Spain's top three teams get back to work domestically this weekend, although leaders Barcelona were reluctantly forced back into focusing on their domestic trophy ambitions.

Luis Enrique still has the Copa del Rey and La Liga championships to motivate his men, after they lost their quarterfinal match up against Atletico Madrid, who sit just three points behind them in second. Things are on a downward trend around the Camp Nou, Lionel Messi has not scored a goal in five consecutive matches, and Neymar has been fairly pedestrian since he was included as a Ballon D'Or finalist. 

Even so, they have a perfect opponent for getting back on their feet. Valencia are counting down the days until they can fire Gary Neville, as they are light years out of contention for a European competition for next season. Neville had a harsh welcoming to Spain and his first head coaching gig, although things have started to pick up somewhat. Still, he has not had the experience most Brits have when they move to the south of Spain.

Expect goals a plenty, as the last time Valencia came to the Camp Nou, they were witnesses to four Luis Suarez goals with Messi chipping in three of his own just because. This was back in February in Copa del Rey competition, eliminating Valencia with ease.

Real Madrid are on the road, although they only need to drive about 30 minutes south to face Getafe. Their confidence has to be sky high after Cristiano Ronaldo single handedly lifted them into the Champions League semifinal, although Zinedine Zidane's crew do make a habit of turning confidence into lazy play. However it usually does not have dire consequences when facing an opponent as Getafe is on paper.

Ronaldo will likely inflate his goal total and increase his lead for the Pichichi (or Spain's top goalscorer), and if Madrid don't score at least five, it will because they didn't want to.

Atletico face an equally doormat-ish opponent on their home turf as well in Granada. Although when tasked with such adversaries, they normally don't turn it into the laughers that Barcelona and Real Madrid do. That's just not how Diego Simeone runs his team. They are built more on defense and frustrating opponents, which Granada will definitely be.

It should be a healthy tune up for Atletico and Real as they get back to European competition in a fortnight. Even there, they are pinned as favorites to get through and create another all Madrid final in Milan.

Photo: Flickr