Real currently hold the upper hand in La Liga and sit top of the table with a three-point advantage over their rivals. With 10 wins in their last 10 league matches – 15 games unbeaten in all competitions – confidence will be flowing through their veins as they look to increase the gap over Barca.

A win for Barcelona would get them back into the title race before they board a plane to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, but what makes life tough for them is the fact they need to defeat Real at a time when they look unbeatable.

Pep Guardiola’s side can boast an impressive recent record themselves as, either side of their shock loss to Getafe, they have won six matches in which they conceded only two goals and scored 21 themselves.

Barcelona fans will also pay close attention to their manager’s record against Madrid, with Guardiola boasting five wins, one draw and no defeats in his six El Clasico league games as boss. The record at the Bernabeu is two wins and one draw, with an average of 2.6 goals per game.

But this season is different to recent years as Barcelona have struggled on the road. Just two wins in six games is below their usual high standards, while they have failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their 11 away fixtures in all competitions.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both scored an impressive 17 league goals this season already and seem the obvious two options for first goalscorer (Ronaldo 10/3, Messi 7/2 – First Goalscorer), while Cesc Fabregas (7/1) has weighed in with seven league goals himself and, given the fact he practically plays as a striker in all but name in this Barca team, he could find himself in the right place at the right time.

Madrid could benefit from the fact Jose Mourinho managed to rest a lot of his star players for their Champions League game in midweek, and the biggest decision for ‘The Special One’ is whether to choose Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain in attack.

Barcelona have switched between 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 formations this season but don’t be surprised if Guardiola opts for caution against a Madrid side that are capable of scoring goals at will. That means Javier Mascherano could be at centre-half and the midfielder’s lack of pace will then be targeted by the men in white (Real Madrid 2-0 – 10/1).

For the last few years Barcelona have been considered the best team in the world, but this game will be a huge test of their credentials as Madrid are playing like a team possessed at this point in time.

This weekend’s game could signal a dramatic momentum shift in Spanish football.

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Bayer Leverkusen have already made sure of their place in the knockout stages with a last-gasp, come-from-behind win over the Blues, which has really piled the pressure on Andre Villas-Boas ahead of a do-or-die clash, particularly with Valencia cruising to a 7-0 win on the same night.

Chelsea do of course have destiny in their own hands, as well as home advantage, and will book a knockout place for the ninth-year running with a victory, which is anticipated in the match betting – Chelsea 8/11, Draw 11/4, Valencia 4/1.

The Blues have never lost to the Spanish outfit in five previous encounters although worryingly for the Blues, both previous meetings at Stamford Bridge have resulted in draws.

A goalless draw would be good enough for Chelsea to progress but a scoring draw will be in favour of Los Che and with Roberto Soldado in fine fettle, the home side will do well to keep tabs on the former Real Madrid striker.

Soldado (13/2 First/Last Goalscorer) scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, netted a 26-minute hat-trick in the rout of Genk and bagged the winner on Saturday to help Valencia maintain their pursuit of Real and Barcelona in La Liga.

Chelsea certainly have had plenty of defensive problems of late, losing five of the last 10 games and three of the last four at home, but did pick up a morale-boosting 3-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend.

That result was thanks to a large piece of luck as David Luiz somehow escaped a red card early in the game, while Newcastle were denied on a number of occasions by the woodwork.

The change of style under Villas-Boas has exposed the back four so far this season, but they still possess plenty of fire power and on another day might well have wrapped up Saturday’s game long before they did.

Didier Drogba grabbed what is only his third goal of the season last weekend, following on from his goal in Leverkusen, and is 4/1 favourite First/Last Goalscorer, although Daniel Sturridge is in fine form and can be backed at 9/2, and Frank Lampard, the club’s second top goalscorer so far this season, is on offer at 6/1.

It would be amazing to see Fernando Torres in the starting line-up given his form since arriving at Stamford Bridge last January, while he has only scored two goals in eight previous appearances against Valencia – and picked up a red card.

It is hard to see the game being an open attacking shoot out given what is at stake, although an early goal may well shake things up – but Chelsea have the strength to put recent problems behind them and seal a knockout berth.

A win of course may be good enough to see the Blues take top spot in the group (Bayer 1/3, Chelsea 3/1, Valencia 8/1 – Group E Winner) as Bayer would need to achieve what neither Chelsea or Valencia did – and that is win in Genk.

They may have only picked up two points so far in the group but are undefeated at home having held the Spaniards to a goalless draw, and Chelsea 1-1.

Bayer of course, have won all three home games but have yet to pick up even a point on their travels but with the carrot of being group winners to play for, the Germans are strongly fancied at 8/15 in the match betting, with Genk on offer at 11/2 and the draw at 16/5.

That seems a short price on a team that has lost both times on their travels, but they were a little unlucky in Valencia – and now Genk do not even have Europa League qualification to play for.

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