Clanwars » Sam Fuld kept the rally alive with a two

MADRID - A rested and hungry Real Madrid will find a promoted Cordoba feeling confident for their match in the Spanish league on Saturday.Madrid has had no midweek match to expend energy on, and has a chance to stay ahead of second-place Barcelona, with a game in hand.But Cordoba wont be a pushover. It has risen from out of the drop zone to mid-table this month, with two of its three wins in the league.Elche, two places above the relegation zone, welcomes Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid hosts Rayo Vallecano in a capital city derby that will fill Vicente Calderon Stadium and keep police extra vigilant on Saturday.Here are some things to know about this weekends matches:___RESTED REAL: Getting knocked out of the Copa del Rey has meant Cristiano Ronaldo will be well rested for the visit to Andalucia.When Cordoba visited the Santiago Bernabeu in August for the first match of the season, Ronaldo was held at bay by the defence until the 90th minute. Then he unleashed a powerful right-footed shot from 25 yards that bounced just in front of goalkeeper Juan Carlos Martin Corral before ricocheting in off the post.Of his 36 goals this season, 28 have come in La Liga.The other goal in Madrids 2-0 win was by Karim Benzema.HISTORIC WELCOME: Spain was still under the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco the last time Cordoba welcomed Madrid.Hence, Saturday will be a historic occasion at Nuevo Arcangel Stadium, even though French-born Algeria forward Nabil Ghilas tried to play down the significance of the clash.Its a week like any other, we have to work and do everything we can to try and come away with something positive, Ghilas said.I expect Madrid will attack a lot, and we will strive to take advantage of counterattacks.Coached by Miroslav Dukic, Cordoba began this season disastrously with a run of 13 league games without a win, but a 1-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in December turned its luck.BATTERED ELCHE: Barcelona has won five consecutive matches in all competitions, but its midweek 1-0 Copa quarterfinal win thanks to a late penalty against Atletico was laboured.Coach Luis Enrique hopes to steady the team, and an away win at Elche will remind everyone that Barcelona is still in contention for a treble.Saturdays match will be the third time the teams have met in a month, with Barcelona having battered Elche twice in the Copa for a 9-0 aggregate.BATTLE FOR FOURTH: Valencia can leapfrog Sevilla into fourth place after their Sunday matchup. A single point separates them at the halfway point of the league, although Sevilla has a game in hand.However, Sevilla came away bruised after a 3-1 defeat at Espanyol in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. Michael Bennett Jersey . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Tommy McDonald Eagles Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. http://www.theeaglesfootballauthentic.com/eagles-andre-dillard-black-jersey/ . That was OK with him. He was just happy his team came away with two points. Letestu redirected Jack Johnsons shot from the point with 2:38 left, lifting the Blue Jackets past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Monday night. Mike Quick Eagles Jersey . The Ravens werent about to let it happen again. Carleton picked up its fourth straight national mens basketball title, and 10th in the last 12 years, with a 79-67 victory over its crosstown rival on Sunday. Miles Sanders Jersey . Chile applied pressure in midfield right from the beginning, challenging aggressively and continually surging forward. Eduardo Vargas beat the offside trap and fired home a stinging shot for Chiles opening goal in the fifth minute. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- C.J. Wilson isnt too particular about the way he gets his victories. He will take them any way he can get them -- no matter how ugly they are. Wilson surrendered five runs in the second inning after his teammates had scored five in the first, but Mike Trout regained the lead for the Los Angeles Angels in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer, and manager Mike Scioscias much maligned bullpen hung on for an 8-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night. "It was the best luck I had to get that run support and win despite giving up all those runs," Wilson said. "The bullpen had their backs up against the wall. I didnt really give them that much to work with. They had to throw four scoreless innings and they came through." Wilson (8-6) barely navigated through five innings and left with the lead after allowing six runs and nine hits, including back-to-back home runs for the second time in his last three starts. The left-hander, who came in 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his previous six outings at Angel Stadium, blew a 5-0 lead in the second before Trout hit his 17th homer in the bottom half. "It was an interesting approach that their team had today. They took a lot of pitches -- first-pitch strikes down the middle -- and then with two strikes they would fight the pitches off," Wilson said. "I dont know how many first-pitch strikes I threw. It felt like a ton. All the hits were deep in the count, so it was kind of a Twilight-Zone type of thing. "After the two home runs, it was like paper cuts to death. Obviously, Willingham and Morales hit the ball really hard, but a lot of the other hits were in-between guys or under the coverage," Wilson added. Trouts homer was Los Angeles last hit until David Freeses one-out single in the sixth. The Twins got a run closer in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by former Angels slugger Kendrys Morales, but Joe Smith got three outs for his sixth save to help extend the Angels four-game winning streak and snap a season-best four-game streak by the Twins. Kyle Gibson (6-6) threw 50 pitches over two innings in his 25th career start, equaling his shortest outing in the big leagues. The 26-year-old right-hander gave up seven runs, four hits and two walks, after coming in with a streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings. "I juust didnt really have a good feel out there from pitch one in the bullpen," Gibson said.dddddddddddd "It felt like I was searching the whole time. It was just one of those weird nights. I didnt feel like I was repeating my delivery. It was pretty clear that I wasnt very sharp. I was leaving sliders over the middle, sinkers up -- I mean, it was a confusing, frustrating night overall." The right-hander found himself in a bases-loaded, no-out jam after 16 pitches and failed to retire any of his first six batters -- although Albert Pujols reached on a fielders choice when shortstop Danny Santana fielded his grounder deep in the hole and Trout beat the rookies throw to second. By the time the inning ended, Los Angeles had pushed across five runs. Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick both came up with the bases loaded and hit two-run singles. Erick Aybar, who was hit by a pitch, scored the fifth run on a double-play grounder by C.J. Cron. But Minnesota needed only one inning to erase the deficit. Josh Willingham, who has eight homers in his last 15 games against the Angels, drove an 0-2 pitch to centre field that barely eluded Trouts glove -- which was about 3 feet above the fence. Morales followed with first homer in a Twins uniform, sending a 3-2 pitch into the lower seats in the left field corner. No. 9 hitter Sam Fuld kept the rally alive with a two-out RBI single, Santana drove in another run with a double and Brian Dozier tied it with an RBI single. NOTES: Angels hitting coach Don Baylor was in the dugout during a game for the first time since breaking his right leg while catching a ceremonial first pitch from Vladimir Guerrero on opening night. ... Gibson lasted just two innings on May 10 at Detroit, allowing six runs in a 9-3 loss. ... Joe Mauer, who won three AL batting titles as a catcher and the MVP award in 2009, is hitting .260 in his first season as a full-time first baseman. Only two of his 22 RBIs have come on the road. ... Mauer and C Kurt Suzuki each entered the game 2 for 22 against Wilson. Mauer was 1 for 3 this time against the two-time All-Star and Suzuki was 0 for 3. ... LHP Tyler Skaggs, who hasnt pitched for the Angels since June 5 because of a right hamstring strain, is scheduled to make a rehab start for Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday in Fresno. ' ' '