Barcelona and Real Madrid expect key players to be available for Spanish league play this weekend, with Andres Iniesta set to return to the Spanish champion’s squad today against winless Racing Santander.
Iniesta is training again after injuring his left leg in a Champions League game against Milan last month and the Spain international’s return could give Barcelona a boost with Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez and Ibrahim Afellay all injured.
Barcelona is joint-top of the table with early season surprise Levante, which plays Malaga tomorrow.
Real Madrid, one point behind the co-leaders, hosts Real Betis Saturday with Karim Benzema, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao set to return. Defenders Raul Albiol and Ricardo Carvalho are injured.
European champions Barcelona are unbeaten so far this season and have players steadily returning from injury. Nonetheless, rumours have continued to circulate in Spanish media about Pep Guardiola leaving at the end of the season, fueled by comments from the Barcelona coach that he thinks about stepping down “every day.”
That prompted chairman Sandro Rosell to call Guardiola “the best coach in the history of the club” amid assurances that “everything possible” would be done to convince him to stay.
Despite the speculation, Racing coach Hector Cuper, formerly in charge at Valencia and Inter, is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing his team at the Nou Camp.
Since Guardiola took over in 2008, Barcelona have played 60 home games in the league, drawing six and losing just three - though Racing are among the teams who have taken at least a point from a visit to the Nou Camp in that time.
Racing’s best hope may hinge on Guardiola deciding to rest some of his stars. With players returning from a double-header of international fixtures, Barcelona now face a run of seven games in 23 days.
The fixture congestion could tempt the Barcelona coach into giving the likes of Lionel Messi a rest against a Racing side that has made a winless start to the season, taking just four points from six games.
Third-place Real Madrid will look to keep up the pressure in their home game against newly promoted Betis.
Betis have made an impressive return to the top flight - winning their first four matches to briefly top the table before losing their next two - and striker Ruben Castro said possession would be the key against Madrid.
“You beat Real Madrid by having the ball and not losing it in the center of the pitch,” he said. “You need to have an excellent game and avoid letting them hit you on the counterattack.”
Centre back Albiol joins Carvalho on the sidelines for Madrid after breaking his left cheekbone in Spain training , though Portugal defenders Pepe and Coentrao are back in training after missing their country’s Euro 2012 qualifying matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness also carries a question mark after the forward missed training to rest niggling muscle injuries following Portugal’s 2-1 loss at Denmark.
Separating the two traditional powers is Levante, who host big-spending Malaga, a club eyeing European qualification at least this season.
Levante trail Barcelona on goal difference, while Malaga, whose owner Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani spent €60 million on new players in the offseason, are just a point further back in fourth.
Brazil striker Julio Baptista, who scored a spectacular bicycle kick to seal a 3-2 win in stoppage time against Getafe last time out, is a doubt for Malaga with a right foot injury.