Villarreal are taking all the plaudits on the back of an impressive start to the campaign but we've seen enough cracks in their make-up to oppose them at staggering odds of 3.50 for the trip to Sporting Gijon in the non-televised action on Sunday afternoon.

Hercules v Real Madrid
Saturday
If Jose Mourinho isn't careful, his Real Madrid team will be expected to win by a landslide every week - just like every other Real Madrid before him.

After suffering the indignity of a tepid goalless draw against Levante at beginning of the month, the Merengues have since responded with 16 goals in three matches with the Portuguese coach temporary tilting the scales back in the favour of style over substance.

However, you suspect somewhere at the back of his mind, the chaos of it all will be killing him. To somebody with Mourinho's attention to tactical detail, three games without a clean sheet is the stuff of sleepless nights, so it will be interesting to see how long he maintains his calm.

On the face of it, you would expect the high-scoring trend to continue at the Jose Rico Perez because Hercules have shown themselves to be a real handful going forward with two goals apiece in games against Barcelona, Sevilla and Villarreal.

However, Royston Drenthe has played a huge part in their development since his arrival from the Bernabeu on a season-long loan deal in September but he has effectively been priced out of an appearance against his parent club with a reported €2m eligibility clause attached to the deal.

So the main source of inspiration has been snaffled but Mourinho will nonetheless be wary of the predatory instincts of David Trezeguet and Nelson Haedo Valdez, a partnership that has bagged all seven of the Alicante club's goals this season.

Looking through the various markets on offer, it appears difficult to unearth any value but if you must get involved, you might be best advised to wait until nearer kick-off in the hope that under 2.5 goals drifts somewhere towards the 2.35 mark.



Barcelona v Sevilla
Saturday
Sevilla return to the scene of their Copa del Rey triumph last May, although the memories of a glorious night against Atletico Madrid will have already been doused somewhat by the thumping they took when returning to the Camp Nou for the Supercopa second leg in August.

Having snatched a 3-1 lead against a weakened side in the opener at the Sanchez Pizjuan, the rojiblancos saw their advantage wiped out by the champions inside 45 minutes as Barca eventually went on to win by four goals without reply.

However, we probably shouldn't place too much emphasis on the evidence provided that night. For whatever reason, Sevilla weren't performing under former boss Antonio Alvarez but now there's a much more desirable dynamic with Gregorio Manzano in charge.

Some would argue the layers are pushing their luck with a double-figure quote on the away win, especially when you consider how Barca's home record has already been soiled by a 2-0 defeat to Hercules and a 1-1 draw with Mallorca.

Even the slender 1-0 success against Sporting Gijon brought a slight sense of embarrassment but the second-half turnaround against Valencia tells you everything you need to know before getting carried away with any ideas of ploughing headlong into the visitors.

The truth is, Barca know better than anyone the games in which they need to be on their guard most and you're probably as well punting the much bigger prices to be found on teams further down the table if you're on a mission to catch the Catalans cold at the Camp Nou.

Sevilla haven't won a second-half since the opening day, so you suspect they'd have to strike early in order to stand any chance of success, although doing so might only serve to rouse the beast in Barca. All of which makes it's difficult to fathom how they can escape with anything more than a point.



Athletic Bilbao v Getafe
Sunday
By the logic of our previews so far this season, Athletic Bilbao ought to be punted at better than even money to beat Getafe on home soil.

The Basques did the business for us at odds-on against Real Zaragoza a fortnight ago, 24 hours after we had already collected on a straightforward Getafe defeat at an even shorter price against Atletico Madrid.

However, in spite of that profitable weekend, our perceptions are changing slightly about the mettle of Michel's men.

Although it remains far-fetched to believe they will repeat last season's top-six finish, they are nonetheless showing clear signs of coming to terms with key summer departures, enough to suggest that opposing them blindly all season would eventually lead us to the poor house.

One things is for sure, they will certainly travel north with little sign of an inferiority complex and though ordinarily we like to get with Joaquin Caparros' men against the rank and file at San Mames, we're inclined to think the prices for this clash are about right.
 

Best of the rest:
Villarreal are taking all the plaudits on the back of an impressive start to the campaign but we've seen enough cracks in their make-up to oppose them at staggering odds of 3.50 for the trip to Sporting Gijon in the non-televised action on Sunday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine are in fine fettle having won six and drawn one of their last seven matches and they cost us a few quid when beating Atletico Madrid at El Madrigal last time out, their fifth successive 'win to nil' on home soil in the Primera.

However, their defence has been far from watertight on the road and it's a lack of discipline that could be exposed in one of the most under-rated assignments on the Spanish league calendar.

Sporting's home record might not look too spectacular as it stands after four matches, until you realise they have already faced three teams who finished above Villarreal last season.

Victories over Mallorca and Sevilla have been tempered slightly by defeat to Valencia, in what was undoubtedly Los Che's most devastating performance of the campaign to date, and the concession of a two-goal lead to draw against Athletic Bilbao.

Nonetheless, we see enough in all of that to believe the Asturians look fabulous value to grind out a victory against a team that has been content to pick the right punches in a string of free-for-all's since going down 1-0 to Real Sociedad on the opening weekend.

Much will obviously depend on the ability of Manuel Preciado's men to shackle the nine-goal partnership of Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi but we fancy them to do just that. We do make Villarreal favourites for this game but not by much.

PICK:
Sporting Gijon to beat Villarreal at 3.50 at Bet365