Madrid, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - The first major fixture of the La Liga season will take place on Saturday as Real Madrid will host Atletico Madrid in the latest installment of the Madrid derby.
The two sides have grown especially accustomed to one another over the past season, not only meeting in league play and the Copa del Rey, but also squaring off in the 2014 Champions League final, which Real Madrid won in extra time.
But Atletico, last season's La Liga victors, already has a psychological edge over Carlo Ancelotti's side as Diego Simeone's men edged Real in the Spanish Super Cup, 2-1, on aggregate.
And with Real Madrid surrendering four unanswered goals in a humiliating 4-2 loss to Real Sociedad last time out, it's easy to see why Saturday's derby is a virtual must-win for the Merengues.
They have been dealt no favors, either. It was revealed Wednesday that midfielder Sami Khedira underwent an operation on his left knee, an absence that will loom large in the wake of Xabi Alonso's departure to Bayern Munich. All of a sudden, the center of Real Madrid's midfield is looking quite thin.
Barcelona, which figures to be the main threat to Atletico's title defense, will hope to capitalize on any dropped points from the Rojiblancos as the club will take on Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou on Saturday.
The Catalans have started brightly under new manager Luis Enrique, grabbing two wins from two to open the season. They will hope to preserve that unblemished start to the campaign with maximum points against a Bilbao side that took a split from its opening two games.
Also on Saturday, Levante will go for its first goals and points of the season when it travels to La Rosaleda to face Malaga while Celta Vigo will hope to continue its impressive start with a positive result against Real Sociedad.
Valencia has started the season with four points from two games, and it has a great chance to add to that total on Sunday when it hosts an Espanyol side that has made a slow start out of the gates.
Elche comes into the third round second from bottom in the Spanish top flight, but it will hope to move two points clear of Rayo Vallecano when the two sides meet at the Teresa Rivero on Sunday.
Elsewhere in Sunday's action, Sevilla will test its unbeaten record through two games when it hosts Getafe while Villarreal will head to Granada.
Monday's lone match will see Eibar take on Deportivo La Coruna, and Friday's only La Liga fixture saw Almeria and Cordoba trade goals in the opening 20 minutes of a 1-1 draw.
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