Madrid (Spain), Nov 28 (IANS) The top three sides in La Liga all have what look to be accessible matches this weekend in the 15th round. League leader Barcelona are at home to Las Palmas, whose recovery under Diego Martinez suffered a setback with a loss at home to Mallorca last weekend.
Barca appeared to recover their form after recent setbacks against Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo with a 3-0 UEFA Champions League win over Brest, and Lamine Yamal should be available again after the teenager missed the last three weeks with an ankle injury. Alejandro Balde returns as left-back, and Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres are also available for coach Hansi Flick.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has far more injury worries, with Eduardo Camavinga the latest to suffer a muscle injury, with the Frenchman going down with a hamstring problem in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Real Madrid are at home to a struggling Getafe, which have a dreadful record in the Santiago Bernabeu, but Ancelotti is hampered by the loss of Camavinga, along with Eder Mlitao, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, David Alaba, and Aurelien Tchouameni. The Italian must also be worried by the form of Kylian Mbappe, who was poor against Liverpool, despite playing in his favoured position on the left of the attack, although Getafe could give the Frenchman a chance to redeem himself.
Atletico Madrid’s morale is sky-high after a 6-0 away thrashing of Sparta Prague in the Champions League, and Diego Simeone’s men will be confident of another win from the short trip to Real Valladolid.
Paulo Pezzolano’s side is bottom of the table after losing in Getafe last week, with the fans calling for the coach to be sacked after a dreadful start to the season. To make matters worse, Pezzolano is suspended for the game and will have to watch from the stands. With Julian Alvarez finding his feet at Atletico, an away win looks very likely.
The weekend began with Mallorca at home to Valencia, who got a huge morale boost with a 4-2 win over Real Betis last weekend.
Alaves take on Leganes in a tie between the two sides hovering just above the relegation zone, with the pressure starting to build on Alaves coach Luis Garcia after a poor run of results. Four consecutive defeats have left Espanyol second from bottom and it needs to end that run at home to Celta Vigo, who scored two late goals to frustrate Barcelona last weekend.
Villarreal entertain an improving Girona on Sunday, with three consecutive league wins lifting Girona to seventh in the table, although its Champions League hopes look to be falling by the wayside after Wednesday’s defeat to Sturm Graz in Austria. Villarreal are without the suspended Dani Parejo for the game, along with injured forwards Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe.
Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao visit Rayo Vallecano hoping to overcome the problems they usually face after a midweek European match, while Real Sociedad need to find their home form when they entertain Real Betis, who are also in midweek Conference League action. The round of matches ends with an evenly matched tie between Osasuna and Sevilla on Monday night.
–IANS
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