever player to don a Real Madrid shirt in an official game, at 16 years old. Not quite Munian status, but still impressive. He is partnered by hard man Michel, and they will look to put pressure on Xabi Alonso to prevent any fluency in the midfield.

Up top, they have another former canterano in David Barral. He never played a game with Real, but he found his feet with Gijon and has a decent strike rate. But he is been largely used as a ball chaser and diversion for the much more dangerous midfield to work with space. De las Cuevas, the Atletico product, has scored four goals in two games and will use his skills in the hole to wreak havoc on Real. As seen last weekend against Valladolid, our center backs still are not talking enough to handle a ‘hole’ player, as both concentrated on Diego Costa, allowing Marquitos to slip in for a goal. A terrible back pass by Xabi Alonso put them on the back foot sure, but these issues went on all game long. It will be on M. Diarra to look after De las Cuevas and nullify his input.

I cant seem to find the squad list for Sporting. Marca and AS rarely post those things, like wise Sport. Sporting’s official site was little help either, but there are no injuries or suspensions that I know of to the starting lineup that beat Bilbao last weekend, so they should look something like this:

———–Juan Pablo————
Lora—-Botia—Gregory—-Canella
——-Michel—-Rivera———
Moran—-De las Cuevas—-D. Castro
————Barral————-

We can expect to see Mate Bilic and Carmelo off the bench during this game, as they tend to be Preciado’s favorite substitutes. Sporting has a good side, and if they had a striker who could finish a little better then they might actually sustain their run through out the season, because the midfield supply is there. They will prove a worthy test for Real and a draw is not out of the question.

Real Madrid News:

Lass will be unavailable this weekend as he returned to France to deal with personal issues. This may explain his poor performances over the past month, because he was pretty terrible. In his place we will probably see Mahamadou Diarra (yuss!) but Gago is recovering from his injury, and along with Metzelder, has rejoined the squad for training. This game me be just out of both players reach, but next week they should be ready for action.

Guti should be fit for the match but he will probably start from the bench. Ruud is also working out on the pitch, but he is still a month or two away from returning, while Ronaldo continues gym work in a bid to be ready for the Atletico game in November. Higuain aggravated a strain he had from playing with Argentina last weekend, so he missed the Milan game. He will not be fit for this game, and Benzema will not be either.

Due to all of the injuries, we have had little personnel variation in the past few weeks. Now we are going to have to make some changes. Here is the squad list:

Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek
Defenders: Arbeloa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Drenthe, Albiol, Garay, Metzelder
Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Kaka, Guti, Xabi Alonso, Van der Vaart, Granero
Forwards: Raul, Acuña

The surprise is of course Acuna. If you want to read about his previous exploits, go here. I dont know whether to be excited or not that a Castilla player is in the team. I dont rate Acuna as compared to out other forwards, such as Szalai or even Ruben Ramos. But his previous experience in the Segunda I suppose gives him the nod. He was playing as a winger for Castilla last season, and has had a few injuries already this campaign, but lets hope he is able to make an impact on Saturday.

Without any striking reinforcements, Gijon is going to see a very robust midfield. Which might actually work out for the best:

—————-Casillas——————-
Sergio Ramos—-Pepe—-Raul Albiol—-Marcelo
——Granero—-Diarra—-Xabi Alonso——
—-Guti———————–Kaka——
—————–Raul——————–

A five man midfield seems to be our only option given all of the injuries. I would say that the only other option we have, and it might be a good one, is to use one of Drenthe or Marcelo as a winger to provide a little width to the team. It also would help deal with Lora and Moran on the right flank (left flank for us). In that case, here is my lineup:

————–Casillas—————
Sergio Ramos—Pepe—Albiol—Marcelo
Guti——–Diarra—Xabi——Drenthe
—————Kaka—————-
—————Raul—————-

Either formation is suitable, and I personally think the second one is what Pellegrini will lead to. Tactically it makes more sense because it will negate the heavy attacks down the left flank as well as provide Kaka with a platform to finally shine. A two man center midfield of Diarra and Xabi would also give Xabi more room to work, as he has had trouble working with Lass occupying some of his space. Diarra would sit just as deep, and would move forward less. Raul as a lone striker to me is always a problem as he does not have the attributes, but who else do we have for the job? Negredo…oh right we sold him!

This match is all about Raul. He has been in great form since the international break, and lets hope it continues. He has had a terrific season so far, silencing many of his detractors, and like Valladolid, Gijon is a team he historically scores a boat load against. Im happy to see the captain playing so well, because he really never deserved the criticism so many put to him. Through out all of the injuries, the “old man” is still fit and ready to go on Saturday, and his international exodus seems to have reinvigorated his career.

I could see Acuna being used off the bench, and I think it would be an interesting move if we blended both lineups. Remove Guti for Drenthe, put Drenthe on the left, Kaka in the center and Granero a little wider then originally positioned. That may just provide us with enough width, only loosing out on the through balls Guti provides that could be imperative for a lone striker and attacking mid. But, the crossing from the wings may provide Raul with a better chance on goal. Granero would also provide more defensive help for Ramos, which is a must because Gijon has very good wingers and fullbacks who love to pressure and attack at home.

This match will not be easy, and since we have lost our strike force to injury, it will be even more difficult.

History is on our side for this match, as we have traveled to Gijon 38 times, of which Real Madrid has won 16, tied 12 and lost 10. It is not the most favorable record, but many people forget that Gijon was a very strong team in the early days of La Liga, and it was until modern times when they began to yo-yo between the primera and segunda. They are actually second all time in the historical La Segunda table. Of course last year we won 4-0, Raul scoring twice, and way back in the 97/98 season we won 2-0, goals from Raul (a cracker) and El Moro. Lets hope for more of the same on Saturday.

The outside of the foot chip:

A Raulina from last year at the Bernabeu:

It should be a great match, and it will finally be on GolTV at 3pm eastern time on Saturday. Mahamadou Diarra has spoken of the match as a must win, saying “A great team can not lose twice in a row in four days, that would would be very bad for us”. Indeed it would be, so lets look for a response from this team on Saturday.

Im going to a review of the match on Sunday, so I will be writing down my thoughts, concerns and impressions during the game. Feel free to leave your comments before or during the match here, and tell me what you think of my two formations. Also, check out this weeks podcast, which is a short one. I missed the Champions League game against Milan so I had little to say this week, but its a good listen anyways.

EDIT:

Confirmed Lineups are below. For once, I got the opposition lineup 100% correct! Woohoo for me! Garay is the interesting selection for Pellegrini, but I cant say I blame him, Albiol has played every game this year so far. Drenthe starts in front of Marcelo also, so it looks like formation #2, with Kaka as the mediapunta. Should be a great game!