MADRID, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- La Liga returns to action this weekend, with a Barcelona derby, two coaches making their debuts, but without Kylian Mbappe. Here are some things to look forward to in Spain over the coming days.
1. Espanyol's best chance of beating Barcelona?
League leader FC Barcelona crosses town to play bitter local rival Espanyol in the first Barcelona derby of the season with Espanyol in its best form in years.
Manolo Gonzalez's side has won its last five matches in La Liga and is currently fifth in the classification.
Espanyol's success has been built on a miserly defense and its effectiveness in scoring from set pieces, with half of the team's goals coming after free kicks and corners.
Barcelona will certainly suffer defending corners, so the key factor will be whether a team containing Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford will score enough goals for Hansi Flick's side.
2. Mbappe out at key moment for Alonso
Mbappe's knee strain means he misses Sunday's La Liga game at home to Betis and remains doubtful for the Spanish Supercup the following week. This couldn't have come at a worse time for coach Xabi Alonso.
Although the 2-0 win at home over Sevilla before Christmas saw Alonso survive as Real Madrid coach into 2026, the feeling is that he needs to win the Supercup to be truly safe. But first his side has to navigate an impressive Betis side without the man who has scored half of Real Madrid's goals in La Liga.
Alonso is also without Brahim Diaz, Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dani Carvajal and needs Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo to step up ahead of a vital week.
3. Tough debuts for Matarazzo and Castro
Pellegrino Matarazzo makes his debut as Real Sociedad coach with a difficult home match against Atletico Madrid, while Luis Castro takes bottom of the table Levante to face Sevilla in his first game in charge.
Former Stuttgart and Hoffenheim coach Matarazzo takes over the Real Sociedad dugout after a year out of the game, and is tasked with getting the best out of a squad that has undoubted quality in players such as Goncalo Guedes, Carlos Soler, Brais Mendez and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Atletico will be a tough debut, but his side should survive.
Castro's task in keeping Levante up will be much harder with the side that was promoted last season lacking quality and his job is made harder by top scorer Etta Eyong's absence in the African Cup of Nations.
4. Expect thrills in Elche
Elche has been one of the revelations of the season, with coach Eder Sarabia taking the newly promoted side to ninth in the table with some excellent possession-based football.
Elche's success is based on its home form, so Villarreal knows they have a difficult visit which comes after defeat to FC Barcelona but the brakes on its title challenge.
Villarreal is 11 points behind Barcelona in the table, but has played two games less, so a win in Elche is vital. Villarreal will press high up the field to try and win the ball to allow players such as Ayoze Perez and Nicolas Pepe to exploit their pace.
Sarabia began his coaching career in the Villarreal youth system so this will be a special game for him. ■
