After another busy round of fixtures in Spain, here is a round-up of the league that includes 13 of the shortlist of players to win the Ballon D’or.

The Big Two

No La Liga conversation is complete without reference to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and this is where our review starts. Despite surprise package Levante topping the table for the first few rounds of La Liga, their bubble has now been burst somewhat and all attention is back on the top two. Real, under the Special One are in scintillating form, scoring for fun and managing to keep clean sheets to boot. Both Higuain and Benzema are on fire, giving Mourinho the dilemma of his life when picking his starting striker. Add to this the form of Ronaldo and the resurgence of one Kaka, and the fact that Real can now offer solutions when Xabi Alonso is effectively man marked during games, they are looking more than a match for Barca.

Of course they went into the first Classico and mauling one point ahead of their fierce rivals, so Barca will not be unduly worried. However, one thing that Real have in their locker this season is the ability to grind out a 1 – 0 win – something that was lacking last season during games where teams effectively parked the bus in front of their goal and closed down Alonso. This was shown on the weekend where Sociedad literally played with a back five at the Anoeta, yet Madrid scored early courtesy of Higuain and held on for a hard fought win. Not a vintage Madrid performance but one that shows how far they have come under Mourinho.

Regardless of Los Blancos topping the table by as point, most people’s favourites for the La Liga crown is reigning champions Barcelona, who looked back to their best at the Camp Nou, with Messi making a clear signal to fans and the media with his goal celebration after his hat trick – the prolific striker had failed to score in 3 games yet after being played in his preferred position down the centre not the dreaded wing for the game, with Barca putting a grand total of 5 past a hapless Mallorca.

The Surprise of the season

Most people thought that the team wearing blue and red stripes would be the ones to top la liga throughout the season, and they have been for the past few rounds – yet it was Levante not  Barcelona doing this. Levante have been everyone’s surprise of the season and have looked to be living some sort of footballing fairy tale thus far, before this weekend being unbeaten, even being able to claim a victory over Mourinho’s men at the Ciudad de Valencia.

In players such as Sergio Ballesteros, Valencia have a core of seasoned professionals who offer much more to the team than their average age would suggest, and new coach Martinez settling into life at Levante quicker than anyone could have expected.

However this weekend the bubble was somewhat burst with a 2 – 0 defeat at the hands of Osasuna. Several things were said after the game – Martinez praised his players for their unbeaten run, the media inevitably predicted a rapid slide down the table to mimic that of Espanyol last season and it was noted that due to their small squad who are mostly the wrong side of thirty, a couple of injuries and suspensions will have serious effects on the team from Valencia. Yet should they take the lead, especially at home, Levante are dogged in their defending and whilst they are probably not going to finish in the European places, they should manage to avoid the relegation fight they were involved in last tie round.

The best of the rest

Valencia – after a  slightly slow start, Valencia are picking up pace, and have been fast climbing the table. They now occupy 4^th place after the weekend’s victory and have their eye on the third place that is currently held by local rivals Levante. After losing their three best players – Villa, Silva and Mata over the last couple of seasons, huge amounts of credit has to be given to long-time coach – well for a league famous for waving white handkerchiefs at Managers, being at the helm since 2008 is a long time – Unai Emery, who has weathered all of this and still managed to keep Valencia widely viewed as the ‘best of the rest’.

Sevilla – Currently sitting in 5^th place, there is now a gap opening up between the top four and the rest after a shock victory for Granada at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. In a season full of surprises, this can be put down to a bad day at the office for Sevilla who next up face  a flailing Mallorca side and will expect to bounce back and take all three points.

Atletico Madrid – one side who expect to e doing much better are the second best team in Madrid, Atletico, who fully expect to be sat in the top four. However, after a poor start to the season they sit 10^th, with a sizeable gap between themselves and the champion’s league places. After a good victory against Zaragoza, Atletico will be looking to this as a kick-start to their season.  With few goals scored this season and fan protests calling for Aragonez to return, the pressure on Gregorio Manzano has been alleviated slightly, yet improvements are vital.

