Atletico Madrid could be without Nahuel Molina and Antoine Griezmann for their home game against bottom side Elche, and Atletico coach Diego Simeone needs a ...
Finally, Villarreal play at home to Valencia, with the home side still needing to adapt to the ultra-passing game of coach Quique Setien. Elche are the other La Liga side with no World Cup players and sit rock bottom of the league with just four points and no wins this campaign. The other two matches played on New Year's Eve are both derbies, with third place Real Sociedad, who should have Mikel Merino available but remain without Carlos Fernandez, Mikel Oyarzabal and Umar Sadiq, at home to Osasuna.
A total of 82 players in La Liga played in the World Cup, with FC Barcelona supplying 17, Real Madrid 13, Atletico Madrid 12, Sevilla 10 and Betis and ...
That could offer a chance to other teams, who didn't have so many players in the World Cup, to spring a surprise or two, and although Barca and Madrid probably have too big a lead in La Liga for a major shock in the title race, we could be in for a very interesting second half of the season. It's very much a leap into the unknown. 27 (Xinhua) -- La Liga will return to action after a six-week break due to the World Cup in Qatar, and the big question to be answered is how that break will affect the remainder of the season.