BASEMENT BATTLE – Sporting Gijón v Granada CF Preview

By Heath Chesters
Updated: 22 October, 2011

By Heath Chesters

While there are some mighty clashes among the upper echelons of La Liga this weekend, with Málaga hosting Real Madrid, Barcelona facing Sevilla, along with Valencia against Athletic Bilbao, spare a thought for those who are battling it out to escape from the bottom three this weekend.

Sporting Gijon host Granada CF tonight at 6pm local time (5pm UK time), with both teams sharing similar fortunes at this early stage in the season… you could also say they’ve suffered similar “misfortunes” too.

Both teams have only suffered one resounding defeat each, Sporting losing 4-0 away to Atlético Madrid, Granada losing 4-0 away to Málaga. The other defeats for both teams have been by single goal margins, in matches that really could have gone either way, had they enjoyed a little more luck.

Sporting Gijon have yet to record a win this season, whilst Granada have only managed one victory at home to a lacklustre Villareal side, who looked jaded following their loss at Bayern Munich a few days earlier.

A big problem for both teams so far has been a lack of cutting edge going forward. Sporting Gijon have managed only three goals in seven games, whilst Granada show an even poorer return of just two goals in seven games.

One thing that certainly isn’t lacking from either side, is their level of commitment, so both teams will be desperate to get three points from an encounter on which they place great importance.

Sporting Gijon have yet to record a home victory and whilst a win won’t lift them out of the bottom three, it will be a major boost to their confidence going forward.

Granada on the other hand could lift themselves just outside the relegation zone, also gaining confidence away from home, given their historically poor record on the road.

Whilst looking at the statistics for both teams might seem to suggest we’re in for a drab, nil-nil draw, I suspect we might be in for a treat, with and end to end game and both teams hunting a much needed win.

Although it’s still early days, both teams recognise the importance of the result. Whilst they are sat at the wrong end of the table, there’s a lot of encouragement these teams can take from their performances, even when they’ve not resulted in victories.

So keep an eye out for the game if you can watch it, as it will certainly be an intriguing encounter and could shape the fortunes of both teams for the weeks ahead.

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