Barcelona: With their lead over Barcelona crumbling, league pacesetters Real Madrid face a crucial Spanish capital derby at an Atletico Madrid eager to break a run of 22 games without a victory over their crosstown rivals on Wednesday.
Three draws in their last five games have cut Madrid's once commanding advantage of 10 points down to four, and Barcelona will have a shot at pulling even closer on Tuesday at home against Getafe. Madrid's visit to Vicente Calderon stadium is even more important as they are set to travel to Barcelona in less than two weeks.
"The gap with Barcelona has been reduced, but now we just have to keep moving forward," said Madrid captain Iker Casillas. "The derby will be a special match. After so long without beating us, for them it will also be a vital game. Real Madrid can lose this league because mathematically it isn't over. Each match is a final."
Atletico hasn't beaten Madrid since 1999, and Madrid's dominance has only increased over time with wins in each their last seven meetings. For Atletico to have a chance it will need to repeat Valencia's feat on Sunday when it held Madrid's potent attack in check for a 0-0 draw. Jose Mourinho's Madrid has scored a league-high 100 goals so far this season -74 of those coming from the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema - and is on pace to break the all-time league record of 107.
While struggling away coach Diego Simeone has his Atletico playing well at home where they have won three games in a row. "We have to respect them because they are leaders and are more than 30 points above us in the standings. This is one of the best Real Madrid sides ever," said Atletico defender Filipe Luis. "But we will be playing in front of our fans and will try to get the win. All of us dream about beating Madrid after all these years."
Atletico will be without in-form forward Eduardo Salvio, defender Miranda and midfielder Mario Suarez due to suspension. Getafe dealt Barcelona their first loss of the season in November thanks to Juan Valera's second-half goal when the modest side was able to stifle the European champions by packing their area with defenders. Barcelona should have an easier time of breaking down Getafe's defence at home where they have not lost since September of 2010.
"We always believed that the league would give us an opportunity," said Barcelona defender Adriano. "If we continue playing like this we can do it. The team has had a lot of injuries this season and has made a huge effort to get to where we are."
Barcelona will be without suspended midfielder Cesc Fabregas, while defenders Gerard Pique and Dani Alves are both doubtful because of injury. The defending champions will be able to count on prolific scorer Lionel Messi as they seek a tenth straight league win. Messi is playing perhaps the best football of his already illustrious career. On Saturday, he scored twice to become the first player to score 60 goals in a major European league since Gerd Mueller had 67 for Bayern Munich in 1972-73.
The Argentina forward leads the Spanish league with 38 goals, one more than Madrid's Ronaldo. Both are vying to break the Portuguese international's league record of 40 set last season. Also on Tuesday, sixth-place Osasuna host Espanyol with both teams in the hunt for a place in European competition next season, while Real Betis is at Real Sociedad.
Third-place Valencia will look to build on their draw at Madrid on Wednesday as they welcome the explosive Rayo Vallecano, fresh off a 6-0 rout of Osasuna over the weekend. Levante will try to take three points at last-place Sporting Gijon that would keep this season's surprise team in the thick of the hunt for a top-four finish and a Champions League place.
Also on Wednesday, Athletic Bilbao visit Granada in search of a second straight win to maintain their fading hopes of a late-season rally to move up the standings. On Thursday, it's: Villarreal vs. Malaga; Racing Santander vs. Mallorca; and Sevilla vs. Zaragoza.
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