The hectic midweek schedule stretched out until the late hours of Thursday night, leaving us a little punch drunk in all honesty, so it seems only sensible to take things easy this weekend in order to catch our breath.

Levante v Real Madrid
(Saturday 2000 CET)
Yours truly was in attendance at the Estadio Ciutat de Valencia last weekend, watching Levante's 2-1 mini-derby defeat against Villarreal and though I wasn't too impressed with what I saw on occasions in la segunda last season, they weren't short of energy and enthusiasm against the Yellow Submarine.

However, despite asserting themselves territorially and looking dangerous at set pieces, Levante's naivety was exposed by two moments of class from the left boot of Giuseppe Rossi and the clinical instinct of Nilmar to trail by two goals at the break. 

Nonetheless, it left me wondering what might happen if the Granotes bagged the opening goal in a game, giving themselves something to hang on to, and the answer came in midweek at Almeria.

A gutsy 1-0 win against Juanma Lillo's men will do their confidence the world of good but what fate dishes up with one hand, it will probably take away with the other as Real Madrid provide the opposition in Orriols this weekend.

Sadly, the battling qualities of Luis Garcia's men can only take them so far and this encounter promises to be little more than an exercise in damage limitation.

The Merengues might not be the most cavalier outfit under Jose Mourinho but they do have enough quality to exploit Levante's defensive shortcomings in ruthless fashion.

There's little value to be found in the correct score market but a comfortable three or four-goal margin in favour of the visitors is probably to be expected.

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona
(Saturday 2200 CET)
Barcelona made heavy weather of taking three points against Sporting Gijon in midweek and now the champions could be worth opposing against Athletic Bilbao in the continued absence of Lionel Messi.

The Catalans needed an early second half David Villa goal to edge past the Asturians in a dour game on Wednesday evening, raising the inevitable question of just how much they rely on the world's greatest player.

Of course, the same questions were being asked when Xavi and Carles Puyol were absent for the recent defeat to Hercules but it just goes to show how such a fine-tuned machine can stutter when missing one component.

In Messi's absence, Barca can lack spontaneity because not only does he produce magic himself but the special treatment he invariably gets from opponents creates the time and space for the other leading lights to shine at their brightest.

If Athletic can steal a march and get their noses in front at some point then we suspect they have enough about them to see the job through, particularly in the cauldron of San Mames.

It might only seem like a minor detail, but it can only help the Basques that this will be the eighth occasion they've faced Pep Guardiola's men in the last two years and nothing prepares a team for this kind of challenge better than experience.

As such, we see no harm in having a speculative interest in the hosts at 4.00 on the draw no bet market. 

Atletico Madrid v Real Zaragoza
(Sunday 2100 CET)
Atletico Madrid picked up a valuable point against Valencia on Wednesday and now they should be fancied to kick on against mediocre opposition when bottom-of-the-table Zaragoza visit the Vicente Calderon.

The Colchoneros have done enough to win over most doubters now they possess the correct mentality under Quique Sanchez Flores to pick up points with consistency and it's the visitors from Aragon who probably pick up the baton as the division's likeliest underachievers.

After a dreadful start last season, things picked up dramatically following the appointment of Jose Aurelio Gay in January but they've hardly looked like winning so far this season in spite of what appeared to be a favourable early schedule.

A goalless draw with newly-promoted Hercules in midweek means they've fired blanks in three of their four matches with the exception being the fightback from five goals down against Malaga in Week 2.

So it's difficult to envisage anything other than a routine home victory but we'll make our excuses and opt against backing it at odds of 2.45.

Best of the rest:
The hectic midweek schedule stretched out until the late hours of Thursday night, leaving us a little punch drunk in all honesty, so it seems only sensible to take things easy this weekend in order to catch our breath.

However, one other bet that does leap off the coupon is the 7/5 on Racing Santander to beat Getafe at El Sardinero on Sunday afternoon.

The Cantabrians have endured a difficult start with a home game against Barcelona followed by trips to Valencia and Sevilla, but they acquitted themselves rather well in the latter two fixtures, while a 2-0 victory over Zaragoza in between is enough to justify our faith in run-of-the-mill encounters.

Getafe might have finished sixth last term but they're a team to be opposed at the moment, at least while they come to terms with the summer departures of striker Roberto Soldado and playmaker Pedro Leon.

Meanwhile, following on from our observations about Levante and their midweek triumph at Almeria, we're also inclined to believe that Juanma Lillo's men will stray into value territory pretty soon.

The Andalusians aren't the most fashionable outfit in la Primera to begin with, but a run of poor results masks the creative quality at their disposal.

That said, we're not quite prepared to take plunge just yet because they visit Deportivo this weekend, a team who find themselves in a similar boat albeit with contrasting means to get themselves out of trouble.

Almeria are 3.50 to win at the Riazor but we're optimistic that better opportunities will come along if we bide our time.

PICKS:
Athletic Bilbao to beat Barcelona (draw no bet) at 4.00 (Bet365).
Racing Santander to beat Getafe at 2.45 (Bwin).