La Liga Preview: Can Real Come Unstuck in the Madrid Derby?

Barcelona vs Getafe

Barcelona finally managed to slip from their wonderful run in the game against Sevilla last weekend, and this contributed to the reduction in their lead from seven points to just five points. The draw also brought an end to the five match winning streak that they were enjoying.

Barcelona has had a number of distractions going into the match, like the Champions League draw and the surgery for Eric Abidal. However, Pep Guardiola has said that his team will not be distracted by such events and that he will be fully focused on maintaining their charge towards the title. Even though their lead has been cut to five points, Guardiola will be extremely confident knowing that there are only a few matches to go before the end of the season.

The probability of Barcelona getting three points against Getafe seems to be extremely high after Getafe have been absolutely hopeless in getting results. Getafe's last win in the league came at the start of 2011, which goes some way into explaining their form at the moment. Expecting them to reverse this sort of a form against Barcelona is a tough task, but they have no new injuries, which could give them a slight chance for an upset.

Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid will be facing a resurgent Atletico Madrid side that seems to have turned the corner after managing to go undefeated in their last five matches. Prior to this, however, Atletico Madrid were in extremely poor form, and it contributed in the weak contest that they put up for the Champions League places.

Now, the Champions League looks to be beyond them, but Europa League still remains a possibility for Quique Sánchez Flores's side. They will be up against a Real Madrid side that will be buoyant after making into the quarterfinals of the Champions League after a long time.

It is going to be extremely difficult for Atletico Madrid, given that Real Madrid usually have the better of them in this tie. The last time that Real Madrid dropped any points in this fixture was back in 2007, and this record looks set to continue once again, as they head into the match in the best possible form. Karim Benzema is in the form of his life after scoring yet again against Lyon midweek. He is expected to partner Cristiano Ronaldo, while Emmanuel Adebayor looks set to be on the bench.

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