La Liga Round 9 Preview

For the 9th round of matches in the La Liga, Real Madrid moet 10th placed Malaga in the first match this weekend. The big news for Real Madrid is that world record signing Gareth Bale is back in full training and he could play a part in this weekend's game ahead of next week El Classico match. With Casillas expected to start on bench, Real Madrid will hope to close the gap between them and table toppers Barcelona who don't play until later the same day.

Barcelona would hope to continue their impressive start to the season after winning all of their 8 matches scoing 28 goals in the process. They face Osasuna away from home who lie 18th on the league table with 6 points from 8 matches. They welcome Messi and Puyol back to the squad.

Second placed Athletico Madrid who are tied on point with Barcelona play later in the night facing Espanyol away and they would hope to keep up the pressure on Barcelona and one man that could be crucial to this match is Diego Costa who lead their goal scoring chart with 10 goals.

Other matches see Valencia wanting to bounce back after their last defeat when they face Real Sociedad. Granada play 5th placed Getafe at home, Almeria face the team with the worst defence Rayo Vallecano who lie 19th on the table. Real Betis vs Elche, Valladolid vs Sevilla, Celta Vigo vs Levante and Athletico Bilbao vs Villareal who lie 4th.