It is not too long until the first ‘El Clasico‘ of the La Liga season and both Real Madrid and Barcelona are in action on Saturday night with three points separating the two sides at the top of the table.
And, perhaps surprisingly, that difference is in the favour of the capital side despite them suffering a defeat earlier on this season, although Barcelona remain marginal favourites at 5/6 to win a fourth league title on the bounce, with Real priced at 10/11.
On the face of it, Jose Mourinho’s men would have the trickier of the two matches as they take on city rivals Atletico Madrid at 19:00 GMT, although they do have home advantage at the Santiago Bernabeu – and a rather impressive recent record.
It has been a huge 12 years since Atletico managed to overturn their illustrious city rivals, coming away from the Bernabeu with all three points following a 3-1 win in October 1999, which at the time made it back-to-back wins after victory by the same scoreline at the Vicente Calderon at the end of the previous season.
Two successive draws followed but Real have been dominant in the head-to-head record, winning 15 of the 21 games since their last defeat – and it is hard to see anything changing on Saturday.
Not withstanding the fact that there is a vast difference in the wealth of the two clubs, Real have scored 24 goals in five games at the Bernabeu in La Liga this season with their only blemishes coming on the road, drawing at Racing Santander and losing at Levante.
Their Champions League form has been equally impressive, winning five out of five, and they will go into the match on the back of a 6-2 drubbing of Dinamo Zagreb last Tuesday.
It is hard to see Real being overturned by Atletico at the best of times, particularly with the visitors enduring something of a transition having lost Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan last summer – so it is no surprise to see Real installed as 1/5 favourites, with Atletico on offer at 12/1 and the draw at 11/2.
That may seem like a massive price on the visitors getting something from a derby game where ‘form goes out of the window’ but Atletico have been awful on the road this year, with just one draw and four defeats from five games.
Los Colchoneros also find it nigh on impossible to find the back of the net with just two goals from those five games, with both coming in the same match, so Real winning to nil has to be considered – last year’s 2-0 home win in this fixture is priced up at 11/2.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been prolific again this season and needs to be considered in the goalscoring betting, having notched 14 in 12 in the Primera Liga this season – although that is reflected in the betting as he is the 9/4 favourite to score first.
It looks as though the pressure will be on Barcelona when they take to the field at 21:00 GMT to keep within three points of the leaders when they take on Getafe – but they are not expected to run in to trouble, priced at 1/5 in the match betting, with the hosts available at 12/1 and the draw at 11/2.
There is not much to say about Barcelona and how good they are and can be, particularly with the world’s best footballer in Lionel Messi (7/4 to open the scoring) in their ranks, but this season they have run into one or two problems on the road.
The Catalan giants remain unbeaten this season but are behind Real in the table because they have suffered four draws, three of which have come on their travels.
Scoring on the road has not been as easy either with eight away goals dwarfed by a huge unanswered 30 at the Nou Camp, with opposing teams’ game plans proving hard to break down.
It is worth noting that although Getafe are lying in 15th place in the table, they have only lost one at home this season – also picking up two wins and three draws – and have proved no easy beats at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez this term.
Messi on his own could make a mockery of the form if he has one of those days, and he is by no means the only talent in the side, but Getafe might be able to do their near-neighbours Real a favour this weekend by replicating their 2007 success.
Want £200 Free? Click here to visit Bet365 and claim your free money.
Arsenal v Newcastle United
Spain captain Iker Casillas says his sides World Cup semi-final against Germany on Wednesday night is the most important match in the country’s footballing history. (Spain 8/5 to beat Germany)
Ian Holloway’s Blackpool side won the final ticket to next season’s Premier League by beating Cardiff City 3-2 at Wembley in yet another pulsating Championship Play Off Final.
Fulham against Atlético Madrid is one of the more unlikely pairings for a European Final, because Fulham are novices at this level and Atlético began the season with high hopes in the Champions League.