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.

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Arsenal v Newcastle United

Arsenal’s recent good run of form in all competitions was ended on Wednesday when they crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League but don’t expect the Gunners (3/10 in the match betting) to misfire when Newcastle (10/1 to win, 4/1 the draw) travel to the Emirates for the early Premier League kick-off at 13:30.

Shakhtar are no mugs and with Arsene Wenger’s men seemingly on course to make the knockout stages in Europe’s elite competition having won their first three group games, they can be forgiven for succumbing to a long trip against tough opposition, particularly when key players were missing.

Arsenal are still without Manuel Almunia, Abu Diaby, Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen due to injury – while Andrei Arshavin, Denilson and Alex Song are doubtful – but captain and talisman Cesc Fabregas (5/1 to score first) is set to return to the heart of midfield.

The Spanish World Cup winner is likely to be reunited with Jack Wilshere who is available again following a three-match suspension and the pair have been forging an excellent partnership in the middle of the park.

Already five points behind Chelsea in the table, there will be no taking it easy from the north Londoners, who had won five on the bounce (the last three without conceding) since a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge before that midweek reverse.

During that winning run, Arsenal also thumped an admittedly weakened Newcastle side at St James’ Park in the Carling Cup so the Magpies can be expected to be brought back down to earth with a bump following their 5-1 win in the Tyne-Wear derby last Sunday.

The Gunners have scored at least three goals in the last five meetings with Newcastle, who have not won at Arsenal since 2001 in a run of 10 games with only one draw.

Goals are certainly expected with over 2.5 priced at 4/9 but having won their last three against Newcastle (who have scored just once in their last seven away games against Wenger’s men) at home by a 3-0 scoreline, Arsenal with -1 on the handicap at 3/4 or to win to nil at 20/21 should be looked at.

West Brom v Man City

West Brom will be looking to replicate their recent impressive away form at The Hawthorns when the Premier League millionaires of Manchester City ride into town on Sunday afternoon.

Roberto Di Matteo’s men have shocked many football fans in recent times by going unbeaten at home, winning at the Emirates, and holding Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford.

They will now be looking for a repeat of their Carling Cup win over Manchester City on Sunday with the two Italian managers enjoying contrasting fortunes in recent times.

Roberto Mancini is under increasing scrutiny after three defeats in a row both domestically and in Europe, but he is set to benefit from the return of Carlos Tevez, who has been at the root of all things good for City so far this season.

A win for West Brom could leapfrog them over Sunday’s more illustrious visitors and their attacking power will be boosted at the Hawthorns by the return to fitness of Peter Odemwingie, who has impressed with his pace and goals since arriving in England over the summer.

With the poor form, low confidence and reports of in-fighting that has plagued City in recent weeks, there could not be a better time for West Brom to get another win over one of the teams regarded as title challengers.

Di Matteo has built a side capable of playing swift attacking football, and unless City’s defenders start to play as a unit, which they have not shown in recent weeks, it could be a long afternoon in the West Midlands, particularly as the Baggies (13/5 in the match betting) have not lost at the Hawthorns in 11 months.

Liverpool v Chelsea

Liverpool’s 3-1 victory over Napoli may have improved the mood at Anfield but Chelsea’s visit on Sunday could bring the Reds crashing down again.

The victory over the Serie A side was impressive, but a hat-trick from Steven Gerrard essentially spared Liverpool’s blushes with the Italians the better of the two sides until the midfielder’s introduction.

The Liverpool captain is always capable of scoring and he does tend to raise his game in high-profile encounters. Gerrard is 5/2 to score anytime but at 9/1 the England international is worth some consideration in the enhanced first goalscorers’ market.

However, while I expect Gerrard to have a good game against the reigning champions, the rest of the Liverpool squad have done little to impress this season and Chelsea should prove too strong for Roy Hodgson’s side.

Fernando Torres is struggling for both form and fitness, while Joe Cole is unavailable as he is suffering with a hamstring problem.

Chelsea could be without Jose Bosingwa (illness) and Michael Essien (toe), while midfield duo Frank Lampard and Yossi Benayoun are definitely ruled out.

Even without Lampard and Essien, Chelsea should still be too strong for Liverpool and at evens, the league-leaders are good value to take all three points from their trip to Anfield.

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Spain

The Spanish were seen as perennial underachievers until they won the European Championships in 2008 to alleviate some of the pressure on the national side.

But the Euro 2008 victory has been quickly forgotten and the Spanish population now expect their side to go and lift the ultimate goal in football at the World Cup.

Victory in the match against Germany would book Spain a place in their first World Cup final and make the likelihood of a second major trophy in two years even more of a possibility.

Howver, Casillas is not taking anything for granted and admits his side are aware of the pressure on them.

“People are not telling us how good we were at Euro 2008,” said the keeper.

“People are saying we have to win the World Cup. The people want the World Cup.

“We know that the Germany match is the most important in our history, even more than the Euro 2008 final in Austria.

“We did not come here to finish fourth. The European Championships is in the past and was a complete success, it was fantastic.

“Everyone was flying the (Spanish) flag from the rooftops but now, from what we are seeing, this is the most important match for Spain for a very long time.”