Malaga – the Andalucians were the team that, after a huge influx of money then players, not to mention coach Manuel Pellagrini were everyone’s favourites to break into the top four this season. However this, so far, has not come to pass, and Malaga have been struggling, and were so lucky against Espanyol receiving a penalty for a very dubious handball and do not seem to be gelling quite in the way they should be.

The relegation Battle

Getafe sit rock bottom and after a heavy loss last weekend things look no brighter with local rivals Atletico up next. A shock victory for Granada gave them much needed points, yet the newly promoted Andalucians need to improve their form and fast if they don’t want to go straight back down.  The final club to occupy a spot in the bottom 3 is Racing, and the victory by a single goal over Betis cannot be underestimated in importance. Hector Cuper and his team will be looking to now climb the table, starting with the away tie at Granada next round.

Whilst Betis and Rayo have made decent starts, only 4 points separate both these promoted sides from the relegation zones, and they are still in danger and will be looking over their shoulders until a real gap is formed.

Villarreal – after a vital 2 – 0 win over Rayo this weekend, despite the missed penalty from skipper Marcos Senna, the yellow submarines have shot up the table and out of the relegation zone to 13^th.  With an European campaign still to worry about, not to mention keeping their head above the relegation zone, Garrido has his work cut out for him.

The bottom half of the table is so tight, with only 5 points separating rock bottom Getafe and 11^th placed Rayo, so anyone who has a poor run of form or can piece together a run of victories can drastically change their fortunes so early on in the season.

Game of Next round –  Levante v Valencia

3^rd play host to 4^th in a real test of Levante’s credentials. A must see.

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But director of football Carlos Freitas denied the rumours while unveiling teenager Atila Turan on Friday.

“I have no justification for such news. Bendtner is a player who is as close to Sporting as (Gonzalo) Higuain or (Didier) Drogba are,” Freitas said.

“Those are players who are at the same distance from Sporting. The reports of a move for Bendtner are a fictitious production.”

Bendtner is thought to be seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium as he continues to fall down the pecking order at the English Premier League club.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are reportedly poised to break their transfer record with a move for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.

The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish club and Arsene Wenger’s team are viewed as a potential destination for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner, with an offer in the region of 20 million euros.

The Mirror claimed that the Gunners have come to an agreement with Valencia over the potential sale of Mata, while The Sun reported that the player himself has told friends that he is set to join the north London club.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers have had a bid for Blackpool striker DJ Campbell accepted, with the player to undergo a medical in London.

The forward only joined the Tangerines permanently last term after enjoying a successful loan spell and continued his good form during the club’s first Premier League season, scoring 13 goals in 31 matches in the top flight.

The 29-year-old is set to move to the newly promoted club for an undisclosed fee, and only needs to agree to personal terms with QPR for the deal to go through.

“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Queen Park Rangers for the transfer of striker DJ Campbell,” Blackpool said on their official website.

“The 29-year-old has now been given permission to discuss personal terms with Neil Warnock’s side and undergo a medical.”

QPR have already secured the signings of Kieron Dyer, Jay Bothroyd and Danny Gabbidon so far this summer, but all three deals were on free transfers.

In other news in England, Bolton Wanderers have completed the signing of Burnley duo Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears on three-year deals.

Right-back Mears and winger Eagles rejoin manager Owen Coyle, who signed them for Burnley during his time in charge there.

In the Serie A, Genoa have completed the signing of French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, with the shot-stopper signing a five-year deal.

In Germany, Bundesliga outfit Schalke have confirmed the capture of former Stuttgart striker Ciprian Marica.

Returning to Spain, the agent of Villarreal attacker Giuseppe Rossi has announced the player will remain with the La Liga outfit – much to the disappointment of potential suitor Juventus.

Rossi had looked on the way out as Villarreal looked to ease their financial problems, but the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga has eased the burden and should allow Rossi to remain at El Madrigal.

The 29-year-old joins the newly promoted club for an undisclosed fee, and only need to agree to personal terms with QPR for the deal to go through.

“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Queen Park Rangers for the transfer of striker DJ Campbell,” Blackpool said on their official website.

