Real Madrid will be looking to extend their LaLiga advantage to four points when they visit Valencia in Wednesday's rearranged Mestalla clash, live on Sky Sports 1HD at 5.30pm.
Zinedine Zidane's side have two games in hand on the chasing pack due to their involvement in the World Club Cup and the postponement of their trip to Celta Vigo at the start of the month.
Four successive wins have kept Real at the summit but though they head to the east coast as strong favourites, also their hosts have finally found some consistency, somewhat ironically under perennial caretaker boss Voro.
Back-to-back back clean sheets and another in a 2-0 triumph over Villarreal last month have come on the back of conceding in each of their first 21 games in all competitions this season.
A 2-0 weekend win over Athletic Bilbao lifted them seven points clear of the drop zone but also represented just third home win of the season, with only two other defences breached on more occasions on home turf.
The travelling fans will also be hoping to see Gareth Bale continue his comeback after the Welshman returned with a sublime strike as a substitute against Espanyol following a 12-week lay-off.
Zidane has confirmed Cristiano Ronaldo will not be rested while Isco should also be assured of a starting berth after assisting both goals at the weekend.
Alvaro Morata also enhanced his claim to lead the line after netting against Espanyol to take his tally to seven - two more than Karim Benzema despite considerably less playing time.
The former Juventus forward has now scored in his last two starts, making him in-form pick in the first goalscorer betting at 9/2.
Zidane's side have left the Mestalla with a solitary point from their last two trips, but the gap between these two clubs has arguably never been greater and it is surely a matter of by how the visitors triumph rather than if.
With Real keeping just one clean sheet from their last nine LaLiga trips, Sky Bet's 13/8 on the visitors to win and both teams to score looks to be the way to go for two sides which are rarely short of drama.
Five goals have been scored in each of their last three wins over Wednesday night's hosts, so the 7/2 on Real to win and over 4.5 goals holds offers appeal for those looking for a longer price.
Tim's top tip: Real Madrid to beat Valencia and both teams to score at 13/8 with Sky Bet
