News » areth Bale make a return to act

MADRID， Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Spain's top three sides all play at home， while Atletico Madrid will test Sporting Gijon's recovery and fifth placed Real Sociedad take on sixth place Villarreal in matchday 23 in the Liga Santander.


The round of matches begins with an Andalusian derby on Friday night as Granada desperately look for points at home to an improving Betis.


Fourth placed Atletico are next in action in Gijon and Diego Simeone will have to rotate his squad ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash away to Bayer Leverkusen， while at the same time keeping an eye on Sporting Gijon.


Last weekend's 2-0 win away to Leganes put Sporting to within two points of safety and with Leganes visiting Barcelona on Sunday， a win could lift the home side out of the relegation zone.


Real Madrid entertain Espanyol， a side they traditionally beat with relative ease， in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.


Espanyol have improved drastically under Quique Sanchez Flores becoming a much tougher defensive outfit than the side that conceded 12 goals without reply in two league games against Madrid last season.


The game could see Gareth Bale make a return to action after almost three months out with an ankle injury with a view to him starting when Madrid visit Valencia on February 22.


Deportivo la Coruna desperately need a win to ease relegation fears， but will not have an easy task against Alaves， who are looking to bounce back after last weekend's 6-0 thrashing by Barcelona.


Saturday ends with a fascinating match as third place Sevilla are at home to Eibar， with the Basque side seventh in the table and looking for an unlikely qualification for Europe next season.