Four things to watch out for in Spain's matchday 17

Spanish league football returns at the weekend after a three- week Christmas break and there are several questions which will be answered over the following three days.

1: Can Barcelona remain in the title race?

With Real Madrid likely to cruise to victory on Saturday at home to struggling Granada, Barca will probably kick off their game away to Villarreal six points behind the league leaders, who also have a game in hand, meaning that anything other than a win in the El Madrigal Stadium would be an almost decisive blow to Barca' s title hopes.

Luis Enrique' s side appeared to improve at the end of 2016 with the return of Andres Iniesta to the side, but Thursday' s Cup defeat in Bilbao saw some of those errors return as Athletic Club hustled and harried them all over the pitch and held on for a win, despite ending the game with just 9 players.

Villarreal have a side packed with talent with central midfielders Manu Trigueros and Bruno Soriano capable of dominating the game and they also have the advantage of 24 hours more rest than Barca, so Sunday could be a decisive day in the Spanish title race.

2. Is it time for Real Sociedad to stake their top-four claim?

Real Sociedad' s home game against Sevilla promises to be one of the highlights of the weekend as the side fifth in the table takes on a Sevilla that still harbors title ambitions.

Real Sociedad kick off four points behind Sevilla, but after their 3-1 Cup win at home to Villarreal the signs are that they have started 2017 as they ended 2016: playing confident, simple, but effective football and winning games with ease.

With only Carlos Martinez out injured, home coach Eusebio Sacristan has not had to make many squad rotations and when he has, players such as Juanmi and Joseba Zaldua have filled in effectively.

Sevilla will look to close Real Sociedad down and play on the break on Saturday, but if Real Sociedad continue their current form, they could end the weekend in the top-four.

3. Who will come through in Ipurua?

Atletico Madrid' s trip to play Eibar also promises to be fascinating. A match which in the past would have had Atletico as clear favorites is now much harder to call than ever before as Eibar continue to grow as a club.

Jose Luis Mendilibar' s side kick off just five points behind Atletico in the league and have already drawn away to Real Madrid this season to highlight just what a good job the experienced coach has done.

Led by hard working striker Sergi Enrich, Eibar are well-balanced all over the pitch and give little away in defense.

Although Atletico undoubtedly have more talent at their disposal, the question is whether or not Antoine Griezmann and company will be able to exploit it as neither Griezmann nor Kevin Gameiro are likely to find the space behind the defense which usually make them so effective.

If they are unable to do that, expect a draw or a game settled from a set-piece.

4. Can Voro turn it around for Valencia in Pamplona?

It' s fair to say that bottom of the table Osasuna and forth from bottom Valencia have had a difficult few days.

Osasuna sacked Joaquin Caparros on Thursday after just one win in eight games in charge and replaced him with former Sporting Director, Petar Vasiljevic, who now has to put his money with his mouth and do better with the signings he made than either Caparros or Enrique Martin were able to do before him.

Valencia meanwhile saw Voro take over as intermediate coach for the second time this season after Cesare Prandelli resigned due to frustration over new signings.

Voro' s return failed to spark a reaction and his side were humiliated 4-1 at home to Celta in the Cup leading to a mass protest from fans against owner Peter Lim. Failure to win away to a side without a home victory all season would only deepen the crisis at Valencia and although it might not condemn them to enter the bottom three, it would only serve to highlight that relegation this season is a real possibility. Endit