Celta have never finished higher than fourth despite 44 previous campaigns in the top flight of Spanish football but so far this season they have notched up four wins out of five outings.

In similar fashion to Celta, the sight of Getafe in second place, just one point off the top, is a huge surprise in only their second season of first division football.

The team from Madrid's southern suburbs will try to maintain their unbeaten start against fourth-placed Valencia on Saturday, with the 2003-04 champions also still yet to lose a game.

The match will mark the return of Valencia coach Quique Flores to Getafe, the club which he steered to survival last season against the odds.

However, the biggest cheer of the night could be for Valencia defender Amedeo Carboni, who at almost 40 years and six months will become the oldest player to appear in the Spanish first division if he plays.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have moved up to third after two consecutive wins but all eyes will be on how they will have recovered from Wednesday's 2-1 win in the Champions League against Olympiakos when they face Real Mallorca on Sunday.

Real coach Wanderley Luxemburgo gave his squad the day off on Thursday, citing fatigue after the game against the Greeks.

One man who should be refreshed though is Ronaldo, who was suspended on Wednesday, but who has already scored four goals on the domestic scene this season.

Ronaldo's Brazilian international colleague Julio Baptista could be the man who makes way for the former World Player of the Year, after several lacklustre games.

Barcelona play host to an unbeaten Real Zaragoza but the visitors know that that the Camp Nou held a hoodoo over them for four decades not having won in the Catalan citadel since the 1965-66 season.

"The key to the game is not to let Ronaldinho touch the ball," commented Zaragoza defender Leonardo Ponzio on Thursday, in the wake of the Brazilian's hat trick in the Champions League against Italian side Udinese on Tuesday.

At the other end of the table, Atletico Madrid are off their worst start to the season since 1978 but their Argentine coach Carlos Bianchi is hoping that they can turn things around with a win at Malaga on Sunday.

FIXTURES
Saturday (kick off times in GMT): Barcelona v Real Zaragoza (1800), Getafe v Valencia (2000)
Sunday: Cadiz v Celta Vigo (1500), Deportivo La Coruna v Osasuna (1500), Racing Santander v Alaves (1500), Sevilla v Espanyol (1500), Real Sociedad v Real Betis (1500), Villarreal v Athletic Bilbao (1500), Real Madrid v Real Mallorca (1700), Malaga v Atletico Madrid (1900)