REMEMBER Terry Gibson? Well, we've signed him and while he won't be kicking a football he'll be looking into his crystal ball and bringing us his best Spanish tips every week.
The ex-Spurs, Coventry and Manchester United striker is probably best remembered for his time as part of the infamous Wimbledon Crazy Gang side of the late 80s and early 90s. Now an expert in all things La Liga he works as a pundit and co-commentator on Sky Sports’ Spanish football coverage and is a contributor to unibet.
Terry previews Saturday's La Liga matches involving the big three of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico.
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla (Saturday 12pm)
This is the game of the weekend in La Liga and both teams are in good form, resulting in both of them being unbeaten after five games.
They were different transfer windows entirely for the two clubs. Atletico, due to the transfer ban, have no new players and the same manager. Sevilla brought in nine new players, sold 11 and have another new manager!
Sevilla go into the game on 13 points, two above Atletico, and for once go into this game with a better defensive record than their opponents. Sevilla have played five, with a record of four wins and a draw.
Surprisingly for Sevilla their good start is down to their defensive record; this is a real change.
They have only conceded one goal and that was in week 1 against Espanyol. Since then it's been clean sheets all the way. They have only scored seven in the five played so far, with three of the games being won by the scoreline of 1-0.
The win against Las Palmas on Wednesday evening came courtesy of a Jesus Navas cross that somehow found its way into the back of the net in the 83rd minute.
Don't get me wrong, Sevilla are not a defensive or negative outfit on purpose, that has never been the style of new coach Eduardo Berizzo, but they are having to rely on their defence until the attacking unit of the team find a way to be more harmonious. Ben Yedder played up front against Las Palmas but Luis Muriel will come back in after his midweek rest.
That defensive unit will be tested to the max against Atletico in this game though.
An impressive result and performance away at Athletic Bilbao will certainly reinforce the belief in Simeone's side that his team can really push for honours again this season. Winning 2-1 at San Mames is always a good result and they fully deserved the victory.
Having won their first game in the new Wanda Metropolitano against Malaga, optimism will be high for this one and I'm going to go for another home win for Atletico.
I believe Griezmann, Carrasco, Correa and co will be a test too far attacking wise for Sevilla and they will concede in in this game.
It's going to be very tight indeed but I'm going for an Atletico 2-0 victory with Griezmann getting the opening goal.
Terry's Tips
- Correct score: Atletico Madrid 2, Sevilla 0 (7-1, unibet)
- First scorer: Griezmann (18-5, unibet)
- Safe bet: Atletico to score (1-10, unibet)
Alaves v Real Madrid (Saturday 3.15pm)
Let's deal with the trials and tribulations of Alavés first. Their record is played five, lost five and they haven't scored a goal yet!
Believe it or not they shouldn't be that bad! I look at their team and genuinely believe they are capable of far better than what they are currently showing and it's only a matter of time before they turn things around.
Here's the “but” though. It won't be in this game. Alavés are going to have to wait until more realistic opponents come their way before they start picking up points.
Real Madrid's troubles this season have purely been in their own stadium. Away from home they have been impeccable, beating Deportivo la Coruńa 3-0 and Real Sociedad 3-1.
Who would have thought though that with their three opening home games against Valencia, Levante and Real Betis that they would have only picked up two points from nine and are still waiting for their first win in the Bernabeu.
Those home results have certainly hampered my chances of being competitive against the other Unibet experts in our European League prediction Championship.
I'm going to stick with Real Madrid in this one though but might have to re evaluate my prediction when they are up next in the Bernabeu against Espanyol. I'm going to go for Real Madrid to be amongst the goals again in this game, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see them maintain their record of scoring at least three away from home again.
It was a 4-1 win for them last season in this fixture, with Ronaldo bagging a hat trick. Something similar around this time unfortunately for hapless Alavés I'm afraid.
I'm predicting Real Madrid to flourish away from the Bernabeu again with a 3-0 win, Alavés still having to wait for their 1st goal and Ronaldo getting the opening goal.
Terry's Tips
- Correct score: Alaves 0, Real Madrid 3 (13-2, unibet)
- First scorer: Ronaldo (11-5, unibet)
- Safe bet: Real Madrid to score over 2.5 goals (11-10, unibet)
Girona v Barcelona (Saturday 7.45pm)
An historic encounter to look forward to here, as Girona play their first ever La Liga game against Barcelona. I think it's fair to say that Girona haven't even been playing in the shadows of their Catalan neighbours until recent seasons and now they have a fantastic opportunity to face them head to head at the same level.
We have nothing to refer to in terms of history and it is going to be interesting to see how this new “Derby” turns out. Are they going to have the “Espanyol” attitude or be polite hosts?
To be honest though, even with the attitude, Espanyol still don't do Barcelona any damage whatsoever. Let's look at the current form though, and it doesn't look promising for Girona.
They started off the season with an impressive 2-2 home draw against Atletico but they have struggled in recent weeks. They haven't scored in the last three, so perhaps that was a false dawn when Cristian Stuani got a brace v Simeone's team. He scored four all season for Middlesbrough in the Premier League!
What will be interesting is the tactical system employed by coach Pablo Machin. He will no doubt play a three-man central defence and he will still encourage the wing backs to really push forward, even against Barcelona. They are a team who look to construct through the formation lines whilst keeping the ball on the grass. In short, a nice style of football.
I kind of feel that their style will suit Barcelona. Getafe made it difficult for Barcelona last week by being aggressive, direct and pressing high up the pitch. They even left the grass longer than normal and didn't water the pitch and it nearly paid off. Will, or are, Girona capable of the same? I don't think so.
Valverde is still tinkering with selection and tactical issues whilst knocking over everyone that comes in their way. Helped in the main by having Lionel Messi. Messi now has nine La Liga goals, two in the Champions League v Juventus and one in the Super Cup against Real Madrid. 12 at this stage of the season is utterly ridiculous, even by his standards.
Will Luis Suarez return to action after being “rested” for the 6-1 win against Eibar? If anybody saw his performance last week against Getafe it might be considered that he actually might have been “dropped” instead.
I have never seen such a good player have such a bad game in my life, therefore it is clearly an issue for Valverde to deal with. An in-form Luis Suarez no doubt makes Barcelona's chances of being successful this season far greater.
Messi struck just the four v Eibar and of course we all expect him to continue in the same vein of form in this game. If Barca are at it from the start it should be a conclusive outcome. If they start like they did last week at Getafe it might be uncomfortable but either way you must back the away win.
I'm going to go for a steady 2-0 win for Barcelona and who do you think might open the scoring? It has to be the obvious Messi option although the also prolific Paulinho might be a consideration if he is selected.
Terry's Tips
- Correct score: Girona 0, Barcelona 2 (6-1, unibet)
- First scorer: Messi (11-5, unibet)
- Safe bet: Barca to win (1-4, unibet)
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An ex-Tottenham, Coventry and Manchester United striker, Terry is probably best remembered for his time as part of the infamous Wimbledon Crazy Gang side of the late 80s and early 90s. Now an expert in all things La Liga, he works as a pundit and co-commentator on Sky Sports’ Spanish football coverage.
Safebet !
Atletico to score 1-10 ?
Is this goals or odds ?