Real Madrid
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Madrid leads the standings with 38 points - four better than Barcelona, which welcomes its bitter rival to the Camp Nou on Sunday (1 p.m. ET) in the 155th league meeting between Spain's two biggest clubs.
Madrid leads the overall series by 66-58, but both teams feel good about improving their side of the statistic.
"I find myself feeling more confident for this classic than for many others in the past," Barcelona president Joan Laporta said. "I'm convinced we are going to win."
Madrid president Ramon Calderon went as far as calling the result, saying the Spanish champions would get a 3-1 victory.
Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero went the other way, predicting a 3-1 win for Barcelona, according to newspaper El Mundo Deportivo.
Madrid is unbeaten in its last seven games in all competitions, while Barcelona hasn't lost in five, and both teams won their Champions League groups.
However, Madrid is helped by the absence of Barcelona winger Lionel Messi.
The 20-year-old Argentina international scored a hat trick the last time the two clubs met - a 3-3 draw at the Camp Nou in March - and leads the Catalan club with eight goals.
At least striker Samuel Eto'o has returned to demonstrate his importance to coach Frank Rijkaard's attack, the Cameroon striker netting three goals in his last two games after missing more than three months with a serious thigh injury.
Eto'o, who once donned the whites of Madrid, has scored seven goals against his former club, including three since leaving Mallorca.
"He's a fundamental player for them and he is helping them recuperate a lot of the values of their game which they had not taken care of lately," Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez said. "But it's a very open game. In theory, the team that plays at home always has an advantage thanks to the ambience created there, but last year we showed in 90 minutes that we deserved the victory. I think they will remember that game."
Messi's injury-time goal denied Madrid only its second win in 20 years at the Camp Nou, where Barcelona has won all 11 games this season.
Thierry Henry's return for Barcelona after a two-week layoff from injury could pose the latest setback to Ronaldinho's playing time. The Brazil playmaker has come off the bench in three of the club's last five games and was an unused substitute for the first time in a 3-0 win at Valencia on Sunday.
"It's hard to imagine a game like this one without Ronaldinho," teammate Eidur Gudjohnsen said. "If he comes in, I think you'll see him more motivated than ever."
Madrid has a full roster after defenders Christoph Metzelder and Gabriel Heinze returned for the 1-1 league cup draw against Alicante on Wednesday, but coach Bernd Schuster is unlikely to alter his starting lineup much.
Regardless of the result, Madrid will hold on to the top spot heading into the two-week Christmas break, before the league resumes on the weekend of Jan. 6-7.
Atletico Madrid and Villarreal are in joint third place with 31 points. On Sunday, Atletico hosts Espanyol, which is unbeaten in its last 12 to sit fifth with 30 points, and Villarreal hosts Recreativo Huelva.
In Sunday's other matches, it's: Valladolid versus Real Betis; Levante versus Deportivo La Coruna; Osasuna versus Mallorca; and Athletic Bilbao versus Murcia.
On Saturday, Valencia plays Zaragoza, Almeria faces Getafe and Sevilla sees sixth-placed Racing Santander.
The Spanish champions enjoy a four-point cushion atop the league and are a perfect 9-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in all competitions this season.
Madrid leads Group C with eight points — the same total as Olympiakos, which hosts Werder Bremen. Bremen has six points while Lazio has five.
The nine-time champions will advance out of the group stage for the 11th straight year, as long as they don't lose.
"It will be a "final" because if we don't win or if we earn a negative result we may be out of the Champions League," midfielder Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez said. "A club like this one can't afford for that to happen."
Madrid has underachieved in Europe in recent years, one of the reasons president Ramon Calderon hired Bernd Schuster. Calderon is no doubt expecting his German coach to fetch top spot in Group C.
"Winning and going through as group leaders are the two important things to achieve in the game against Lazio," Guti said. "We haven't had the chance of having the home advantage in recent years. We are convinced of being able to win if we play as we have so far (this season)."
Though Lazio twice rallied for a 2-2 draw against Madrid at the Rome's Stado Olimpico in October, Madrid has only lost once in its last 24 European home dates. Only a victory will assure progression for the Roman club.
"These are the games you dream about when you're a kid," defender Sanchez Emilson Cribari said. "We're going to put everything we can into this and try to obtain something that seems impossible. Because nothing is impossible in soccer. Let's see what we can do."
Lazio needs to win by two goals or else it will have to rely on Olympiakos beating Bremen if the difference is a single score.
Lazio sits 12th in Serie A on the heels of a 2-0 win over Catania on Saturday.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who should start despite hurting his calf in Madrid's 1-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, and strike partner Raul Gonzalez have combined for 111 Champions League goals and the hosts are 10-0 when Raul scores.
Center back Christoph Metzelder is Madrid's sole question mark, with defender Gabriel Heinze ready to return after a month on the sidelines.
Olympiakos, which comes in on the heels of a 4-0 win over Levadiakos, hasn't reached the knockout stages since 1999. All it needs is a draw.
"We will give it all in order to qualify," said Konstantinos Mendrinos. "With strength, passion and individual quality we will get what we want out of the match."
Despite road wins over Bremen and Lazio, the Greek champions have two draws to show at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium.
Bremen was edged 4-3 by Hannover 96 over the weekend to trail leader Bayern Munich by two points in the Bundesliga. It lost to Olympiakos 3-1 in October.
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