MADRID, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- With another international break around the corner, the coming weekend in Spain sees the last round of games for a fortnight and winning will be vital to the morale and future of several big clubs, including FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The weekend starts with the Basque derby between Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad with both sides looking for a morale boosting win in an intense local rivalry. Neither Athletic nor 'La Real' have been brilliant so far, but the winner would probably go into the break satisfied with their first two months work this campaign.
Saturday will see most of the attention shift to Deportivo Alaves' Mendizorroza where Real Madrid are the visitors.
Three games without a win or a goal have set the alarm bells ringing in Madrid and the first question marks raised over the future of coach Julen Lopetegui.
Lopetegui will be without Isco, Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal for the trip to the Basque country, but welcomes back Sergio Ramos, who was rested as Madrid crashed to a painful defeat in Moscow on Tuesday.
A win against Alaves would lift the pressure, but failure against a side who would have gone level of points with Madrid had they won last weekend, would make for a very long fortnight at the Bernabeu and perhaps the sound of knives being sharpened will start to echo around the corridors.
FC Barcelona don't play until Sunday night when they face the always difficult visit to Valencia.
Ernesto Valverde's side bounced back to form with a Leo Messi inspired 4-2 win over Tottenham in the Champions League on Wednesday and they will need Messi again in Mestalla against Valencia, who have finally begun to show the form that saw them finish fourth last season.
Barca will still be without Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto, although Valverde will be boosted by Arthur's midweek display in central midfield and Clement Lenglet's composure alongside Pique in central defense.
Atletico Madrid are also in Sunday action against Betis in a game against two sides who play contrasting styles of football with Betis preferring a possession based game, while Atletico are quite happy to soak up pressure and play on the break.
Diego Costa is likely to be missing after limping out on Wednesday's Champions League win over Bruges with either Angel Correa or Nikola Kalinic replacing him.
Meanwhile third place Sevilla take on Celta Vigo and could go top of the table if both Real Madrid and Barca fail to win.
Other games at the weekend are what promises to be a tight game between Girona and Eibar, while Getafe will be slight favorites when Levante are the visitors and there is a Madrid derby as Rayo Vallecano visit bottom of the table Leganes for the first time ever in the top-flight.
Valladolid aim to make it three wins in three games when Huesca are the visitors in a game between two sides promoted at the end of last season and Espanyol can carry on their bright start to the campaign when they welcome an inconsistent Villarreal, whose attack is likely to be led by Gerard Moreno, who joined them from Espanyol over the summer.
