HOLA! Well....Primera Liga action is back after the deserving winter break. And the big match this weekend must be the derby between city rivals Getafe and Real Madrid at Coliseum Alfonso Pacrez on Tuesday (5am).

Jose Mourinho's men are favourites to win this one, of course. But then Getafe are enjoying a good run thus far this season — they are now seventh in the standings and would love to stun Los Blancos to consolidate their position.

Real winger Pedro Leon, understandably underlined the importance of beating Getafe. This is simply because Real are second behind leaders and champions Barcelona in the table.

And Real are hoping to start 2011 with a victory as well to continue pressuring the in-form Catalans. And Leon is also looking forward to playing against his old club.

"It's important that we prepare well after the holidays," he told Real's website. "We want to be fit on Monday to take three points against Getafe. Everyone knows I am a Getafe Club Member and follower, and I always want them to win except against Real. It will be another match we should win and I hope we take three points."

The only problem now is whether Leon will take the field in the first place with the quality Real have in the squad. He must be praying hard since Christmas — hoping to see action against his old club. It's something special for him naturally to get the chance to show what he can do here.

The good factor for Leon is he has seen some action of late unlike when he first arrived at Santiago Bernabeu last summer. Wonder how the Getafe fans will react if he plays...interesting. Barca, on the other hand, will host struggling Levante at Nou Camp on Monday (1am).

The Catalans, with Lionel Messi and all are hot favourites to get another three points in their bid to retain the title. It is now the question of by how many goals. Oh yes...Barca have a new signing in Holland international winger Ibrahim Afellay.

But their fans must wait for some time to see him in action as manager Josep "Pep" Guardiola is unlikely to play him so soon and without much training with the rest of the squad. Anyway, striker Bojan Krkic welcomed Afellay with open arms. Afellay is a versatile player and Bojan believes he is a good addition to the squad.

"I have said hello, but we can't speak to each other because I don't speak English or French," Bojan told Barca's website. "But I do know that he's a good player, and anybody like him is more than welcome here."

So it's sign language at work! Bojan and his problem aside, another striker, David Villa warned the hunger for success at the club is as strong as ever, and he wants to win every title possible in the shirt of the Blaugrana. This spells trouble for their opponents.

The former Valencia man has been an almost instant success since his summer switch to Nou Camp.

"We all know the potential we have as a team, but in the last month the level of play and our results have been very good. The truth is that the media have already said everything about our displays. The confidence I have in my colleagues is total, so hopefully this can continue much longer," he told Sport.

"We depend only on ourselves to maintain this performance, and I think we are ready for it. We have what it takes to continue this level until the end of the season. Being in this team is a privilege for any player.

"I think overall that it is very important that his group remains hungry for victory and to win. We have people that, although we have won everything, have an enormous capacity and desire to remain above all. All this helps the development of what we are doing."

Oh yes... legend Diego Maradona's grandson has already shown talent runs in the family — as he's a hotshot at just 22 months. Benjamin Aguero Maradona can be seen online practising impressive skills with his feet and hands.

He is Maradona's first grandchild by daughter Giannina, 21, and Atletico Madrid star and Argentina international striker Sergio "Kun" Aguero. Aguero posted the clip on his website.

And on it, Benjamin shows good dribbling skills, control and powerful shots. And he spends a lot of time using his hands — just like his granddad who scored the infamous "Hand of God" goal against England in the World Cup in 1986.

"Benjamin likes to play a lot. I must admit it's in his blood. When it comes to choosing toys, the ball is his favourite so we can play together. He kicks it hard for his age," said Aguero.

"Kun 2" has all the potential to be another legend. Prospero Ano Nuevo and adios!

LONDON: Manchester United's Darren Fletcher dismissed Manchester City assistant manager Brian Kidd's claim that the title is the Red Devils to lose as nothing more than "kidology".

Kidd made the comment after assessing a table that has his old club ahead of his current one by goal difference alone, but crucially also with two matches in hand.

But similar statements about Chelsea came out of City earlier this season, when it was felt manager Roberto Mancini was merely trying to take the pressure off his own team. And Fletcher is not taking any notice of what Kidd has to say now.

"It is just a bit of kidology," he said. "It is still early stages and a lot of teams will feel they are capable of winning the league. We are one of them.

"We are in a good position. We are top of the league with games in hand.

"But it is easy counting the points. You have to win your matches and your games in hand. This is the important part of the season when you really need to kick-on.

"After January, when all the big games come on the title run-in, that is when it is important to be playing well and winning games."

Indeed, Fletcher views City as one of the most serious threats to United's attempt to reclaim their championship and register a record 19th success.

It might not sit comfortable with the United faithful but there is little doubt that a decent portion of the vast amount of cash that has been invested by Sheikh Mansour has been spent wisely.

"City are realistic title challengers," said Fletcher. "They are there. They are top of the league with us just now. "They are winning games and look solid defensively.

"When you have that much money to spend and sign that many quality players, they are going to be a threat."

Having secured top spot heading into 2011 but failed to actually win at Birmingham on Tuesday, United still have questions of their own to answer when they head to West Brom on New Year's Day.

Fletcher's return is anticipated among a number of changes to a side Alex Ferguson retained from Boxing Day, with the exception of Park Ji-sung, who is on Asian Cup duty with South Korea.

Yet even since the draw at St Andrew's, achieved through a controversial late equaliser from Lee Bowyer, there have been further shocks. Liverpool's home defeat to Wolves has placed further question marks over manager Roy Hodgson's future, while Arsenal failed to capitalise on United's misfortune when they were unable to beat Wigan.

"It has been a strange season," said Fletcher. "There were signs of it last year, when there were some unexpected results and a lot more points dropped.

"It is more competitive from top to bottom. The likes of Bolton and Sunderland have improved and Tottenham and City have got into the Champions League places.

"The league is definitely getting stronger, as a result of which you are seeing a lot more dropped points," said the Scotland skipper.