Betis take centre stage

Four straight wins
Betis, leaders on goal difference from Villarreal CF, have claimed four wins from their first five matches, including a 1-0 defeat of UD Las Palmas on Sunday. The Seville side make the long journey north to face Athletic Club Bilbao determined to claim a fifth successive victory.

Time to be taken seriously
Coach Juande Ramos believes their impressive form is forcing the rest of Spain to take them seriously. "Being top of the league means opponents no longer consider us a surprise team, especially as five games have now been played and we are still top," he said.

Away successes
Betis' opponents at the San Mamés stadium are another side who have so far surpassed pre-season expectations. Athletic are sixth in the table with ten points, two shy of the summit, after winning their first three away matches of the season: their best run of form on the road since their last title-winning season in 1983/84.

Missing players
German coach Jupp Heynckes is missing defender Rafael Alkorta Martínez and forward Tiko, both of whom are injured. Betis, meanwhile, miss Brazilian international Denilson and Uruguay's Washington Eduardo Tais, who are on international duty, together with the injured trio of Ronald Gaspercic, Iulian Filipescu and Luis Fernández.

Step up a gear
At the Camp Nou, FC Barcelona entertain RCD Mallorca, aiming to extend their unbeaten record to a sixth league game. Barcelona have claimed three wins from their opening five matches without yet hitting top form, and Barça midfielder Xavi believes that, with a visit to RC Deportivo La Coruña looming on Sunday, now is the time to step up a gear. "We are entering a series of important games against bigger sides," he said. "We have to try to win all of them and continue our progression.''

Mallorca struggling
If Barcelona have still to move out of first gear, Mallorca are presently stalled in neutral. The islanders may have won twice in the UEFA Champions League but their league matches have yielded just one win so far.

No Coco
Mallorca coach Bernd Krauss is missing Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o, banned after his dismissal for dissent during Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Villarreal and also absent are goalkeeper Leo Franco, who is injured, and Turkey's Fatih Akyel, who is on international duty. For his part, Barcelona coach Carles Rexach is without Italian defender Francesco Coco, who is on international duty, and the injured pair of Fabio Rochemback and Philippe Christanval.

Salgado's call to colleagues
Real Madrid CF defender Michel Salgado has called for a more pragmatic approach from his colleagues after their disappointing 2-2 home draw with Real Valladolid last weekend.

'More conservative'
Madrid sit 12th with just one win from five matches ahead of their away match at Las Palmas. Reflecting on the late equaliser conceded against Valladolid, Salgado told Spanish newspaper Marca: "We must learn that maybe on some occasions we need to maintain the result and be a bit more conservative in our play. We can't win all of our games 4-0 and we have to learn to maintain a narrow lead.''

French stars to play
Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque will be without internationals Steve McManaman, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo and Elvir Baljic. Defensive midfielder Flavio Conceiçao is also missing after undergoing an operation on his damaged achilles but Del Bosque can count on France's Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makelele, who will not join their national team squad for the weekend clash with Algeria until Thursday.

No goals
Las Palmas, meanwhile, will need a vast improvement if they are to trouble the Madrid defence, having failed to score since putting three past Mallorca on the season's opening day.

Villarreal face Deportivo
Elsewhere another of the early season's surprise packages, second-placed Villarreal, entertain a Deportivo side two points behind in fifth. Gregorio Manzano's reign as coach of winless Rayo Vallecano opens with a home match against Club Atlético Osasuna while bottom club Real Sociedad go in search of their first victory away at Real Zaragoza. Málaga CF take their unbeaten away record to Deportivo Alavés while Real Valladolid entertain RCD Espanyol and Sevilla FC play host to CD Tenerife.

Thursday's match
On Thursday night, two of the Primera División's three unbeaten sides, RC Celta de Vigo and Valencia CF, meet at the Balaídos stadium. Celta lie third after Sunday's 2-2 derby draw with RC Deportivo La Coruña, with Valencia four places back in seventh.

Selection problems
Celta are without Russian internationals Alexander Mostovoi and Valery Karpin, who miss the game against last season's UEFA Champions League runners-up because of their nation's FIFA 2002 World Cup qualifying game against Switzerland. Valencia coach Rafael Benitez has selection problems of his own, with six players on international duty and four injuries in the form of Fabio Aurelio, Ruben Baraja, Mista and Jocelyn Angloma.