Barcelona return to the scene of a quite brilliant individual performance from Lionel Messi last season, although it's largely been forgotten in the context of this game with the focus firmly fixed on David Villa's relative barren run for the blaugrana following his big summer move from Valencia.

Real Zaragoza v Barcelona
Saturday
Barcelona return to the scene of a quite brilliant individual performance from Lionel Messi last season, although it's largely been forgotten in the context of this game with the focus firmly fixed on David Villa's relative barren run for the blaugrana following his big summer move from Valencia.

El Guaje has mustered just four goals in 10 appearances - if you could, for one moment, just imagine the shame of it - and he seems to be giving himself a hard time about the matter just as much as anyone else.

OK, so he's missing chances, but it's difficult to envisage this being anything other than a temporary blip as he adjusts to a different style of play, although he will struggle to match his goals-per-game record at Mestalla in a team where chances tend to be shared around more.

All of which means that Messi is being largely overlooked in spite of the fact he's bagged six goals in his last five starts either side of what many feared might have been a season-ending ankle injury as he was stretchered off in the dying moments of last month's 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid.

Anyway, Messi bagged a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture back in March and he's 13.00 to repeat the feat. Alternatively, you can get 4.00 on him scoring two or more and he's 1.50 (Bet365) to score anytime.

We highlight these prices, not because they represent any great value, but simply because we cannot imagine the match itself being much of a contest.

Real Madrid v Racing Santander
Saturday
In recent seasons, any manager of Real Madrid would have felt compelled to rotate his squad for a fixture like this.

Such is the apparent complexity of the job, it would be seen as common sense to rest a few big names, while keeping certain fringe players happy into the bargain.

However, Jose Mourinho views his priorities differently and we should expect the Merengues to be at full strength once again for the next increment of his long-haul team-building process.

In spite of their clear development in recent weeks, some habits are far from second nature to the Madrid players and the Portuguese coach won't be happy until his first-choice XI are capable of singing from the same hymn sheet, in at least a couple of different languages, in their sleep.

As ever, the priority will be a clean sheet but the layers are clearly well aware this and there's scant value to be found in 1.61 (Bet365) quotes about the shut-out.

Punters on the lookout for a shock can get 12.50 (Bwin) about Racing, but we wouldn't recommend it.

This is the kind of game when the Cantabrians can give a good account of themselves but they lack the cutting edge to be taken seriously.

They might not look like the worst team in the division judging by the way they stroke the ball about at times, but what happens in both penalty boxes suggests they are there or thereabouts.

Valencia v Real Mallorca
Saturday
It's a measure of where Valencia are going that they're now setting themselves a new target to "suffer less" at home.

There's nothing particularly wrong with their home record as it reads on paper - they rack up the points better than anyone outside the top two - but boss Unai Emery is concerned by their tendency to keep hearts in mouths until the final whistle.

It's a problem Emery is largely responsible for in terms of how he sets his team up but he's clearly taking a long-term view of how the club could benefit from the developing the ability to win routine home matches with economy of effort.

Last season, Mallorca snatched a late equaliser to take a point from Mestalla, contradicting a pretty dismal away record at the time, and they are opposition that shouldn't be underestimated as they get to grips with what new boss Michael Laudrup is asking of them.

Valencia ought to win, but punters looking for a sure-thing at 1.55 (Bwin) should probably turn their sights elsewhere.

If you do decide to play Los Che as a heavy single, then you might be best advised to avoid watching the game, otherwise you will probably do so with a clenched fist in mouth from behind the couch.

Villarreal v Atletico Madrid
Sunday
Villarreal missed the chance to climb to the top of the Primera Liga for the first time in their history at Hercules on Sunday - the seventh time they've spurned the opportunity - and now they could find their 100 per cent home record under threat against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

The Yellow Submarine were a bit of an unknown quantity at the start of the campaign as they swept out some of the old guard and ushered in a handful of newcomers from the B team, but they've shown themselves to be a capable outfit against also-ran opposition.

So while it seems clear that Juan Carlos Garrido's men will be in the mix for a top-six berth come the end of the season, we're keen to oppose them in their first real test against a genuine rival.

Atletico are already battle-hardened to games of this magnitude having faced Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla in their opening seven league matches, not to mention Inter Milan in the European Super Cup.

It's a sample of matches that's produced a mixed bag of results but the rojiblancos have performed well enough to suggest there's some value in Bet365's 2.25 draw-no-bet offering.

Under Quique Sanchez Flores, the Colchoneros have proved themselves to be a tough nut to crack, yet in the process there's no reason to believe they've lost the bags of character that allowed them to produce some stunning comebacks against the odds when necessary.

As such, all the ingredients are there to trust that visitors will return to the capital with something tangible to show for their efforts.

Best of the rest:
There's only one price that grabs our attention in the Sunday afternoon kick-offs and that's the 4.60 on Sporting Gijon to beat Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

It's a bet that requires a leap of faith because you need to overlook some pretty off-putting statistics in order to remain confident when punting the visitors because Manuel Preciado's men have a habit of letting down their loyal legion of travelling fans.

The rojiblancos triumphed only twice on opposition soil last term - and just once in the last 12 months - but, so long as the Asturian hordes continue to follow them in numbers, there's always an incentive for the players to go out and repay them with an occasional upset.

And that's where common sense should take up the baton from logic in this scenario, because would a Sporting win against Getafe really be such an upset?

Since winning promotion to the top flight two years ago, Sporting have made steady progress and now they have the aura of a team that belongs at this level, so the only step forward now must be to improve on that wretched away record.

This won't be the first time we've opposed Getafe this season and the same reasoning still stands from the previous occasions still stands.

Michel's men finished seventh last season and they're still being priced up as the same team despite being stripped of a couple of key assets in the summer, which combined with the demands of the Europa League makes them considerably weaker for run-of-the-mill clashes such as this.

PICKS:
Atletico Madrid to beat Villarreal (draw no bet) at 2.25 at Bet365
Sporting Gijon to beat Getafe at 4.60 at Bwin.com