The 2020-21 edition of the Spanish top-flight is already underway, and the league will finally be complete after three of their most popular teams have ended their summer rest. Barcelona, Sevilla, and Atlético will try to hit the ground running after quite busy months for each side, and their presence will surely add more interest to the league.
All the action this weekend will begin on Saturday, where the big game to watch will feature Real Betis hosting Real Madrid. Los Blancos did not have the best start of the season after dropping two points against Real Sociedad, and facing a team that has won both of their games will certainly put Zidane's men in jeopardy.
Sunday will be packed with action, as six games are scheduled to be played. Atlético will make their debut against Granada after signing Luis Suárez, while Sevilla will try to redeem themselves after their UEFA Super Cup defeat against Bayern when they face fellow Andalucian side Cádiz.
Last, but not least, Barcelona will be playing for the first time this season at Camp Nou against Villarreal. After all the turmoil created by their 8-2 UEFA Champions League loss, Los Blaugranas will witness the start of a new era under Ronald Koeman, but problems on and off the pitch (especially those surrounding Messi) could very well mean the end of a successful stint for the Blaugrana side with "La Pulga" leading them.
Team news - Who's in and who's out?
Atlético Madrid - José Giménez (injured)
Barcelona - Marc-André Ter Stegen, Martin Braithwaite, Samuel Umtiti (injured).
Real Betis - Dani Martin, Victor Camarasa, Francis (injured); Andrés Guardado (doubtful).
Real Madrid - Mariano, Eden Hazard (injured); Eder Militao (doubtful).
Sevilla - Sebastién Corchia (injured).
Villarreal - Alberto Moreno, Ramiro Guerra, Rubén Peña (injured); Raúl Albiol (doubtful).
Key stats ahead of Matchday 3
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Barcelona have won their last ten games against Villarreal in all comps.
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Atlético have kept 11 clean sheets against Granada in their last 14 matches (all comps).
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Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 12 La Liga games.
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Sevilla have won all of their last four meetings against Cádiz (all comps).
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Villarreal have conceded 19 times against Barcelona in their last six trips to Camp Nou.
Coach's quotes ahead of Matchday 3
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane spoke ahead of his team's match against Betis, and while fans expected better news regarding some of their injured footballers, Zizou replied with a hue of mystery and left everything up in the air.
"One of them could make the trip, but there are some of those footballers that have not had enough training sessions. We could have some of them around, but the good thing is that all of them are in perfect shape and that we have quite a few games ahead. We'll see how we handle that situation," Zidane stated.
