MADRID, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona face a derby that will be tougher than many fans may think when Girona visit the Camp Nou Stadium on Saturday evening.
Barca go into the match with a seven point lead over Atletico Madrid, who play away to Sevilla on Sunday night, but will have to be wary of Girona, who have climbed to eighth in the Liga Santander table in an incredible first season among the elite.
Paco Machin's well-organized and hard-working side know exactly what they are doing in every game and will look to exploit any tiredness among Barca's players following a tough Champions League game away to Chelsea on Tuesday.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde must be tempted to make changes to his side with Lucas Digne, Nelson Semedo and perhaps Andre Gomez and Ousmane Dembele all in with a chance of starting, while Phillipe Coutinho should step into the side to give Andres Iniesta a rest.
Real Madrid are also in action at home to Alaves after climbing up to third on Wednesday night, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Keylor Navas will be back in the side after being rested against Leganes.
Alaves travel to Madrid following a stunning run of form under coach Abelardo Fernandez and go into the game 10 points above the relegation zone after taking 22 points from a possible 33.
The visitors will be without top scorer Munir, however, after he saw his fifth booking of the season in last weekend's win over Deportivo la Coruna.
Deportivo are the first side in action in matchday 25 when they entertain Espanyol on Friday night as Clarence Seedorf looks for his first win following defeats in his first two matches as coach.
Celta opens against Eibar Saturday with Celta looking to recover from a 3-0 defeat to Getafe, and Eibar aiming for revenge against a side that has defeated them three times already in League and Cup this campaign.
The visitors will be without the injured Dani Garcia and Ivan Ramis for the trip to Galicia, while Fabian Orellana is suspended after being sent off against Barcelona.
Leganes need to end a run of four consecutive defeats and will be optimistic against Las Palmas, whose best player, Jonathan Viera accepted a move to China earlier in the week.
Atletico Madrid's trip to Sevilla is the highlight of Sunday as fifth in the table hosts second, with Atletico placing faith in a defensive record which has seen them concede just five goals away from home all season.
Villarreal have a tough game at home to Getafe and will hope their Europa League efforts on Thursday have not left the tank empty. Likewise, Athletic Club Bilbao look to end a run of six games without a win when they play at home to a Malaga side that looks doomed to relegation.
Valencia then take on Real Sociedad in the Mestalla Stadium before the round of matches ends on Monday with Levante at home to Betis, with Levante coach Juan Muniz surely needing a win to save his job after a run of just one win in 19 matches since the two faced each other earlier in the season.
