At the turn of the year, the Spanish La Liga table has a familiar look about it with Barcelona heading their bitter rivals Real Madrid by three points although Los Galacticos have a game in hand. Valencia and Sevilla are the nearest challengers to the dominance of Spain’s big two but it would take a massive effort by both clubs, and a considerable drop in form from the top two, to see a significant change even at this point in the season. At the bottom, Xerez have already been cast adrift with a mere 7 points, five away from the nearest teams Real Zaragoza and Malaga.

Atletico Madrid are mid-table but their biggest concern at present is the rumour mill that continues to surround start striker  who is once again being linked with a big money move away from the capital. The 21 year-old Argentinean is on the wanted list of a number of top European clubs with Premier League Chelsea already reported to have tabled an offer of circa £40M. Despite Aguero’s insistence that the “only thing I am doing is playing and thinking about the team" it will remain a worry for Atletico fans that the lure of a massive cash inflow will tempt the club to cash in on their prize asset.