Getafe, Spain – La Liga leading-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team face Getafe at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez on Saturday, and if history is any indication, the Portuguese superstar could be in line for an influential performance.
Ronaldo has bagged braces in his last two appearances at Getafe, scoring twice in a 4-2 win (Mar. 25, 2010) and a 3-2 win (Jan. 3, 2011) at the Coliseum.
The Portuguese superstar has also picked up four goals in Real Madrid's last two matches at the Bernabeu against Getafe, notching a hat trick in a 4-0 win on May 10 and one goal in a 4-2 win on Sep. 10.
Ronaldo's exceptional form has landed him at the top of the La Liga scoring chart with 24 goals through Real Madrid's 20 games, two better than Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
The scoring chart bears a strong resemblance to the La Liga table with Real Madrid holding down first place at the expense of Barcelona. The Catalans sit second and trail by seven points as the Galacticos set the pace in the Spanish top tier with 52 points.
Real Madrid avoided embarrassment in its last outing. After surrendering the opening goal to last-place Real Zaragoza, Madrid stormed back to claim a 3-1 victory at the Bernabeu.
The leaders will square off against a Getafe team that is unbeaten in its last six La Liga contests. The Coliseum club is coming off of a 2-1 win at Levante its last time out.
Should Real Madrid slip up at the Coliseum, Barcelona will look to capitalize in Saturday's latest kickoff as the Catalans welcome Real Sociedad to Camp Nou.
Barcelona stumbled in its last encounter, falling further behind Real Madrid in the title chase with a 0-0 draw with Villarreal. Real Sociedad has won two of its last three league contests and is coming off of a 5-1 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.
Elsewhere in La Liga on Saturday, Mallorca welcomes Real Betis to the Estadio Son Moix, Levante hosts Racing at the Ciutat de Valencia, and Athletic Bilbao faces Espanyol at San Mames.
Sunday will see third-place Valencia head to the Vicente Calderon where it will compete against seventh-place Atletico Madrid. Valencia has hit a rough patch of late, going without a win in its last four league games, while Atletico is firing on all cylinders with a three-game winning run.
Supplemental action Sunday features Sporting Gijon welcoming Osasuna, Sevilla hosting Villarreal, and Rayo Vallecano heading to Real Zaragoza.
The week's La Liga play wraps up on Monday with Granada hosting Malaga at Los Carmenes.
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