Barcelona were given a fright by a feisty Athletic Bilbao side at Camp Nou last weekend and now the silk might have to give way to more steel when they travel to San Moix on Saturday.

Real Mallorca v Barcelona
(Saturday 2000CET)
In this all-too-predictable era of big two dominance, Real Mallorca have been a rare beacon of hope as a minnow willing to stand toe to toe with the giants of the Spanish game.

In 10 meetings against the big two over the past two years, the islanders have triumphed twice and finished all-square on a further three occasions. It might not sound like a record to trumpet but it's one nobody else can match.

Now that the momentum of a 16-match winning streak has subsided, Michael Laudrup's men face the champions when they are being stretched on two fronts and they will approach this clash with one eye on their return leg against Arsenal in the Champions League.

It can only help Mallorca's cause that the Catalans are genuinely concerned about a one-goal deficit from the opening game against the Gunners and punters should await instruction from Guardiola before deciding how to play this one.

Without any ideas about his team selection at the time of writing, it's one for us to leave alone.

Deportivo La Coruna v Real Madrid
(Saturday 2200CET)
Jose Mourinho declared his undying love for Chelsea in an interview with Guillem Balague on Revista de La Liga this week, and we should follow the Special One's lead by keeping all possibilities open when analysing Real Madrid's prospects from a betting perspective in the coming weeks.

You can't totally write the Merengues out of the title race just yet and future performances will ultimately be determined by how many breaks they get in the weeks that follow.

If Madrid quickly relinquish the two points made up on Barca the weekend before last, then they could be liable to suffer some embarrassing setbacks in the league as focus narrows towards the Champions League and Copa del Rey final

However, if they somehow reduce the gap further, you suspect they will thrive on the scent of Catalan blood and Mourinho will be leading the charge with all the gusto of someone who has never even contemplated being anywhere else.

You can count on one hand how many times Deportivo make headlines in a season but they managed it last weekend when goalkeeper Dani Aranzubia headed a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser against Almeria.

It was a goal that propelled him into the top seven of the Riazor scoring charts, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the Galicians' chances in this game.

Racing Santander v Villarreal
(Sunday 1900CET)
Racing Santander did the business for Bettingzone followers against Getafe last weekend, edging home at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez with a last-minute penalty in a game that appeared destined to finish goalless from the outset.

It was the second week in succession that the Cantabrians had ridden their luck to claim maximum spoils but we won't push ours by backing them for a third time, let's take the profits and run.

Marcelino's men are no bigger than 15/8 for this game and while they do have the advantage of facing Villarreal just three days after their Europa League second leg against Napoli, we suspect a come-from-behind victory in that game should signal the end of the visitors' recent slump.

We're not so sweet on the Yellow Submarine that we will turn full circle and snap up the 13/8 about an away win because their away form has been patchy on the whole.

However, with Giuseppe Rossi back in the fold and working in tandem with a full-fit Nilmar once again, they won't be short of creative influence as they were when going down at Deportivo a fortnight ago.

Athletic Bilbao v Valencia
(Sunday 2100CET)
Athletic Bilbao caught the eye by making Barcelona sweat in their own backyard last weekend but you can't help thinking that spirited showing has somehow had an impact on their price here

The Basques are pretty formidable on home soil but they have their limits and you seldom see any team outside of the established big six priced up at shorter than 6/4 for the visit of Valencia

A record of nine wins in a dozen home matches for Los Leones makes impressive reading but this will only be the second time they've hosted what you might call Category B opposition, the last occasion being a 2-1 defeat at home to Atletico Madrid back in September.

Los Che are currently operating at two points per game, which is title winning form in many leagues, and you suspect they have the measure of Athletic based on recent meetings.

Joaquin Caparros' men have an uncompromising style that never changes, one that few teams manage to cope with, but Valencia have won each of the last four head to heads and deservedly so.

With that in mind, it's hard to resist the 2.20 on offer about Valencia (draw no bet) with Bet365.

It's worth keeping the stalemate onside because San Mames isn't a ground where anything can be taken for granted and Emery always takes a safety-first approach but we do fancy Valencia to grind out the three points without delighting too many purists in the process.

Betting Suggestions:
Valencia to beat Athletic Bilbao (draw no bet) at 2.20 at Bet365.