Celta 1 - Alavés 1

Celta: Pinto; Karpin, Vivas, Cáceres, Velasco; Makelele, Giovanella; Belmadi, Mostovoi, Revivo; McCarthy. 4-2-3-1.
Alavés: Herrera; Contra, Karmona, Téllez, Torres Mestre; Astudillo, Pablo, Desio, Ibon Begoña; Nan Ribera; Kodro. 4-4-1-1.

Team changes: Celta: Belmadi, Velasco, Cáceres, Giovanella, Karpin, Mostovoi for Coira, Sergio, Juanfran, Mazinho, Tomás, Gustavo López / Alavés: Nan Ribera for Magno.

Goals:
1-0. 57. McCarthy. Shot through a crowd of players, took deflection off Karmona.
1-1. 66. Javi Moreno. Powerful header after long cross from Astudillo on left.

Alavés kept up their challenge for one of the top spots in the league with a valiant draw against a Celta side devastated by injuries and suspensions. Celta's manager Víctor Fernández was forced to use star midfielder Karpin as a makeshift right back with three defenders, Juanfran, Coira and Sergio suspended and Celades, Djorovic and Berges all injured. Cáceres however returned from his one match suspension, and Velasco came back after injury. French midfielder Belmadi was given his first start since joining the club in January, Mostovoi passed a late fitness test, and Revivo came in for Gustavo López, who was rested in view of next Thursday's return UEFA cup leg at Lens. Alavés had no such problems, with Mané only making one change, Nan Ribera for Magno in a 5 man packed midfield which he uses in away matches. Celta dominated for much of the match but were unable to break through an Alavés defence that has thwarted Barcelona and other top teams in their travels. Even though luck was on their side, as Mostovoi hit the post early on and shot over from close range. Belmadi fitted in well to Celta's style of play, and he was a constant danger down the right. Mané made a double change early in the second half, bringing on Azkoitia and Javi Moreno for Ibon Begoña and Kodro, but a few minutes later McCarthy finally got the break through for the home side after a corner, his shot deceiving Herrera after deflecting off Karmona. Belmadi hit the crossbar shortly afterwards, but then Alavés equalised in one of their rare counter-attacks, Astudillo's long cross from the left catching the defence napping as Javi Moreno rose between two defenders to beat Pinto. Mané even got cheeky, bringing on another forward Magno for defender Pablo having seen that Celta were playing on tired legs, and Fernández decided to consolidate his resources, taking off first Mostovoi and then Revivo and putting on Gustavo López and Tomás. Referee Esquinas Torres then added to Celta's defensive worries by sending off Argentinian defender Vivas for a second bookable offence, and in the last few minutes Fernández gave young forward Iago Bouzón a taste of first team football in place of Belmadi. Alavés drop a place behind Barcelona, but are still third, only three points now behind the leaders. Celta will see this as a hiccup in their push for a place in Europe next year, and they stay in seventh place, level with Valencia but behind them on general goal average. They have another tiring week ahead with their trip to France on Thursday before travelling to Sevilla on Sunday to play Betis.

Zaragoza 1 - Espanyol 1

Zaragoza: Juanmi; Sundgren, Lanna, Paco, Vellisca; Aragón, Acuña; Juanele, Jamelli, Garitano; Milosevic. 4-2-3-1.
Espanyol: Cavallero; Cristóbal, Pochettino, Nando, Roger; Velamazán, Galca, Sergio, Arteaga; Martín Posse; Tamudo. 4-4-1-1.

Team changes: Zaragoza: Juanmi, Paco, Aragón, Jamelli for Laínez, Solana, Helguera, Marcos Vales / Espanyol: Galca for Toledo.

Goals:
1-0. 14. Juanele. On goal line a yard out after Milosevic had shot from right.
1-1. 54. Arteaga. A screamer from 45 yards out with Juanmi off his line.

Zaragoza lost a bit of ground in their push for the top spots after drawing at home to Espanyol. The Aragón side did however maintain their unbeaten home record, which now stretches back for over a year since their last defeat at the Romareda stadium. Txetxu Rojo was able to count on first choice keepr Juanmi and captain Aguado, both returning from a one match suspension, although in the end he decided to keep Lanna in the middle of defence and leave Aguado on the bench. There was also no place for striker Yordi, who came off the bench to score twice last week, with Jamelli coming in behind the off form Milosevic in attack. Paco came in to defence after missing a couple of games through injury. Espanyol's Paraguayan left back Toledo failed a late fitness test, having complained all week of liquid on the knee, and Roger fell back to occupy his position, with Galca returning to midfield after his one match suspension. De Lucas was left out of the squad after clashing with his manager during the week. Zaragoza went into the lead early on through Juanele, making sure in front of goal after Milosevic's shot ran across the face of the goal. They then sat back and allowed Espanyol to get back into the game, with Tamudo creating problems for the home side defence, but Juanmi on good form. In the second half the inevitable happened, Artega scoring without doubt the goal of the game after spotting Juanmi off his line. The midfielder let fly with a first time shot from just outside the centre circle, and the ball went like a bullet over the head of the surprised keeper and in to the net. Rojo brought on his big guns, Yordi replacing Jamelli and Marcos Vales coming on for Garitano near the end, with Paco Flores taking off a forward Posse and putting on Soldevila, an extra defender to play out the match. Espanyol have now taken points from the Romareda in five of their last visits, and move up to 13th in the table in the middle of a group of nine teams separated by three points. Zaragoza stay level with Real Madrid in fourth place, and with no cup distractions are well placed to earn themselves a Champions League place for next season.