Barcelona are looking to make ground on leaders Real Madrid, who dropped points yesterday...

Villarreal saw off Real Zaragoza 2-0 at home to climb to within a point of second-placed Barca.

Building on their 2-1 win at the Camp Nou last weekend, Turkish striker Nihat Kahveci gave Villarreal an early lead and Italian-American striker Giuseppe Rossi made sure of the points from the penalty spot in the second half.

But much of the credit must go to their goalkeeper Diego Lopez who denied Zaragoza on numerous occasions. Third-placed Villarreal moved on to 53 points.

Sevilla are fourth after beating Valencia 2-1 away, and they were joined on 45 points by Espanyol who came from behind to beat Mallorca 2-1 at home with a brace from Spain striker Luis Garcia.

Sixth-placed Atletico Madrid, on 44 points, are at home to bottom club Levante in the late game.

Getafe made it 11 games unbeaten in all competitions as they came from behind to beat Copa del Rey semi-final opponents Racing Santander 2-1 at the Coliseum.

Goals from Nigeria striker Ikechukwu Uche and Jaime Gavilan give Getafe the psychological edge for when the sides meet again in midweek for the second leg of their semi-final at the Sardinero. Getafe are 3-1 up from the first leg.

Eurosport