Primera Liga leaders FC Barcelona entertains city rivals Espanyol on Saturday night in the most attractive game of match day 24 in Spain's Primera Liga.
Barcelona wants to get back to winning ways after only drawing away to Betis last weekend and is runaway favorite to beat the team currently bottom of the table
Barcelona coach Pepe Guardiola will be able to recall captain Carles Puyol for the game while midfielder Sergio Busquets insists he feels no sympathy for the plight of their neighbors.
"I really couldn't care less if Espanyol are relegated to the Second Division or not," said Busquets.
Real Madrid hopes that Espanyol can produce a miracle that allows them to close the 10 point gap at the top of the Primera Liga. Juande Ramos' side has won its last eight league games and entertains Betis in the Santiago Bernabeu.
The big question ahead of the game is whether or not Ramos will risk the fitness of winger Arjen Robben ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash against Liverpool.
Next week's Champions League fixtures mean two more games are brought forward to Saturday night.
The Sanchez Pizjuan stadium sees Sevilla entertain Atletico Madrid in a game that could have a big effect on he top four. Neither side is enjoying its best moment of the season, but a win for Sevilla would see them leave Atletico eight points behind in the classification.
Sevilla is still without striker Luis Fabiano, while Atletico's Kun Aguero aims to celebrate the birth of his son during the week, by dedicating him a goal.
Meanwhile Villarreal needs to beat Sporting Gijon to have a chance of returning to the top four.
The remaining games are all played on Sunday with third from bottom Mallorca looking to build on last week's win away to Numancia when the club entertains Racing Santander.
Last week's draw in La Coruna saw Osasuna climb out of the relegation zone and the team from Navarra can take a big step towards safety with a win at home to Numancia.
Numancia sacked coach Sergio Kresic following the defeat to Mallorca and new coach Pacheta will be in the visitors' dugout.
Recreativo Huleva's Nuevo Colombino Stadium sees an Andalusian derby between Recreativo and Almeria, while Malaga aims to continue the clubs best ever season away to Valladolid.
Finally Athletic Club Bilbao travels to Getafe, where they have never won in their history.
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2009)
