MADRID, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fifth round of La Liga matches begins a hectic week in which teams will play three games before the first international break of the year, a run that could further underline Barcelona's control of the table.
Valencia's Carlos Corberan is among the coaches whose position could come under pressure as he takes his side to Sevilla.
Sunday's painful 5-0 home defeat to Barcelona left Valencia bottom of La Liga with one point from four games, and Corberan also has to contend with a lengthy injury list against a Sevilla side that has two wins and a draw from its opening matches.
Elche coach Martin Anselmi also has cause for concern as he prepares to take his side to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Athletic has begun to find its rhythm under new coach Edin Terzic and beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 last weekend, while Elche has conceded 12 goals in its opening four games.
Anselmi needs to tighten his defense against a rival that will press high up the pitch, otherwise he could be in for another difficult afternoon, and Elche owner Christian Bragarnik is not known for his patience with coaches.
Real Madrid is also at home on Saturday, with Jose Mourinho again likely to rotate his squad against Rayo Vallecano. Mourinho's side has shown tremendous firepower in attack, but last weekend's defeat to Betis and a chaotic Champions League win at home to Inter Milan highlighted the need to find greater defensive balance.
Rayo will be without suspended duo Jorge de Frutos and Fran Garcia for the visit to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
Saturday also sees second-placed Alaves travel to Racing Santander after making its best-ever start to a season with 10 points from 12. Racing has been exciting to watch but is another side with defensive issues that Alaves forward Lucas Boye could exploit.
Meanwhile, Osasuna hosts Espanyol after conceding five goals away to Alaves last weekend.
Celta Vigo and Malaga both seek their first win of the season when they meet at Balaidos, before Barcelona returns to Valencia to face Levante.
Hansi Flick's side breezed past Feyenoord in its Champions League opener on Wednesday night, but Flick is likely to continue rotating his starting 11, with Fermin Lopez, Eric Garcia, Anthony Gordon and Xavi Espart all in contention to return as Barcelona looks to add to its impressive tally of 17 goals in four La Liga games.
Levante has made a solid start to the season, and Luis Castro's side will look to exploit the space behind Barcelona's attacking full-backs.
Getafe is at home to Deportivo La Coruna, which has impressed on its return to the top flight, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring four goals in the opening four games.
Sunday ends with Real Sociedad at home to Atletico Madrid, which travels to San Sebastian after defeats in Bilbao and Liverpool, with Diego Simeone needing a response to avoid falling too far behind in the title race.
The pressure is also on new Villarreal coach Inigo Perez on Monday as his side hosts Betis, with the former Rayo Vallecano boss still looking for his first win since replacing Marcelino Garcia Toral at the start of the summer. ■
