© EuroFootball.com
This weekend the whole of Spain will once again be glued to their TV screens, and nearly 90 thousand lucky ones will be able to watch the "El Clasico" derby between Barcelona and Madrid at the "Nou Camp" stadium.
In their first match of the season back in October, Real Madrid surprised everyone by defeating the Catalan superclub 2-0 at home. However, repeating that result on Saturday might be too difficult.
Barcelona will definitely have to do without the suspended Ludovico Giuly and Gianluca Zambrotta in this match. There are also doubts about the team's leader, Ronaldinho, who has a strained muscle and may not be able to take the field.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid, having won just one match out of their last six in the Spanish championship, will be missing four key players: defenders Roberto Carlos and Fabio Cannavaro, as well as midfielders David Beckham and Jose Antonio Reyes.
Both teams were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League this week - Barcelona lost to Liverpool and Real Madrid to Bayern Munich. Therefore, the Spanish championship is both teams' only chance to redeem themselves in front of their fans.
Barcelona lost away 1-2 to league leaders Sevilla last weekend, while Real Madrid played to a 1-1 draw at home against Getafe.
In other weekend matches, third-placed Valencia will play against Osasuna in Pamplona. The only Spanish team left in the Champions League will have to do without the injured Ruben Baraja and the suspended attacking midfielder David Silva.
Zaragoza, currently in fifth place, will likely have to do without their top scorer, Diego Milito, in their match against Betis. Betis, on the other hand, will not be able to play at their home stadium due to a ban, hoping that the match against Zaragoza can still take place there.
League leaders Sevilla, who drew 2-2 at home with Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Europa League, will be without suspended defender Aitor Ocio in their match against Gimnastic. However, their top scorer Frederic Kanoute is expected to return to the field.
Matchday 26 fixtures:
Saturday
Levante - Villarreal
Barcelona - Real
Sunday
Celta - Athletic Bilbao
Getafe - Recreativo
Gimnastic - Sevilla
Racing Santander - Espanyol
Betis - Zaragoza
Real Sociedad - Mallorca
Atletico - Deportivo
Osasuna - Valencia
