#la-liga

#la-liga

Fans, players and even European football's governing body Uefa have stressed their opposition to La Liga's plan to play in Miami in December, while Serie A is set to stage a game in Perth, Australia. They will not be the first sports leagues to go global, with America's big three - the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) - having held regular-season games overseas for more than two decades.

I'm very happy to have an opponent of this calibre. Barça has always been and continues to be a huge club. I think we have to be very prepared to compete against a rival like this. But if we impose our game and our will, it can be a great match, and we have a chance to come away with the victory.

"It's a reward for those fans who are behind the screen, also in Asia or America, who are paying a fee to watch all the Spanish La Liga matches. It's a gesture to them," Louzan said. "It's good for football and it promotes the Spanish La Liga around the world. Italy is also going to do it with Serie A in Australia. It's a good move for the best league in the world to do it."

El Glorioso were expected to fight for survival in La Liga last season, and they did extremely well by finishing 15th in the standings. Alaves were very busy in the summer transfer window and have strengthened their squad a lot. Youssef Enriquez, Carles Alena, Jonny Otto, Pablo Ibanez, Raul Fernandez and Cabela are the new players in Eduardo Coudet's side. They are now 10th in the La Liga table with 11 points from eight matches, four points behind fourth-placed Real Betis.

The 37-year-old, who scored for Poland in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win against Lithuania on Sunday, will not feature in his club's La Liga game against Girona this weekend. Barcelona then face Olympiakos in the Champions League next Tuesday before taking on Real Madrid in El Clasico at the Bernabeu on 26 October.

FC Barcelona are very well stocked when it comes to the midfield department, with top players like Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, and Gavi complemented by up-and-coming talents like Marc Bernal and Marc Casado. But the Catalans are always on the lookout for young prospects with potential with an eye on the future, and it appears that a promising La Liga midfielder has caught their attention.

Once a year it seems to us like a way to promote the competition and, in addition, it is a way of having respect for the fans that we have all over the world.

Uefa said in a statement that it had reiterated its clear opposition to domestic league matches being played outside their home country but that because the relevant Fifa regulatory framework currently under review is not clear and detailed enough, the Uefa Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve, on an exceptional basis, the two requests referred to it.

"They want that freedom, living off the grid. "They want those three dogs that they call their kids. "And that good surf, no hypocrites. "They want it all. "They want a contract with Real Madrid."

Starting with the hosts, with many around the Mestalla left disappointed last season as Valencia were forced to settle for another bottom-half finish among Spain's elite, Carlos Corberan's men know the importance of finding some crucial stability this time around. Suffering last-gasp heartbreak away at Espanyol earlier in the week as they eventually had to settle for a 2-2 stalemate in Catalonia, the former West Brom boss has seen his squad win just a pair of their first six La Liga appearances.

They were the football team so good, so much fun, that Luis Enrique declared himself a fan, tuning in to watch them every week. But that was then and this is now, and now even their actual fans aren't sure they want to watch any more. There were 11,048 people at Montilivi this Saturday, out of the city centre and to the south beyond the Free City of Braavos and Kings Landing. There were at the start anyway; by the time Girona FC, the last and briefest of the great disruptors, conceded the fourth goal of another miserable afternoon most of them had already gone. The few who stayed chanted for the board to resign, just about audible over the catchiest club anthem in La Liga being belted out of huge speakers hung from scaffolding stands. It was the fifth time in a row Girona's supporters had seen their team lose here going back to May, a summer break, a new start, offering no break at all; instead, they were bottom of the table and had been battered again.