Madrid, Feb 4 (IANS): Football returns after a weekend break in Spain with several new faces as some teams looked to strengthen their hand in the January transfer window. Here are some things to look out for in Spain's Matchday 23.
1. New faces to make an impact?
FC Barcelona, Alaves and Getafe were among the most active sides over the past month, with Barca adding Ferran Torres, Dani Alves, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to their squad, while Getafe brought in five players, including striker Borja Mayoral from Roma and Alaves were also busy signing players such as Gonzalo Escalante and Hugo Vallejo as they look to climb out of the relegation zone.
Some of these players such as Torres, Alves and Escalante have already made their debuts, but with less than half a season to play, the others are under pressure to make an almost immediate impact and the pressure is on.
2. Huge game for Barca and Atletico Madrid
Sunday's match at the Camp Nou Stadium between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid could have an impact on the future of both clubs -- neither of which are guaranteed to qualify for next season's Champions League, Xinhua reports.
For Barca the game could give coach Xavi Hernandez the chance to show how the club is changing under his guidance: recent performances have seen hints at improvement, but not the consistency that is vital to challenge for a title, while Adama Traore and Aubameyang will be hoping to make an impact.
Meanwhile Atletico travel to Barcelona with plenty of questions to answer about their competitiveness and the reliability of their defense, while Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez both go back to their former stomping ground.
3. Lopetegui getting back to full strength at Sevilla
Although it's always positive to see your players do well at international level, Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui probably wasn't heartbroken to see Morocco knocked out of the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations.
The result means that three of his key players: Youssef En-Neysri, Munir El Haddadi and first-choice goalkeeper Yassine Bono, were back working with his squad this week and all should be available for Sevilla's visit to play Osasuna on Saturday.
Sevilla showed spirit to fight back from 2-0 down to take a point at home to Celta before the break, but they have clearly missed three vital players.
The club added Anthony Martial to their squad on loan from Manchester United during the international break and the Frenchman should add even more bite to the team that looks to be Real Madrid's only serious rival in this season's title race.
4. Big game for Mallorca and Cadiz
Both Mallorca and Cadiz said their goodbyes to the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night as they were beaten by Rayo Vallecano and Valencia respectively. Saturday sees the two teams get back to the 'bread and butter' of their season with a vital league game. One point from a possible 15 points since beating Atletico Madrid has seen Mallorca slip to fourth from bottom of the table, while Cadiz are just two points beneath them and would leapfrog out of the relegation zone with a win.
Cadiz look to have improved since the arrival of Sergio Gonzalez as first-team coach, with the former Espanyol and Valladolid coach installing a more aggressive outlook in his side, while the signing of Lucas Perez offers more options in attack.
Unless Mallorca can stop the slide, coach Luis Garcia could be in trouble.