MADRID, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Squad rotation is likely to be the order of the day in the 28th round of matches in La Liga, as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid go into the weekend in the middle of their respective last-16 Champions League ties.

The three teams all took positive results in this week's first leg, with Fede Valverde's hat-trick giving an injury-hit Real Madrid a 3-0 win at home to Manchester City, while Atletico Madrid cruised 5-2 past Tottenham Hotspur, and Barcelona took a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle United thanks to Lamine Yamal's 95th-minute penalty.

Madrid's win came at a price with Ferland Mendy added to an already long injury list, and coach Alvaro Arbeloa may look to make changes when his side plays Elche on Saturday night.

Arbeloa's options are limited by the absence of Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Dani Ceballos, Eder Militao, David Alaba and Jude Bellingham, but the good news for Madrid is that Elche has failed to win away from home all season and is in a crisis of results that could see it drop into the bottom three.

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has more opportunities to rest players ahead of his side's game at home to a Getafe that has recently beaten Real Madrid and Real Betis.

Alexander Sorloth, Alex Baena, Nico Gonzalez, Koke and Pablo Barrios can all step into Simeone's starting 11 if he wants to rest players ahead of next week's visit to north London.

Hansi Flick's options are more limited as Barcelona defends its four-point lead at the top of La Liga at home to Sevilla. Players such as Pedri and Marc Bernal need a rest, but injuries to Frenkie de Jong, Andreas Christensen, Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde limit Flick's options.

Marcus Rashford and Dani Olmo should start and there is a chance that midfielder Gavi will return to action after his knee operation five months ago.

Quique Sanchez Flores makes his home debut as Alaves coach with a difficult game at home to Villarreal on Friday. Alaves saw a 2-1 lead in Valencia turn into a 3-2 defeat in just four minutes last weekend and Quique has lost Jon Pacheco and Ander Guevara to suspension.

Girona and Athletic Club will test their recent recoveries in Girona's Montilivi Stadium, with both sides still suffering absences, including Vitor Reis for the home side, and Nico Williams, Alejandro Rego and Unai Gomez for Athletic.

Valencia looks for a third consecutive win against an Oviedo side that sits bottom of the table and eight points from safety, before Sunday sees Mallorca with a good chance of climbing out of the bottom three.

If Elche doesn't win away to Real Madrid, a win for Mallorca at home to an Espanyol side that has not taken three points in 2026 would lift the club out of the relegation zone.

New Mallorca coach Martin Demichelis saw his team surrender a two-goal lead in four minutes away to Osasuna last weekend, but there were signs that his players are adapting to his possession-based style of play.

Betis hosts Celta Vigo is a clash between two sides in Europa League action on Thursday night, while there is a Basque-Navarra derby when in-form Real Sociedad entertains Osasuna.

The round of matches finishes on Monday when Rayo Vallecano entertains a Levante side that has not given up on top-flight survival, with young striker Carlos Espi scoring three goals in his last two games. ■