Espanyol 2- Alavés 3

Espanyol: Mora; Cristóbal, Rotchen, Pochettino, Navas; Sergio, Velamazán, Arteaga; De Lucas; Posse, Tamudo. 4-3-1-2.
Alavés: Herrera; Contra, Karmona, Téllez, Torres Mestre; Nan Ribera, Desío, Astudillo, Magno; Morales, Kodro. 4-4-2.

Racing's rivals on that day will be Alavés, who move level with them in ninth equal place after beating Espanyol in their Montjuic stadium. The Catalan side are entering into their own mini-crisis after getting only three points from their last seven matches, and are sliding slowly down the table. Alavés lined up with three ex Espanyol players in their side, Torres Mestre, Morales and the on-loan Nan Ribera, with Mané reverting to a 4-4-2 formation after playing with five at the back in their last away games. Brindisi kept Roger and Velamazán in midfield leaving out Galca and Arteaga, with Benítez returning up front to partner Tamudo. Corino was not called up as he is close to signing for Real Sociedad, and he would be intransferable if he played his fifth match for the club. Alavés striker Kodro was injured in the 20th minute and was replaced by Azkoitia, with Magno moving forward into attack. Espanyol opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Velamazán, who bundled the ball into the net after good work by Cristóbal and Tamudo. Cristóbal was at fault however a few minutes later as Magno equalised, and two minutes before half time Cavallero failed to hold on to Contra's shot and they were behind. Brindisi brought on Arteaga for De Lucas at half time, but it was Alavés who scored the next goal, substitute Javi Moreno taking advantage of a counterattack ten minutes from time. With two minutes to go Roger hit a scorching shot from outside the area which Herrera could do nothing about, but it was too late and three more vital points left the nest.

Sevilla 0 - Málaga 0

Sevilla: Valencia; Marchena, Hibic, Tabaré, Nando; Quevedo, Francisco, Tsartas, Angel; Moya, Juan Carlos. 4-4-2.
Málaga: Contreras; Rojas, Fernando Sanz, Bravo, Valcarce; Rufete, De los Santos, Movilla, Agostinho; Catanha, Edgar. 4-4-2.

It was always going to be a hard game, with declarations of hate between both sides all through the week. Both sides remembered the incidents in the last derby match they played together, last season in the second division, when bottles and stones were thrown between rival supporters, and 300 police were brought in by the local Andalucian government to control the crowd. In the end the police should have been on the pitch rather than around the ground, as tempers raged on the field of play and not in the stands. Referee Amusategui Roca showed eight yellow cards and four red as Sevilla ended up with eight men and Málaga ten. Marchena and Catanha were sent off thirteen minutes from the end, and in the last couple of minutes Sevilla's Quevedo and Francisco followed them to an early bath. The match itself was a typical derby, with both sides appearing nervous and with very few goal chances. Málaga, playing with an unchanged team, were the better side, reflecting their better form in the league. Sevilla's manager Marcos Alonso, surely now the next for the chop, made five changes to his starting line up, bringing back Tsartas and Angel in midfield, Juan Carlos up front and Tabaré (back from suspension) and the unsettled Hibic in defence. This was the home side's seventh draw, and with only one victory (against local rivals Betis), they are firmly anchored to the bottom of the table. With their ground closed for one match for a knife throwing incident, they now go into a home cup match against Osasuna midweek at Córdoba in a state of flux. Heavily criticised by fans, club president Rafael Carrión is already talking about resigning, a far cry from the euphoria at the end of last season when they gained promotion. Málaga for now are safely settled in midtable, although they will almost certainly be without star striker Catanha for their next match.