Spent went into the tournament as outright favourites for the title and despite an early hiccup against Switzerland, look right on course to fulfil their billing despite not yet hitting the heights they reached in qualification (Spain 15/8 to win the World Cup).

However Germany are the in-form side in the championship and have impressed with their free flowing football. The Germans destroyed Diego Maradona’s Argentina 4-0 in the quarters and look a danger every time they go forward.

Spain striker Fernando Torres has so far disappointed in the tournament after coming back from knee surgery.

However, Casillas believes this has further demonstrated the strength of the Spanish squad and the importance of the team rather than the individuals.

“This shows that a national team is not at all about only one player.

“A player can win you a tournament, like Argentina and (Diego) Maradona (in Mexico in 1986).

“But today, more and more, the team is what counts. A player can perform very well but at the end of the day everything is based around teamwork.”

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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.

The amount riding on this game has been creeping up year by year. When Derby County beat West Bromwich Albion in 2007 the game was called the ‘£90 million match’. Inflation and extra parachute payments have quickly added to the value.

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Like Burnley a year ago, Blackpool have come from an unlikely position to snatch promotion. The club pay some of the lowest wages in the division and have a capacity of only 13,000 at Bloomfield Road. A new stand is required behind one end.

The Tangerine success story has been based on team spirit and fearless attacking style; the 3-2 scoreline was no accident because Holloway has employed an adventurous 4-3-3 all season.

It could have gone badly wrong- Cardiff were twice in front but each time the Welsh club were pegged back before Brett Ormerod put the Seasiders in the lead.

All the goals came before half-time and it was a surprise that the second period remained goalless. Whether Blackpool can get away with their attacking style in the Premiership is another question.

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The town should make a lot of money- more so than most newly promoted clubs- by pushing weekend packages combining a Premiership fixture and an overnight stay.

Holloway is going to be good value for the media and journalists because he couldn’t be boring if he tried. However, he will be aware that there is little sentiment in football. Derby boss Billy Davies was shown the door less than four months into the campaign in 2007/08.

Phil Brown took Hull City up to the top flight for the very first time but he is no longer managing the Tigers, despite keeping them up in their first season.

The word is that Blackpool- like Burnley-won’t be breaking the bank to stay up. At least Holloway can call on Charlie Adam whose purchase from Rangers was so influential. His success will encourage other players to take a chance under Ian Holloway’s idiosyncratic methods.

The Tangerines will struggle for points next season but it is worth remembering that they were a big club in the 1940s and 1950s- Blackpool may be small fish but they will be difficult to beat at home and may yet cause a few more surprises.

Related posts:

1. Play Off Final Prediction: Can Blackpool Pull Off Cardiff Shock?
2. Laws Takes Burnley Into Grudge Match At The Reebok Stadium
3. Europa League Final: Can Fulham Win Or Athletico Win As Tight Match Is Expected

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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.

Fulham’s run has been a massive surprise but there is no doubting the quality of the teams they have despatched- Shahtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg in the knockout roundsm plus Roma in the group stages.

• You Can Bet On this match: Athletico Madrid v Fulham Europa League Final

Atlético are another quality outfit to get past, despite their mediocre league form. The team from the capital were fourth last season and expected to make a bold challenge in the Champions League but it all went wrong for them.

The Europa League run has saved their campaign. Although they have lived dangerously at times, there is no doubting the attacking talent they can deploy with Diego Forlan, Sergio Aguero, Jose Reyes and Simao to call on.

Tactical Fulham Pose Threat

Fulham have made their way by being tactically aware, compact as a team and highly disciplined- that isn’t going to change for the final because Atlético present a real danger on the counter-attack.

Roy Hodgson is under no pressure to make the running in the game and will be quite happy to allow Atletico to come forward. However, the ‘Rojiblancos’ coach, Quique Sanches Flores, has also been cagey in this competition. Twice his team progressed by securing a 0-0 draw at home after scoring in the away leg.

This fixture has the makings of a ‘traditional’ European Final where the two sides feel each other out and search for an opening. Fulham will be desperate to have Bobby Zamora leading the line as the Englishman has kept defences occupied almost single-handedly in Europe.

• You Can Bet On this match: Athletico Madrid v Fulham Europa League Final

Hodgson will surely stick to his 4-5-1 formation asking Zoltan Gera and Damian Duff (if fit) to get close to Zamora. The Cottagers desperately need Zamora and Duff to be available and in good health if they are to list the trophy.

Focus on Aguero & Simao

Aguero is very much in the shop window as he’s talked about as a big money summer signing for one of Europe’s biggest clubs. Forlan has become a big game player who gets critical goals- he netted in both legs against Liverpool in the semi-final.

Simao will be leading light for Portugal in the World Cup and Fulham will want their midfielders to give protection to the back four as he and Reyes like to run at defences by cutting inside from wide.

Athlético are a better side than their La Liga position suggests and it will take iron discipline and patience from Fulham to prevail. Goals should be at a premium and the match could well go to extra time or be decided by one strike.

Related posts:

1. An All-English Europa League Final Is On The Cards
2. FA Cup Predictions: Fulham v Tottenham – A Tight Derby Expected
3. Europa League Predictions: Fulham Can Hold On At Wolfsburg

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