“The 29-year-old has now been given permission to discuss personal terms with Neil Warnock’s side and undergo a medical.”

QPR have already secured the signings of Kieron Dyer, Jay Bothroyd and Danny Gabbidon so far this summer, but all three deals were on free transfers.

Elsewhere in England, Bolton Wanderers have completed the signing of Burnley duo Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears on three-year deals.

Right-back Mears and Eagles, a striker, rejoin manager Owen Coyle, who signed them for Burnely during his time in charge there.

In the Eredivisie, PSV striker Ola Toivonen has said he wants to stay at Eindhoven, but has urged the club to strengthen its squad ahead of the new season.

Toivonen has been linked with a move to England throughout the of-season, but said he was happy to remain in the Netherlands if PSV could muster a serious title challenge.

“I’d like to stay at PSV, but I really want to play for the Eredivisie title this season,” the Swede said to Algemeen Dagblad.

“However, this squad lacks the depth to compete right until the end. I have no doubt that the club is working hard to sign some more players, but I really hope that their attempts will be successful.”

And in Spain, the agent of Villarreal attacker Giuseppe Rossi has announced the player will remain with the La Liga outit, much to the disappointment of potential suitor Juventus.

Rossi had looked on the way out as Villarreal looked to solve their financial problems, but the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga has eased the burden, allowing Rossi to remain at El Madrigal.

“Aguero signs!” City posted via their official Twitter account on Wednesday.

The club also posted pictures of the forward being greeted by the club’s fans outside the club’s newly named Etihad Stadium.

La Liga outfit Malaga have also splashed the cash, signing Spanish international Santi Cazorla from Villarreal for a reported fee of 20 million pounds.

Malaga announced the transfer on Tuesday after the midfielder completed a medical and he has signed a five-year contract.

Cazorla is the 10th new signing at Malaga, joining the likes of new signings Ruud van Nistelrooy, Joaquin and Jeremy Toulalan.

Returning to the English Premier League, Bolton have signed 27-year-old midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker on a free transfer.

Reo-Coker captained Aston Villa last season and he is expected to make his Wanderers debut in a friendly against Bury on Wednesday.

Newly promoted Swansea City have moved to bolster their strikeforce, with Brendan Rodgers’ side said to have agreed a 1.75 million pound fee with Middlesbrough for forward Leroy Lita.

Meanwhile a move for Ben Foster appears only a matter of time from being sorted, with the Birmingham shot-stopper set to link up with Roy Hodgson at West Bromwich Albion.

“Just arrived in Manchester to finalise details of deal with City. Everything is going well,” Aguero tweeted on Wednesday.

Atletico manager Gregorio Manzano confirmed the deal was coming to an end on Spanish radio station Cope.

“It does look like this long-running issue will be resolved in the coming hours. It is at an end,” Manzano said.

“The truth is that I hoped to reflect on (Aguero’s) decision to leave favourably. I had hoped that he could have chosen a better, more professional way to leave and shown more love to the club.”

Atletico’s La Liga rivals Malaga have also splashed the cash, signing Spain international Santi Cazorla from Villarreal for a reported fee of 20 million pounds.

Malaga announced the transfer on Tuesday after the midfielder completed a medical and he has signed a five-year-contract.

Cazorla is the 10th new signing at Malaga, joining the likes of new signings Ruud van Nistelrooy, Joaquin and Jeremy Toulalan.

Newly promoted English Premier League club Swansea City have moved to bolster their strikeforce, with Brendan Rodgers’ side said to have agreed a 1.75 million-pound fee with Middlesbrough for forward Leroy Lita.

Recent reports have linked the 27-year-old to Fiorentina, but Aquilani’s agent Franco Zavaglia said he would remain with Kenny Dalglish’s English Premier League outfit.

“Aquilani will certainly stay at Liverpool,” he told Il Corriere dello Sport.

“Alberto has recovered from his ankle problem. He’s back in the international set-up and has the characteristics needed to do well in the Premier League.”

“He’s in pre-season training with Liverpool and has played in all of the team’s summer tour games so far.”

