Barcelona opened up an eight-point gap at the top of the Spanish first division after Pedro Rodriguez scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday.

It was by no means a vintage performance by the champions, although they had the satisfaction of hitting their 50th goal of the La Liga season.

Mate Bilic went close with a header for the home side before Pedro put the visitors ahead with a clinical finish from a defence-breaking through ball by Andres Iniesta on the 30-minute mark.

It was the quality in attack which was the real difference between the sides and especially in the second half where Barca had a number of chances to extend their lead.

However, both Lionel Messi and Pedro were guilty of glaring misses.

Later Saturday, Real Madrid travel to Deportivo La Coruna looking to close the gap on Barcelona.

The Riazor stadium has not been a happy hunting ground for Real who have not won there for almost 20 years and they now travel without their most influential player Cristiano Ronaldo, who is suspended.

Real are also without Rafael van der Vaart and Gonzalo Higuain but it is the Portuguese who will be badly missed.

A rejuvenated Deportivo side are missing Felipe Luis who suffered a horrendous broken ankle last weekend against Athletic Bilbao and will miss the rest of the season.

“There is still half the season to go and so we cannot talk about this game being crucial. We are up against a strong side but I hope to see the same Madrid as always,” said Real coach Manuel Pellegrini.

A Luis Garcia strike saw Espanyol overcome Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in a scrappy match to give them breathing space at the bottom of La Liga earlier Saturday.

The home side dominated from the start a match in which injury-hit Athletic were never able to get into their stride.

They lost playmaker Fran Yeste after 18 minutes while Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora battled through the first half with a head injury before eventually being substituted after the break.

The Athletic keeper Gorka Iraizoz made a couple of important interventions in the first half but he was powerless to block Garcia’s close-range winner on 58 minutes after good work from Javi Marquez down the left wing.

The result moves Espanyol six points clear of the relegation zone but for Athletic, who are chasing a place in Europe, they have now lost back-to-back games.

Despite only managing a draw away to lowly Tenerife, Valencia are well placed to qualify for the Champions League but on Sunday they face a crucial game against fellow aspirants Sevilla who have dropped off the pace since Christmas after losing three of their last four matches.

Mallorca continue to be the real surprise this season as they fight among the top four in the championship.

They showed their resilience to draw with Espanyol last weekend after going a goal down and now will be looking for victory against bottom side Xerez, who are really struggling to pick up any points at the moment.

In fact the only point they have won in recent weeks was against Zaragoza who are in similar straits and are now suffering internal strife with captain Roberto Ayala having rescinded his contract.

They face a relegation battle against third-from bottom Tenerife.

Getafe, who take on Racing Santander, are in the hunt for a place in Europe while also coming into the frame are Villarreal who had a poor start to the season, and they play Osasuna.

Atletico Madrid face Malaga with the pressure on coach Quique Sanchez as the side has failed to show any real signs of improvement since he took over and are firmly rooted in mid-table.

There will be plenty of anxiety also in the clash between Valladolid and Almeria as they both lie on the fringes of the drop zone.