Primera Liga matches, February 14-15
Real Madrid have the chance to shake off the attentions of title rivals Valencia and open up a five-point lead at the top of the table when the two sides meet at the Bernabeu on Sunday (kickoff 2000 GMT).
Real Madrid have the chance to shake off the attentions of title rivals Valencia and open up a five-point lead at the top of the table when the two sides meet at the Bernabeu on Sunday (kickoff 2000 GMT).
Valencia have matched Real since the start of the campaign, but defeat against the champions would provide a major setback to their title aspirations.
Real, who lead Valencia by two points at the top of the standings, will start the game as the bookmakers' favourites given their impeccable record of 11 wins in 11 league matches at the Bernabeu this season.
They also have the added psychological advantage of an emphatic 5-1 aggregate victory over Valencia in the King's Cup at the end of last month.
Carlos Queiroz's side may, however, be suffering the after-effects of their bruising Cup semi-final aggregate victory over Sevilla in midweek.
The visitors, who beat Real 2-0 at the Mestalla in the league earlier in the season, will be boosted by the likely return of Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar from injury.
Unless Real make a successful appeal, his opposite number Zinedine Zidane will miss out following his sending off against Sevilla and the absence of the Frenchman could tip the balance in Valencia's favour.
"It's difficult for any team to beat Real in their own stadium," Valencia's experienced fullback Amedeo Carboni said earlier this week. "But I think that this time we've got a really good chance of coming away with something positive from this match."
Other Primera Liga matches being played this weekend (league positions in brackets, kickoff times 1600 GMT unless stated):
Saturday: MURCIA (20) v SEVILLA (13) 1830
A 1-0 win at home to Real Madrid in midweek was not enough to prevent their exit in the semi-finals of the Cup, but Sevilla can now devote all their attentions to making up ground in the league.
Basement side Murcia have a more resilient look about them since the arrival of coach John Toshack, but are still desperately short of firepower up front.
REAL SOCIEDAD (10) ATHLETIC BILBAO (5) 2030
Three wins in a row have pushed Bilbao up the table into a UEFA Cup berth, but they are sure to find it hard going when they face Basque rivals Sociedad whose five-match winning streak came to an end with their 2-1 defeat at Zaragoza last time out.
Sunday:
BARCELONA (4) ATLETICO MADRID (6) (1800)
With both sides setting their sights on the fourth Champions League slot, the game at the Nou Camp is certain to be a tense affair.
Barca, who have made a good start to the year with four wins from their last five games, will be missing Dutch midfielder Philip Cocu. Atletico are without former Barca defender Sergi but young striker Fernando Torres has recovered from a recent knee injury.
DEPORTIVO CORUNA (3) OSASUNA (7)
Depor will be looking to take advantage of the clash between Real and Valencia to make up ground on the top two. The Galicians will need to be at their best if they are to see off Javier Aguirre's combative outfit, who have lost just two matches away from home all season.
MALAGA (15) ESPANYOL (19)
Malaga's dramatic slump continued with a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid last week -- their sixth defeat in a row -- and the Andalucians need to arrest their decline if they are to avoid being dragged into the relegation battle.
Despite two encouraging wins Espanyol remain in trouble near the foot of the table.
REAL BETIS (9) REAL ZARAGOZA (17)
A good week for Zaragoza, who followed their league victory over Real Sociedad with an away goals win over second division Alaves to earn themselves a place in the final of the King's Cup against Real Madrid. But Victor Munoz's side will be doing exceptionally well if they manage to put an end Betis's six-match unbeaten run.
REAL MALLORCA (14) ALBACETE (18)
With new signing Andrija Delibasic out injured, Mallorca will be relieved to have striker Samuel Eto'o back from international duty with Cameroon at the African Nations Cup.
The islanders lost 3-0 to Sevilla last week but should still be favourites to beat struggling Albacete, who have gone seven games without a win.
VALLADOLID (12) CELTA VIGO (16)
Celta claimed their first win under coach Radomir Antic with a 2-1 victory over Villarreal last week, and there appears to be a renewed sense of optimism at the Galician club. New signing Sasha Illic has made a promising start and his team will be hopeful of taking at least a point from their trip to Valladolid.
VILLARREAL (8) RACING SANTANDER (11)
After an impressive first half of the season, Villarreal have gone off the boil in recent games, dropping out of the European places after three successive defeats.
Racing have also slumped in form of late but their talented attacking line-up, which includes Rodolfo Bodipo and Javi Guerrero, is certain to cause plenty of problems for the Villarreal defence.