German side Bayer Leverkusen will meet Spanish team Villarreal in the first leg of their round of 16 clash on Thursday. Leverkusen went past Ukrainian side Metallist Kharkiv in the previous round and are second in the German top flight. Villarreal had a more difficult encounter in the previous round as they met Italian side Napoli but they pulled through while being unbeaten in three games in the Spanish league.
The first leg was a spectacular affair and Villarreal got the better of it after snatching a good 3-2 away win. The tie isn't over yet though as Leverkusen will do their best to turn things around in the second leg. Villarreal had a disappointing last league game as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by relegation candidates Sporting Gijon while Leverkusen grabbed three points after beating Mainz 1-0 away.
Sixth placed Bilbao will meet fourth placed Villarreal in a game that could be decisive in the race for a top four spot. Bilbao are unbeaten in three games while Villarreal are coming from a good Europa League tie with Bayer Leverkuses, the Spanish side won both home and away.
La Liga leaders Barcelona will face a tough test on Saturday as they travel to meet 3rd placed Villarreal. Although Villarreal are out of the title race since they are no less than 24 points behind Barcelona they will still fight for the three points since they are tied on 54 points with 4th placed Valencia. Barcelona have won their last game 2-1 at home against Getafe while Villarreal beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 away from home.
Euro 2008 winner Marcos Senna has been left out of Spain's final 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. the team boss has cited poor performance by the Brazilian-born midfielder while he played for Villarreal in the Primera Liga this season.
He could have played for the USA but the young striker who used to play for the great Man United choose his parents native home instead. However, Italy choose not to bring the Left footer to South Africa and some are saying this is pay back for scoring two against his birth country in a 2006 Confederations Cup game. However, the player has had a poor season in Spain with Villarreal due to injury and apparent personal sufferings 9the death of his father due to a long term illness) so he should be cut some slack. But do Italy have the resources to leave such a player at home or did they make a huge mistake?
The Spanish league will resume on January third and the top of the table looks like this after 16 games:
1. Barcelona - 43 points
2. Real Madrid - 41 points
3. Villarreal - 33 points
Who will win the title this season?
Second placed Real Madrid will have a tough test on Sunday as they will meet third placed Villarreal at Santiago Bernabeu. Both sides appear to be in good shape: Real Madrid won the last game 3-2 at Getafe while Villarreal beat Almeria 2-0 at home.
One of the toughest matches in the Europa League first knockout round will take place on Thursday at San Paolo where Napoli will meet Villarreal. Napoli are second in the Italian Serie A after collecting two consecutive wins while Villarreal dropped into fourth place in Primera Liga after two straight defeats.
