Preview: Villarreal to test Barcelona, Sevilla derby takes center-stage in La Liga

MADRID, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona faces one of its toughest tests between now and the end of the season when the La Liga leader hosts third-placed Villarreal at the Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon.

Barcelona returned to top spot last weekend after Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat away to Osasuna and its own comfortable 3-0 win at home to Levante. While Levante resembled a side increasingly resigned to relegation, Villarreal presents a far sterner challenge. The visitors boast an impressive record at the Camp Nou, winning three of their last four visits to Barcelona's home ground.

Last season, the side coached by Marcelino Garcia Toral claimed a 3-2 victory, following a 5-3 win the previous year, with another triumph coming in 2022.

Barcelona has struggled with its high defensive line and players such as Ayoze Perez, Gerard Martin and Nicolas Pepe have the abilities to exploit any weakness, while Barcelona will also have half an eye on the return leg of its Copa del Rey semifinal the following Tuesday, where it has to overcome a 4-0 first leg deficit to Atletico Madrid.

Atletico is also in action on Saturday with a visit to bottom of the table Oviedo and Diego Simeone's side will travel to the north of Spain with its morale sky high after qualifying for the last-16 of the Champions League with a 4-1 win at home to Club Brugge.

Striker Alexander Sorloth was the hero in that match with an impressive hat-trick, but could get a deserved rest if Simeone decides to carry out rotations against a hard-working but limited rival.

Real Madrid doesn't play until Monday when it hosts a Getafe side with a five-point cushion over the relegation zone, and the main focus will be if Kylian Mbappe can play despite his knee problems and whether Raul Asencio is available after being carried off in Wednesday's 2-1 win at home to Benfica after a bad fall.

Elsewhere, the standout fixture of the weekend is the Seville derby between Real Betis and Sevilla, renewing Spanish football's fiercest rivalry. Betis's hopes of a top-four finish suffered a setback in last weekend's 1-1 home draw against Rayo Vallecano, while Sevilla's win at Getafe eased, if not entirely ended, its relegation concerns.

Coach Matias Almeyda will serve the second game of his seven-match touchline ban and will no doubt recall the 2-0 defeat Betis inflicted on his side at the Sanchez Pizjuan earlier this season.

The 26th round of games kicks off on Friday night when Levante plays Alaves with Levante going into the game after four consecutive losses.

Athletic Bilbao travels to play Rayo Vallecano looking for a fourth consecutive win as the re-laid pitch in the Vallecas Stadium get its first test after Rayo's last match was played in Leganes due to the poor state of the playing surface.

At the time of writing, third-from-bottom Mallorca is still searching for a new coach ahead of Saturday's game at home to Real Sociedad, following Jagoba Arrasate's dismissal after last weekend's tame defeat away to Celta Vigo.

Celta plays Girona on Sunday in what should be an open and entertaining game between two sides that play flowing possession football, while two teams in terrible form go head-to-head as Elche hosts Espanyol.

Elche has slipped to fourth bottom after eight games without a win, which have seen five defeats, while Espanyol is also without a win in 2026, with six defeats in its last eight games and this match will show the contrast between Elche's passing style and Espanyol's long-ball game.

Sunday's final match sees Valencia at home to Osasuna with the home side still firmly in the struggle to avoid relegation. ■