No let-up in La Liga. After an exciting weekend of fixtures, the fifth round of action is here with midweek matches for the first time in the calendar.
Barcelona thrashed Levante 4-1 at Camp Nou on Sunday to preserve their perfect record and stay top of the Primera Division with 12 points from four games. A day earlier, Real Madrid made hard work of their home match against Granada, winning 1-0 to secure a third straight success in the competition.
Villarreal also have 10 points and are third in the table after beating Athletic Bilbao (who host Madrid on Wednesday) 3-1 at El Madrigal, while Celta Vigo (in action at home to Barca on Wednesday) are fourth with the same tally following their impressive 2-1 victory at Sevilla. Atletico are in fifth with nine points ahead of their home game against Getafe on Tuesday, having won 2-0 at Eibar on Saturday.
David Moyes is under pressure. The former Everton and Manchester United manager took over at Real Sociedad last November and steadied the ship at the Basque outfit with a 12th-placed finish in La Liga. This season, however, has not started well.
After back-to-back goalless games at Deportivo La Coruna and at home to Sporting Gijon, Moyes' men lost 1-0 at Betis and were beaten by Espanyol in their fourth game on Saturday, going down 3-2 after goalkeeper Jeronimo Rulli had been sent off.
Languishing in 17th spot with just two points from four fixtures, La Real now travel to Granada (impressive in a 1-0 loss at Real Madrid at the weekend) on Tuesday and then host Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Sunday - and failure to take any points from those two matches could see Moyes' reign brought to a premature end.
"I have been a manager for many years and I have been in this situation before many times," the Scot said on Monday. "I will keep preparing the players to win games - that's all I can do. We need a little bit of luck."
And they need it soon.
Celta Vigo are the revelation so far this term in La Liga and the Galician outfit proved just how good they are by beating Sevilla 2-1 at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday.
With three wins and a draw from their opening four fixtures, 'Toto' Berizzo's men will provide a stern test for Liga leaders Barcelona in round five, with Luis Enrique's side playing within themselves in recent weeks.
The Asturian coach returns to the team he trained for a sole season in 2013-14 and Barca will hope to keep up their 100 per cent record with a win at Balaidos.
Stretched by absences in recent games, Barca are boosted by the timely return of Dani Alves from injury and Gerard Piqyue from suspension.
Barca won the corresponding fixture 1-0 last season, but lost the home game at Camp Nou by the same scoreline.
Keylor Navas was on the verge of leaving Real Madrid for Manchester United on transfer deadline day as the Spanish side sought to bring in David De Gea as a replacement for Iker Casillas. But both deals fell through and the Costa Rica goalkeeper has been in fantastic form for Los Blancos ever since.
Five clean sheets in as many games in all competitions means the 28-year-old is yet to concede a goal this season and he was acclaimed by the fans as Madrid edged out Granada at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
If he can remain unbeaten for 72 minutes of Madrid's tough test at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, Navas will beat the long-standing club record (431 minutes) set by Miguel Angel in 1975-76.
And at the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo needs only one goal to make it 500 in his career, while the Portuguese forward is just two short of Raul's record 323 strikes for Real Madrid.
Catalan parliamentary elections take place this weekend and as usual, independence is one of the major topics on the agenda for both polticians and voters.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was asked about the elections during his side's win over Levante on Sunday, but said the club would be neutral and take no stance ahead of the polls.
However, the president of Spain's Football League (LFP) Javier Tebas has warned the Catalan clubs (Barca and Espanyol) that they would have to play their football elsewhere if Catalunya ultimately becomes independent from Spain.
"If Spain splits, so too does La Liga," he tweeted on Sunday. And he added on Monday: "Catalan clubs couldn't play in La Liga because legislation wouldn't allow it."
Despite those words, Tebas did also say he believes "Catalunya will never separate from Spain".
Due to their two-window transfer ban imposed by Fifa, Barcelona are unable to register and field new players until January - but that could change following the serious injury suffered by Rafinha in the Champions League away to Roma last week.
The Brazil international is likely to miss most of the season after suffering cruciate ligament damage at the Stadio Olimpico and former Barca board member Toni Freixa revealed that the club are able to register another player in his place.
That means summer signing Arda Turan, who was expected to wait until January for his debut, could feature for the Catalan club in La Liga and the Copa del Rey ahead of schedule.
In information revealed by Catalunya Radio, Barca have officially asked for permission from Fifa and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to call up the Turkey midfielder in the two domestic competitions.
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