Kings return to Liga castle

There were few surprises when the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or was announced earlier this week — of the 23 players nominated for the award, eight ply their trade in Barcelona and five in Madrid. On December 5, a week before the first clásico of the season is scheduled to be played, Fifa and France Football, the architect of the annual gong, will announce the final cut of three players in Paris. Last season the trio was entirely the product of Barcelona's La Masia academy, and since 2008 only Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo have impinged upon the scarlet and blue fiesta. Leo Messi is the overwhelming favorite to claim a third crown, with Ronaldo in hot pursuit after a 40-goal haul in La Liga last season.

It may be called the city of love, but Germany coach Joachim Löw will not be allowing his pulse to quicken at the sight of his name on the list for best manager of the year — Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho will likely duke it out for that honor, but only because Spain has not played, and won, an international tournament this year; nevertheless, Vicente del Bosque's name is also on the list.

The hegemony of Real and Barça in the jostling for awards was finally matched in La Liga after the last round of fixtures when Levante failed to continue its sparkling run of form away at Osasuna, allowing the heavyweights to assume their customary places in the top two. Real, which leads its eternal rival by a point, hosts Osasuna at the Bernabéu with the Navarrese outfit seeking its first win of the season on the road.

Athletic Bilbao will face the reigning champion at San Mamés as Barcelona attempts to leapfrog Real into first. For Athletic, it represents a chance to test its mettle against one of the big guns after a six-match unbeaten streak that has lifted it from 18th five weeks ago to ninth.

There is only one game this weekend that valencianos will be watching; the derby match between Levante and Valencia. Few would have imagined that Levante would lead its local rival in the table at this stage of the season but the match is a clash between third and fourth nonetheless, with the prize for the victor a firm foothold in the top four — Sevilla lies in fifth place, five points behind Valencia on 21, while Levante has amassed 23.

"Playing against Levante motivates us, because it's a derby and because it's at their stadium," said Valencia coach Unai Emery, who was the object of a peculiarly Mestalla insult — "donkey" — during the team's Champions League win midweek. "Levante is longing to see Valencia fall."

The last time Levante took three points in the fixture was 2007, but Juan Ignacio Martínez, the mastermind of the team's incredible start to the season after his summer arrival from the second division, joked on Thursday that his side holds the upper hand.

"Levante is the favorite wherever we go, even Camp Nou," he said, adding the slightly more sober caveat: "With two passes they can score against you. They are fast and good from set pieces. We have to be very conscientious with our strategy."