La Liga: Four things to look out for in Spain's matchday 18

Madrid, Jan 2 La Liga returns to action this weekend, with a Barcelona derby, two coaches making their debuts, but without Kylian Mbappe.

In such a situation, Barcelona will look to further extend their lead over archrivals Real Madrid. The Catalans currently enjoy an advantage of four points over Real Madrid, leading by 46 points to 42. They have so far won 15 matches out of 18, so far while Real have taken full points from 13 wins from 18 matches.

Atletico Madrid are placed third with 37 points from 18 games, while Villarreal are at 35 from 16 matches, reports Xinhua.

Here are some things to look forward to in Spain over the coming days.

1. Espanyol's best chance of beating Barca?

League leader FC Barcelona cross town to play bitter local rival Espanyol in the first Barcelona derby of the season, with Espanyol in their 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 defence and their effectiveness in scoring from set pieces, with half of the team's goals coming after free kicks and corners.

Barcelona would 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 remain 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 would 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 have 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 their home form, so Villarreal knows they have a difficult visit, which comes after a defeat to FC Barcelona, but the brakes on its title challenge.

Villarreal are 11 points behind Barcelona in the table, but have played two games less, so a win in Elche are vital. Villarreal would 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.

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