Aquilani had been linked to Fiorentina as midfielder Riccardo Montolivo continues to be tipped to join Serie A champions AC Milan.

In other Premier League news, Manchester City could sign Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi unless the Italian club offers him a new deal.

The midfielder’s current deal expires next year and Roma run the risk of losing him on a free transfer unless he receives a substantial pay rise and a clear outline of new owner Thomas DiBenedetto’s future plans for the club.

The Eastlands club are ready to put together a 23 million euro deal to secure De Rossi’s signature and can also significantly bump up his wages.

De Rossi would agree to sign a contract extension with Roma should he receive the certainties he craves and the club are believed to have offered to increase the Italy international’s wage from four million euros to six million euros per year.

Elsewhere, Benfica have announced the signing of Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila on their official website.

The World Cup-winning defender has signed a two-year deal with Jorge Jesus’ men, with a 20 euro million release clause inserted into the contract.

Capdevila has won 59 caps for Spain, scoring four goals since making his debut in 2002 and he played every minute of his nation’s triumphant World Cup campaign last year.

The left-back has enjoyed spells with Atletico Madrid, Espanyol and Deportivo La Coruna before joining Villarreal in 2007.

Santos midfielder Ganso has revealed he only wants to play for AC Milan once his current club eventually decides what to do with him.

The 21-year-old Brazil international has been strongly tipped to join Milan, who are yet to make a formal offer.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Ganso has already told Milan defender Thiago Silva of his ambition to join him at San Siro.

“I only want Milan and I am ready to wait,” Ganso reportedly told Silva.

The Spanish outfit revealed the news on Tuesday with the former Deportivo Cali defender still on international duty at the Copa America.

“Zapata will join up with Villareal CF once the Copa America in Argentina has finished,” a club statement said.

Zapata had a contract with Udinese until mid-2012 but had made it clear he would not extend his stay with the club he joined in 2005.

He said in June he was close to joining English Premier League team Liverpool and that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich had also declared their interest.

But he will instead head to the Estadio El Madrigal to try and help Juan Carlos Garrido and his side enjoy another successful campaign.

He joins veteran goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez as their second capture of the transfer window.

Enrique who has one year left on his contract has made 119 appearances for the Magpies in his four years there. He has recently stated that he is ‘happy’ to leave Newcastle this summer and looks ready to progress his career with talks breaking down over a new contract.

Kenny Dalglish is a fan of the £8m rated defender and after another of his targets Gael Clichy joined Manchester City, is it thought that he has moved to the top of his transfer list in order to solve the problem left-back position at Anfield.

However Liverpool could face stiff competition from Arsenal who are seeking to replace Clichy. Arsene Wenger is known to admire the left-back and has the advantage of providing him with European football this season, something Liverpool cannot do.

‘EL Toro’ (The Bull) was always known for his searing pace and was even a member of a local running club in his teens. He decided against perusing a career in athletics instead signing for home-town club Levante, making his professional debut at the age of 18 in 2004. He did enough in just 19 games to earn a dream move to Valencia, his boyhood team, in the summer of 2005. But as soon as he had arrived he was back out again, this time on a season long loan at Celta Vigo where he impressed with some eye-catching performances, helping the side to a 6th place finish in the Priméra Liga.

He left Valencia that summer, only a year after joining them and without actually playing a game for the club, joining Villarreal. As part of ‘The Yellow Submarine’ he played at St James’ Park in a friendly at the start of the 2006 season. His performance must have impressed the watching Geordies as exactly a year to the day he was back in the North East to finalise a £6.3m switch from Villarreal.

Constant managerial changes at the Newcastle meant he struggled to establish himself in the first team up until the 2009 season. However when he finally became first choice left back he could do nothing to save the club from relegation at the end of the season and many expected the Spaniard to return to Spain.

Instead Enrique stayed at the club and played an integral part in the Newcastle title-winning side, picking up the Player of the Year award and gaining a place in the PFA Championship team of the season.

His short period in the Championship has developed him as a player adding consistency to already considerable attributes as a Premier League left-back. His return to top-flight was preceded by a season of high-quality performances and he is now regarded as one of the best left backs in the Premier League.

