Spain 26-29 August

Not watching this game as it's on a channel I've not got, but wouldn't write them off for the rest of the season just yet, hopefully it'll be a different story once Baptista's back and fit.

They're owned by some rich sheikh and have got plenty to spend, their problem is the same as Man City had when they were first taken over - the top players want Champions League football, and so until Malaga qualify for the Champions League, they're going to struggle to attract the very best players, no matter how much money they've got.

Don't reckon they'll qualify for it this year either, taking Madrid and Barcelona out of the equation they're playing for one of two remaining places, and I suspect Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal will all be too strong for them, and possibly Sevilla as well.

Will see what I can do, remind me nearer the time. Although looking at the fixture list, they're at home to Granada, newly promoted and bookies favourites (I'd have them 2nd favourites myself) to go straight back down, so I doubt there's going to be any great opportunity for opposing Malaga there.

In fact, things are even worse than that for Barcelona, as Alves, Maxwell and Adriano are all also missing. They're likely to have a couple of the B team players involved in some way in the defence (not necessarily a bad thing when you think Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Messi, etc. etc. have come through from the B team in recent years). Marca's predicted lineup (which is normally shite, but I'll put it here anyway as a rough guide) has the back 4 down as Abidal, Fontas, Mascherano and Bartra. Also possible though that Abidal (or Busquets) could play centre back (with one of the B teamers playing left back if it's Abidal).

Even so, outscoring Barcelona isn't exactly going to be easy for Villarreal, but I'd be pretty disappointed if they don't bag at least one to bring in the both teams to score bet (assuming Barcelona score too).

Alright, alright, this century then. When I say recent years I meant those still playing, rather than delving into the distant past and mentioning retired Barcelona legends of the past who may have come through their B team.

Was "only" 3am when I was posting that, and baby was fast asleep. I was on burping duty in the afternoon and so was making up for lost time by working until late.

No idea what's going on here, but the price is rising and rising on Bet365, it's now up to 2.25 for both teams to score, or 2.1 for Barcelona not to keep a clean sheet.

Adding 2pts on Barcelona not to keep a clean sheet, as that price is just crazy.

Well, according to Marca's post-match report, "What a season we've got in store". Absolute load of bollocks, all the excitement I had for the start of the season has gone out of the window in the space of one weekend, and it's not just because I'm off to a losing start. Madrid score 6 away from home, albeit to a team that'll struggle to stay up, while Barcelona stick 5 past a team that should supposedly be in contention for the top 4. The two of them will be clear by Christmas, and Marca will continue to wank themselves silly over this being the best league in the world, oblivious to the fact that two teams battering everyone else 5 or 6-0 every week actually makes it very tedious

A few of the presidents have come out today saying pretty much the same thing. Admittedly they're the presidents of teams that have most to gain by Barcelona and Real Madrid being brought down a peg or two, but they're still right in what they say.

Fernando Roig (Villarreal president): "This isn't good for Spanish football, but it's the way it is. We have to sell to balance the books, while others buy on credit. If what they want is to have two games, we'll have two games. I'll give it three or four years (until it happens). Either something changes, or we're going to kill Spanish football”.

José María del Nido (Sevilla president): "Our league isn't the biggest load of junk in Europe, it's the biggest in the world. It's a third world league where two clubs take away the TV money from the rest of us who are competing".

It's certainly looking a lot more promising than it was after the first round of matches. I fear it won't be long before normal service is resumed, but I'll be happy to be proved wrong.