MADRID, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Barcelona derby between Espanyol and FC Barcelona is the highlight of matchday 22 of La Liga, but there is also a key game between Valencia and Atletico Madrid and many other vital matches taking place in Spain over the weekend. Here are some things to watch out for.
1. High octane Barcelona derby
To say relations are not good between Espanyol and Barcelona is an understatement. In fact they might be at an all time low after Espanyol reported the Barça duo of Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets for comments they made 10 days ago after Barça knocked Espanyol out of the Copa Del Rey.
Recent seasons have seen banners insulting Pique and his pop-star wife Shakira and tensions have risen to such a point that Espanyol supporters groups have called for things to calm down.
That message may prevent some excesses in the stands, but it could still be a hostile affair on the pitch.
Expect this game to be intense, to say the least.
2. Can Atletico take advantage of Valencia's Cup semi-final?
Sunday's big game sees third placed Valencia visit second place Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium at the end of what has been a tough week for Marcelino Garcia's side.
Valencia lost 4-1 at home to Real Madrid a week ago and were beaten 1-0 by Barça in the first leg of their cup semi-final on Thursday. That gives them little time to recover before facing an Atletico team who have had all week to prepare and who welcome back Diego Costa, who is returning from a groin injury.
With the return leg of the cup to be played in the coming week, Marcelino has a delicate situation as he tries to ensure his side perform in the Wanda, while leaving enough gas in the tank to give everything next Thursday and qualify for the Copa del Rey final.
3. Las Palmas vs. Malaga. Win or else...
Legendary Liverpool coach Bill Shankly once famously said "football isn't a matter of life and death; it's much more important than that." He could have been talking about the game between Las Palmas and Malaga which closes out matchday 22 on Monday night.
Las Palmas are second from bottom of the La Liga table with 14 points from 21 games. Malaga are at the bottom of the table, but at the same time the two sides are just five and six points off safety.
A win for either team would put them within touching distance of being able to climb out of the relegation zone, while defeat would leave them adrift with their morale in pieces.
4. How will the new faces fare?
The last days of the transfer window saw the usual scramble as sides look to strengthen their squads with some interesting late arrivals.
Roque Mesa and Sandro Ramirez arrived at Sevilla, while Hector Moreno landed at Real Sociedad to replace Inigo Martinez, who became Athletic Club Bilbao's record signing. Marc Bartra became a big name arrival at Betis.
These signings have raised the expectations of supporters and some of them will make their debut. How thse new players fit in will be vital to the short-term future of their new clubs.
