(Football news) La Liga is back with another set of midweek fixtures. Barcelona lost the El Clasico at home on the weekend while Atlético Madrid dropped a point against Real Sociedad. The pressure will be on those two to try and keep up with Los Blancos. Real Sociedad still remain top of the table but Real Madrid and Sevilla are just 1 point behind with a game in hand.
Barcelona play away at Rayo Vallecano after their El Clasico disappointment. Ronald Koeman has to get 3 points in this game and that too comfortably. Pedri, Ronald Aruajo, Martin Braithwaite and Dembélé still have a long way to go before returning. Frenkie De Jong and Ansu Fati picked up injuries in the Clasico and could be out of the clash. Radamel Falcao will be a massive threat to the Barcelona defence which is prone to leaking goals. Sergio Aguero is all set to make his first start for Barcelona after 3 substitute appearances.
After their thumping win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL and 4th consecutive El Clasico triumph, Real Madrid will host Osasuna. The match will give Carlo Ancelotti a great opportunity to rest some of his key players. Karim Benzema may well be one of them as he took part in only one training session before the El Clasico. Thibaut Courtois might be rested after picking up a knock on the knee at Camp Nou. Dani Carvajal played the last 5 minutes in the Clasico and might be asked to start against Osasuna. Ferland Mendy has recently recovered from a long term injury. Ancelotti won't be too keen on making the left back start three games in a row just yet and could start Marcelo. Isco and Luka Jovic are expected to be back in the squad. Dani Ceballos and Gareth Bale are still out with their respective injuries.
Atletico Madrid will visit Levante for a late Thursday night kick off. Atletico have been 2-0 down for two games in a row which is not something you usually see from Diego Simeone's men even though they did manage to make it 2-2 in both the games. Atletico will be without Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente and Stefan Savic. Levante have 3 important players in Shkodran Mustafi, Jose Campana and Sergio Postiga out. Atletico Madrid have two very tough fixtures coming up as they host Real Betis on the weekend and then travel to Anfield in the UCL to face Liverpool.
