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Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. had their best league finish ever in 2012/13 when they [...]

Unsurprisingly Barcelona and Real Madrid dominated Spanish football in 2012. Barca accumulated over 100 points, whilst Real Madrid were ten points behind their bitter rivals. Interestingly during 2012 Valencia and Rayo Vallecano picked up the same number of points as each other, however Valencia drew 10 of their games, Vallecano drew just one a goalless game with Sevilla in September.

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Swansea City star striker Michu, according to the Mirror. The report states Reds manager Brendan Rodgers will move for the 26-year-old if he fails to sign Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge.
Michu signed for the Swans in the summer from La Liga club Rayo Vallecano, and has since impressed hugely.

Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 5-0 last night (same scoreline as Barca against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday qué casualidad) with goals from a double each from Gonzalo Higuain and Ronaldo and one more from Jose Callejon.

Below are predictions for all the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) matches on October 27, 2012.

Espanyol v Malaga, 10:00 AM (USA EST)

1-1 draw

Real Betis v Valencia, 12:00 PM (USA EST)

Real Betis wins 2-1

Celta Vigo v Deportivo La Coruna, 2:00 PM (USA EST)

1-1 draw

Rayo Vallecano v FC Barcelona, 4:00 PM (USA EST)

FC Barcelona wins 3-1

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Below are television listings for all the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) matches on October 21, 2012.

Getafe v Levante, 6:00 AM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East)

Espanyol v Rayo Vallecano, 10:00 AM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East)

Granada v Real Zaragoza, 11:50 AM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East)

Osasuna v Real Betis, 1:45 PM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East), Sky Sports 1 (UK)

Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid, 3:30 PM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East), beIN Sport (USA), Sky Sports 1 (UK)

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By Chris Wright

Real Madrid's game away against cross-city rivals Rayo Vallecano has been forcibly postponed until Monday night after vandals sabotaged the power supply to the floodlights at the Estadio de Vallecas on Sunday evening.

The players were left skulking around on the half-illuminated pitch while technicians attempted to first suss out the cause of the floodlight failure and then try to reconnect the lighting, though the decision to reschedule the match was made around about the 10:00pm mark after it became clear that the damage could not be repaired on the night.

DETAILS:

DATE: September 23, 2012

TIME: 4:01 pm, Eastern, American.

LOCATION: Campo de Futbol de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain.

PREGAME:

REAL MADRID STARTING XI: Casillas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Alonso, Modric, Essien; Ronaldo, Di Maria; Benzema.

Below are predictions for all the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) matches on September 23, 2012.

Mallorca v Valencia, 6:00 AM (USA EST)

Valencia wins 1-0

Levante v Real Sociedad, 10:00 AM (USA EST)

Real Sociedad wins 3-2

Atletico Madrid v Valladolid, 12:00 PM (USA EST)

Atletico Madrid wins 2-1

Athletic Bilbao v Malaga, 1:50 PM (USA EST)

Athletic Bilbao wins 2-1

Rayo Vallecano v Real Madrid, 3:30 PM (USA EST)

Real Madrid wins 1-0

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Real Madrid finally won, Barca stayed perfect, Sevilla drew with Rayo, Levante beat Espanyol, and Bilbao won in the Spanish Primera Division on September 2, 2012.

Rayo Vallecano 0-0 Sevilla

Sevilla were unable to take advantage of a man advantage for the final 22 minutes as the match ended in a scoreless draw.

Below is the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) table through September 2, 2012.

 OVERALL  HOME  AWAY   POS  TEAM P W D L F A  W D L F A  W D L F A  GD Pts 1 Barcelona 3 3 0 0 8 2 2 0 0 6 1 1 0 0 2 1 6 9 2 Mallorca 3 2 1 0 4 2 2 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 2 7 3 Málaga 3 2 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 7 4 Rayo Vallecano 3 2 1 0 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 7 5 Valladolid 3 2 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 1 6 6 Deportivo La Coruña 3 1 2 0 6 4 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 3 3 2 5 7 Sevilla FC 3 1 2 0 3 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 5 8 Atlético Madrid 2 1 1 0 5 1 1 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 1 1 4 4 9 Real Madrid 3 1 1 1 5 3 1 1 0 4 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 4 10 Getafe 3 1 1 1 4 4 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 4 11 Levante 3 1 1 1 4 5 1 1 0 4 3 0 0 1 0 2 -1 4 12 Real Betis 2 1 0 1 6 5 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 3 1 3 13 Celta Vigo 3 1 0 2 3 3 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 3 14 Real Zaragoza 3 1 0 2 2 3 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 -1 3 15 Athletic Bilbao 3 1 0 2 5 9 1 0 1 5 5 0 0 1 0 4 -4 3 16 Real Sociedad 3 1 0 2 3 7 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1 6 -4 3 17 Valencia 3 0 2 1 4 5 0 1 0 3 3 0 1 1 1 2 -1 2 18 Granada 3 0 1 2 1 5 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 4 -4 1 19 Espanyol 3 0 0 3 4 7 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 3 5 -3 0 20 Osasuna 3 0 0 3 1 6 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 4 -5 0

Champions League: 1st , 2nd , 3rd

Champions League qualifying: 4th

Europa League: 5th , 6th

Relegation: 18th , 19th , 20th

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FC Barcelona moved back on top of the table and Sevilla moved up to third place in the Spanish Primera Division on Sunday.

