Madrid: Valencia has to quickly rebound from its first loss of the season — a 1-0 home defeat against Manchester United in the Champions League — to hold on to the Spanish league lead against a tough Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Barcelona hopes to field Lionel Messi when it hosts Mallorca on Sunday following a difficult Champions League draw with Rubin Kazan, and slow-scoring Real Madrid plays Deportivo La Coruna at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Villarreal hosts Racing Santander in its bid to stay second in the standings, above Barcelona and Madrid.
The Madrid squad, which has scored six goals in five league matches, has been working under coach Jose Mourinho to improve its tactical awareness, defender Alvaro Arbeloa said.
"Mourinho is helping all of us improve on a tactical level," Arbeloa said. "We are excessively worried about our forwards having a rough patch. The team has great forwards and I am sure that, by the end of the season, they will have scored many times."
Ten days after injuring his ankle at Atletico Madrid, Messi came on as a substitute to play the last 34 minutes of Wednesday's Champions League game in Russia, which was enough time to launch four shots on goal and make 25 passes.
Coach Pep Guardiola may be without Xavi Hernandez, who has problems with tendinitis and was left off Spain's squad for next month's European Championship qualifiers.
Barcelona's medical team said on the club website that Xavi has been struggling with the problem "for several weeks" and that it has now "reached an acute stage."
"Tomorrow, in consideration of the player's condition, we will decide whether he will also miss the game against Mallorca," the statement said.
Valencia coach Unai Emery is likely to be without two key players as Joaquin Sanchez has a left leg injury and Netherlands international Hedwiges Maduro is to undergo tests on Friday as a result of persistent muscle pains in his left leg.
"Racing Santander is going to present us with a very complicated match," Villarreal coach Javi Garcia said. "It is a team that has been capable of two wins in its two away matches this season, and it has let in very few goals."
Also on Saturday, it's Zaragoza vs. Sporting and Real Sociedad vs. Espanyol. On Sunday, Getafe hosts Hercules, Almeria plays Malaga and Osasuna hosts Levante.
Comments
0 comment