Enrique has reported back to pre-season training at Newcastle this week but he is not expected to be there much longer with Liverpool and Arsenal both in the hunt for a left back before the start of the new season.

Expect ‘El Toro’ to be charging down the wing at another club come August.

Andres Guardado:

After signing one Mexican starlet last summer, in the form of Javier Hernandez, Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly declared interest in ‘little pea’s’ international team-mate Andres Guardado. The winger instead remained at Deportivo la Coruna for a fourth consecutive season, but now faces an important career decision following the club’s relegation from La Liga. The Guadalajara-born midfielder possesses near faultless ball control, is adept at bringing the ball out of defence quickly to link up with the forwards and has a fearsome left-footed long shot. It is not known whether Guardado has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave following the club’s demotion, but would represent excellent value for money at 24 years-of-age.

Roberto Soldado:

Soldado netted 18 goals in 26 La Liga appearances last season following his 10million Euros return to his hometown in Valencia. Originally a product of the Real Madrid youth system but struggled to force his way in to the first team before signing a permanent deal with local rivals Getafe in 2008. He was signed by Valencia as a direct replacement for Barcelona-bound David Villa and was a major contributor as the club finished the season in third. It is worth mentioning that Soldado scored 6 in four Champions League appearances last term, and at 26 years-old, has all the attributes required to compete at a top-6 level.

Royston Drenthe:

The left-back/winger first came to prominence at the 2007 European Under-21 Championship where he provided the driving force behind Holland’s successful campaign on home soil. A 14million Euros move to Real Madrid followed but Drenthe struggled to assert himself under any of the three managers he worked under and was loaned-out to newly promoted Hercules when Jose Mourinho arrived at the Bernabeu last summer. Although his adopted club failed to secure a second season in Spanish football’s top-flight, the 24 year-old performed capably, displaying flashes of the electric speed and skill he once exhibited for the Dutch youth team. He fell out of favour towards the end of his tenure due to a dispute regarding the team’s management, and has now returned to his parent club in Madrid who would be willing to accept minimal bids for a player who still has lots of promise.

Giuseppe Rossi:

The American-born forward is best remembered in England for not quite breaking in to the Manchester United first-team, and an ineffectual stint on-loan at Newcastle, but much like Diego Forlan before him, has flourished at Villareal since leaving the Premiership. He has scored consistently over the past four seasons in Spain and has since broken in to the Italian national set-up, but was most prolific this year, finishing the season on 32 goals, 18 in the League. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was rumoured to have bid around £30million for the striker in January, and any interested parties should consider a fee of around that much to tempt the Yellow Subramines to sell.

Promoted last season, Levante are six places and three points better off than Zaragoza, but are safe from the relegation mire.

But Mallorca, Real Sociedad, and Osasuna – 13th, 14th and 15th respectively – are all one point worse off than Levante.

They are level on 44 points, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Mallorca are at home to Atletico Madrid, who must win if they are to have a chance of finishing in a Europa League qualification spot.

Osasuna host Villarreal, a team already assured of fourth place and a route into the Champions League qualification rounds.

Sociedad are at home to Getafe, who are just one point clear of the relegation zone in 16th place.

Level with Getafe on 43 points, but beneath them in 17th place courtesy of an inferior goal difference, are Deportivo La Coruna.

Deportivo won the La Liga title in 2000 and reached the Champions League semi-finals as recently as 2004, but could find themselves in the second tier next season, unless they pick up points at home to third-placed Valencia.

In other matches, Real Madrid fans could be in for a goal glut when Cristiano Ronaldo, soon to be confirmed as winner of the Pichichi award for the league’s leading scorer, takes to the field against already-relegated Almeria.

Sporting Gijon travel to Hercules, who have also already been consigned to the Second Division, while champions Barcelona are away to Malaga.

In the fight to secure a Europa League berth, fifth-placed Sevilla are away to Espanyol, while sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao also away against Racing Santander.

Sevilla and Bilbao are level on 55 points and need to win if they are to keep ahead of Atletico.