Below is the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) table through August 26, 2012.

OVERALL  HOME  AWAY   POS  TEAM P W D L F A  W D L F A  W D L F A  GD Pts 1 Barcelona 2 2 0 0 7 2 1 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 2 1 5 6 2 Rayo Vallecano 2 2 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 6 3 Sevilla FC 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 4 4 Mallorca 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 4 5 Málaga 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 4 6 Deportivo La Coruña 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 Real Betis 2 1 0 1 6 5 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 3 1 3 8 Valladolid 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 9 Getafe 2 1 0 1 3 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 3 10 Real Zaragoza 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 3 11 Real Sociedad 2 1 0 1 3 6 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 5 -3 3 12 Atlético Madrid 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 13 Valencia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 14 Levante 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 15 Real Madrid 2 0 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 1 16 Granada 2 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 1 17 Athletic Bilbao 1 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 1 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 -2 0 18 Espanyol 2 0 0 2 2 4 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 2 -2 0 19 Celta Vigo 2 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 -2 0 20 Osasuna 2 0 0 2 1 4 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 -3 0

Champions League: 1st , 2nd , 3rd

Champions League qualifying: 4th

Europa League: 5th , 6th

Relegation: 18th , 19th , 20th

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Below are television listings for all the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) matches on August 25, 2012.

Real Sociedad v Celta Vigo, 1:00 PM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain/Scandinavia), Star Sports (Asia), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East)

Espanyol v Real Zaragoza, 3:00 PM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain/Scandinavia), Sport 2 (Hungary/Czech Republic/Slovakia), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East), Sport TV2 (Portugal)

Real Betis v Rayo Vallecano, 3:00 PM (USA EST)

La Sexta (Spain), C+ (Spain/Scandinavia), Star Sports (Asia), Al Jazeera Sport (Middle East)

Malaga v Mallorca, 5:00 PM (USA EST)

C+ (Spain/Scandinavia), beIN Sport (USA), Sky Sports 4 (UK), Sport 2 (Hungary/Czech Republic/Slovakia), Sport TV2 (Portugal), SuperSport (Africa), Star Sports (Asia), Sport TV2 (Portugal),

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The opening round of La Liga matches finished on Monday with Barcelona leading on goal difference. Other teams getting wins were Betis, Deportivoa, Mallorca, Sevilla, Malaga, Valladolid, and Rayo. The major surprise result was Real Madrid held to a draw at home against Valencia.

Below is the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) table through August 20, 2012.

Mallorca, Sevilla, and Malaga all won in the opening day of matches in La Luga. There were only three matches with the rest of the clubs starting their season on Sunday and Monday.

Below is the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) table through August 18, 2012.

OVERALL  HOME  AWAY   POS  TEAM P W D L F A  W D L F A  W D L F A  GD Pts 1 Mallorca 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 Sevilla FC 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 Málaga 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 3 4 Athletic Bilbao 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Atlético Madrid 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 Barcelona 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 Deportivo La Coruña 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Granada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Levante 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Osasuna 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Rayo Vallecano 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Real Betis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 Real Madrid 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 Real Sociedad 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Real Zaragoza 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Valencia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Valladolid 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Espanyol 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 19 Getafe 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 20 Celta Vigo 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0

Champions League: 1st , 2nd , 3rd

Champions League qualifying: 4th

Europa League: 5th , 6th

Relegation: 18th , 19th , 20th

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The 2012-13 Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) season is set to start on August 18, 2012 with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona the favorites. Real Madrid won the title last season with a record setting 100 points and remarkable +89 goal difference.

So, who will win the title this season and which clubs will be relegated?

By Chris Wright

Having already scored, Sergio Ramos was booked twice in the space of 60 seconds (Jordan Ayew would be so proud!) to pick up the 17th red card of his entire career the 11th of his Real Madrid career (a club record) against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, thus leaving him one single sending-off from equaling the all-time Spanish league record at the age of 26.

Sergio Ramos scored in the 12th minute of Real Madrid's 2-0 win against Rayo Vallecano. He then proceeded to get booked twice in under 60 seconds, getting sent off in the 19th minute. That marked Ramos' club-record 17th red card of his career, one shy of the Spanish league record.

Ramos' first yellow of the match was for a light shove to the chest of Rayo striker Leo (who reacted by hitting the ground a covering his face).

By Alan Duffy

Queens Park Rangers 0-5 Swansea Premier League August 18 2012

While former Swans' boss Brendan Rodgers was watching his new Liverpool side go down 3-0 at West Brom, the new man in the hot seat at Swansea was enjoying a five-goal mauling of QPR at Loftus Road.

Diego Costa foi a grande novidade na lista de convocados por Luiz Felipe Scolari para os jogos amigáveis da selecção brasileira com Itália, no dia 21, e a Rússia, no dia 25. Na sua estreia, o avançado de 24 anos vai encontrar outro jogador que também representou o FC Penafiel e que é praticamente um desconhecido em Portugal: Jean (na foto de cima a festejar um golo).

Liverpool starlet Daniel Pacheco has left Liverpool to join Segunda division side Huesca on a loan deal until the end of the season.
The 22-year-old has struggled to break into the first team at Anfield previously under Kenny Dalglish and under Brendan Rodgers this season, having made just 17 appearances for the club since his move from Barcelona to Merseyside in 2007.