It certainly is a tale of two teams in La Liga with Barcelona and Real Madrid head and shoulders above the rest and after a 5-0 win in the first ‘Clasico’ of the season, the Catalans look worthy 8/15 favourites to successfully defend their Primera Liga title.
The gap at the top though is only two points so it is up to Real to keep up the pressure in their pursuit of their fierce rivals, although they face a tough test this weekend when they take on Villarreal, who may have aspirations of sneaking second place.
On the face of it, Jose Mourinho has enjoyed a successful start to the season having garnered 44 points from 17 games, while also leading the club through the Copa del Rey and Champions League group stages.
The capital club have a perfect home record and have suffered just one defeat all season – but they are always going to be compared to their arch rivals and at the moment are playing second fiddle, while that one defeat was a hammering at the Nou Camp.
Real have meted out some punishment in eight home wins out of eight but the Yellow Submarines have only been beaten three times this season, look a massive price at 17/2 to pull off a shock win.
Villarreal are currently third in the league and have a five-point cushion over fourth-placed Valencia, who themselves are three clear of the chasing pack, so there is less pressure on the visitors at the Bernabeu on Sunday and they may be able to take advantage.
Real’s home record does look imposing, particularly with Cristiano Ronaldo in fine scoring form this season, but Villarreal are worth backing with a goal start at 11/4.
Getafe probably did not want the winter break to come as they went into it as a form side in the division, on a five-match unbeaten streak including four wins on the bounce.
The Madrid minnows did lose on their return to action but there is no disgrace in coming off second best against their more illustrious neighbours, going down 3-2 at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Defeat at the hands of Real Betis in the Copa del Rey in midweek can work in their favour as they can now focus on an improving league campaign, which sees the club occupy seventh place in the table just one point off European qualification.
The recent good run also saw some notable scalps in Sevilla away and Villarreal and the Dark Blues can take the three points on Sunday against a struggling Osasuna side.
Jose Antonio Camacho’s men have struggled for goals this season, lie in 16th place just four points above the drop zone and Getafe can take advantage at 17/10 for the win.
Over recent seasons, Inter Milan have ruled the roost in Italy but Rafa Benitez has failed to fill the shoes of Jose Mourinho and the club lie in seventh, a massive 13 points behind arch rivals AC Milan.
The Nerazzurri have struggled on the road in particular and Catania, who have lost just once at the Stadio Angelo Massimino, can spring a surprise at 13/5 to make home advantage count on Sunday.
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