Unbeaten Real heads to Espanyol

Real Madrid visit in-form Espanyol on Saturday looking to maintain their unbeaten record in the Primera Liga.

Bernd Schuster's side have been in fine form this season, conceding just three goals in their first seven league games.

Real full-back Michel Salgado has issued a warning to Espanyol ahead of the game, insisting the champions are yet to hit top gear this season.

"We are not playing our best football at the moment, but if we continue to get results, it will come," he said.

However, Espanyol midfielder Moises Hurtado is confident his side can end Real's unbeaten start when they visit the Olimpic Lluis Companys stadium.

Espanyol have also started well and sit fifth in the table, six points behind the leaders.

"We believe in ourselves and we are eager to get the victory. The changing room thinks we can beat Madrid," Hurtado told the club's web site. "The game comes at a good time for us as we are in good form and we hope to continue like that, although we are not forgetting it will be difficult."

Second-placed Barcelona also face a difficult away tie on Saturday night when they visit third-placed Villarreal.

Frank Rijkaard will be without Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto'o and Rafael Marquez, although the latter two have now returned to training following injury.

Villarreal could be boosted by the return of Nihat, but Gonzalo Rodriguez is out and leading scorer Giuseppe Rossi is suspended.

Sevilla will be confident of ending their four-game losing streak when they travel to bottom side Levante, who have lost their last five games in La Liga.

Sevilla's Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano is not too concerned by his side's run of poor form.

"We have played well in the last few games, but we just haven't been scoring," Fabiano said. "There is no big problem, we will soon be winning and back to our best again."

Fourth-placed Valencia will be looking to bounce back from their home defeat to Espanyol last time out when they visit inconsistent Deportivo La Coruna.

Sunday sees a number of mid-table clashes when newly-promoted Almeria host Osasuna, Atletico Madrid welcome Real Zaragoza, Racing Santander travel to Real Betis and Recreativo Huelva look to recover from back-to-back defeats at home to Real Mallorca.

Also on Sunday, strugglers Getafe will be desperate for a first win of the season against surprise-package Murcia and Valladolid, also languishing in the bottom three, welcome Athletic Bilbao who are themselves hovering just above the relegation zone.