MADRID, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid play their last league game of 2018, while Barcelona make the tricky journey to take on Levante on Matchday 16 of the Liga Santander.
Here are four things to look out for.
1. Who will replace Bale at Real Madrid side?
Gareth Bale suffered an ankle injury towards the end of Real Madrid's Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night, leaving coach Santiago Solari with a selection dilemma.
There are three candidates to replace the Welshman, but with Isco seemingly ruling himself out with a gesture of frustration after being booed by a section of the crowd in the Sanitago Bernabeu on Wednesday, in reality Solari's choice is between Marcos Asensio and Vinicius Jr.
It's been a disappointing season so far for Asensio, but he was one of the best players in midweek and performed well in the Cup win over Melilla the previous week. Real Madrid fans would probably prefer to see Vinicius' raw talent, which both Julen Lopetegui and Solari have so far looked to protect. Has the talented but raw Brazilian's time finally come?
2. What now for Dembele?
The life of Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele is anything but boring: dropped after neglecting to inform the club he was ill, scoring an outstanding goal against Espanyol, then arriving late for training the following day and picking up a whopping fine before scoring a contender for goal of the season in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham on Wednesday.
The good news for Barca coach Ernesto Valverde is that although Dembele is still a 'work in progress', he is starting to turn in decisive performances on a regular basis.
With Phillipe Coutinho struggling for form of late, Dembele's performances have come at the right time and he certainly offers something totally different to his team-mates, so will Valverde persevere with his maverick talent away to Levante?
3 Can Luis Garcia make a change at Villarreal?
Sunday's home defeat to Celta Vigo saw Javier Calleja become the fifth managerial casualty of the season as he was shown the door by Villarreal, who replaced him with Luis Garcia. Luis Garcia's spells with Getafe and Levante were both successful and saw him combine attractive football and pragmatic organization.
This Villarreal side probably has more talent than either of his previous clubs, with attacking players such as Gerard Moreno and Carlos Bacca and midfielders such as Pablo Fornals and Santi Cazorla. With Bruno still injured and Rodrigo Hernandez sold to Atletico Madrid, Garcia probably lacks a holding midfielder, but he certainly has the players to lift his new side away from the relegation zone.
4 Getafe to take a step forward
Once again Getafe have scaled the table without making much noise, but a win for the side from the south of Madrid at home to Real Sociedad on Saturday would see them knocking on the door of Europe for the second consecutive year.
Pepe Bordalas' style may not be to most people's liking, but his organization in midfield and defense, coupled with a high level of effectiveness from set pieces and strikers able to sniff out a goal, makes them terribly hard to beat and if they get in front, they know all the tricks to hang on to it.
Real Sociedad are much stronger on the road than in their own Anoeta Stadium so Saturday promises to be an interesting test of Getafe's European potential.
