Preview: Basque derby takes centre stage in Barcelona, Real Madrid's absence

Matchday 17 in LaLiga this weekend is a round that has been marked on calendars across the Basque Country for several months. This is the case because of the anticipation around the first Basque derby of the 2022/2023 campaign, as Real Sociedad host the Athletic Club at the Reale Arena on Saturday night.

When these teams last played a competitive game, Athletic ran riot and won 4-0 against their rivals, but that game was back in February 2022. 

Supporters and players of La Real have had to wait a whole 11 months to have a shot at revenge, mostly because of the World Cup break and the fixture calendar. Now, finally, they will have a rematch this weekend.

However, that’s not the only big game of this round. Matchday 17 features eight games that will take place from Friday through to Monday, as well as two other fixtures that will be held in February involving the four Spanish Super Cup teams, led by leaders Barcelona and their bitter rivals, Real Madrid. 

The round kicks off with Quique Setién’s in-form Villarreal travelling to Celta Vigo for a Friday night showdown. El Submarino Amarillo, who have Nigeria's Samuel Chukwueze, will be full of confidence after Yéremy Pino and Gerard Moreno's goals earned them a victory over Real Madrid last weekend, their sixth win in a row across all competitions.

Celta are in decent form too, though, under new coach Carlos Carvalhal, so this should be an interesting contest to follow closely.

On Saturday, four matches will take place, starting with Real Valladolid vs Rayo Vallecano. Neither of these sides have won in LaLiga since the World Cup break, so they’ll be going all out to seek three points at the Estadio José Zorrilla this matchday.

Then, Girona, who in such a good form, unbeaten across their last six LaLiga matches, host a potential banana peel in Sevilla. 

With Cristhian Stuani leading the line this weekend, they will hope for another point or three against a Sevilla side still struggling near the bottom of the table but who are unbeaten in their last seven games. 

Later on Saturday, Javier Aguirre takes Mallorca, to Pamplona to visit his first Spanish club, Osasuna. This match will feature a lot of strong attacking talents, such as Ante Budimir and Chimy Ávila in the home team’s ranks, and Vedat Muriqi and Kang-in Lee for the Islanders.

Then, at 9 pm, it’s the blockbuster match of the weekend, the Basque derby between Umar Sadiq's Real Sociedad and Athletic Club, who have Inaki Williams and his brother, Nico.

This is always a special fixture, one with a unique atmosphere, but this meeting will be especially important considering where both teams are in the table.

Imanol Alguacil has his Real Sociedad side in third place and on course for Champions League qualification, but Athletic Club are just six points back in seventh place. Ernesto Valverde has continental aspirations of his own, as he is determined to bring European football back to Bilbao.

In this game, therefore, it’s not just bragging rights up for grabs, there are three important points at stake, too.

The first game of Sunday sees Getafe CF take on Espanyol at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, where Joselu will hope to keep up his blistering form. 

The Spanish striker has nine goals this season and is the second-top scorer in the division, even though his Espanyol side are second from bottom on the table. There is a heavy burden on his shoulders, but that has not at all thwarted him in recent weeks.

Atlético Madrid then make a trip to the south coast, as Diego Simeone takes Los Colchoneros to the Power Horse Stadium to challenge Almería. 

This will be the first meeting between these two teams since 2015, when Atleti won 3-0 thanks to a brace from Antoine Griezmann, who is still the star man for this team all these years later.

The eighth of the Matchday 17 fixtures that will take place this weekend will be a basement battle as third-bottom Cádiz host bottom side Elche on Monday.

Both clubs have made some January signings to try to pull out of the relegation zone, so they’ll hope the likes of Youba Diarra and Lisandro Magallán can make a difference.

The final two matches that form Matchday 17, Real Betis vs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid vs Valencia CF, are scheduled to take place on February 1st and 2nd.