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MADRID, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Spain's top three sides all play at home, while Atletico Madrid will test Sporting Gijon's recovery and fifth placed Real Sociedad take on sixth place Villarreal in matchday 23 in the Liga Santander.
The round of matches begins with an Andalusian derby on Friday night as Granada desperately look for points at home to an improving Betis.
Fourth placed Atletico are next in action in Gijon and Diego Simeone will have to rotate his squad ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash away to Bayer Leverkusen, while at the same time keeping an eye on Sporting Gijon.
Last weekend's 2-0 win away to Leganes put Sporting to within two points of safety and with Leganes visiting Barcelona on Sunday, a win could lift the home side out of the relegation zone.
Real Madrid entertain Espanyol, a side they traditionally beat with relative ease, in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Espanyol have improved drastically under Quique Sanchez Flores becoming a much tougher defensive outfit than the side that conceded 12 goals without reply in two league games against Madrid last season.
The game could see Gareth Bale make a return to action after almost three months out with an ankle injury with a view to him starting when Madrid visit Valencia on February 22.
Deportivo la Coruna desperately need a win to ease relegation fears, but will not have an easy task against Alaves, who are looking to bounce back after last weekend's 6-0 thrashing by Barcelona.
Saturday ends with a fascinating match as third place Sevilla are at home to Eibar, with the Basque side seventh in the table and looking for an unlikely qualification for Europe next season.
Jose Luis Mendilibar's side beat Granada 4-0 on Monday and are playing some of the best football in the club's history. Meanwhile Sevilla go into the game with half an eye on their midweek Champions League tie at home to Leicester City.
Saturday kicks off with Real Sociedad looking to break down the best defense in the league as Villarreal visit Anoeta. Villarreal have just one win from their last nine matches and have struggled for consistency this season.
Likewise Athletic Club's away record this campaign has been poor with just two wins away from the Sam Mames Stadium and Valencia will look to capitalize on that as they try to build on last weekend's draw away to Betis.
Celta will fancy their chances of all three points at home to bottom of the table Osasuna, before Barcelona aim to put their Champions League thrashing away to Paris Saint Germain behind them when they entertain struggling Leganes.
The side from the south of Madrid have not won since November 21 and depending on Sporting's result on Saturday, could be in the relegation zone by the time Sunday's game starts.
Barca have to improve the woeful image they presented in midweek, but the feeling is that even if they beat Leganes with ease, this game is just a sideshow which should not detract from the real problems they are having this season.
