The 2014-15 La Liga campaign will return from its winter break with a bang, as the first matchday of the new year will see several high-profile clashes across three days.
League leaders Real Madrid will start 2015 with a difficult trip to Valencia, while Barcelona travel to the Basque Country to take on David Moyes and his Real Sociedad squad on Sunday.
Defending champions Atletico Madrid host Levante and Sevilla will play host to Celta Vigo. The schedule for Week 17, complete with picks and live stream info, is:
Date
Time (BST)
Home
v
Away
Pick
Live Stream
Saturday, Jan. 3
3 p.m.
Atletico Madrid
v
Levante
Atletico
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Saturday, Jan. 3
5 p.m.
Sevilla
v
Celta Vigo
Sevilla
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Saturday, Jan. 3
7 p.m.
Elche
v
Villarreal
Draw
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Saturday, Jan. 3
9 p.m.
Deportivo La Coruna
v
Athletic Bilbao
Deportivo
BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Saturday, Jan. 3
9 p.m.
Malaga
v
Almeria
Malaga
BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Sunday, Jan. 4
11 a.m.
Getafe
v
Rayo Vallecano
Draw
BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Sunday, Jan. 4
4 p.m.
Valencia
v
Real Madrid
Real
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Sunday, Jan. 4
6 p.m.
Espanyol
v
Eibar
Espanyol
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Sunday, Jan. 4
8 p.m.
Real Sociedad
v
Barcelona
Barcelona
Sky Go (UK)/BeIN Sports Connect (US)
Monday, Jan. 5
7.45 p.m.
Cordoba
v
Granada
Cordoba
BeIN Sports Connect (US)
WhoScored.com
To access the Sky Go app, click here.
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Key Players
Enzo Perez, Valencia
Frank Augstein/Associated Press
Valencia officially confirmed the arrival of star midfielder Enzo Perez via their website, and the suspension of Javi Fuego means the Argentina international may very well go straight into the starting XI on Sunday.
So, who is Perez? The 28-year-old has been brilliant for Benfica in Lisbon in the past few seasons, and ESPN's Andy Brassell went as far as to call him the "worst kept secret in Portugal," a country filled with numerous star midfielders and forwards:
Worst kept secret in Portugal out; Valencia confirm agreement to sign Enzo Pérez from Benfica. Cool graphic, though https://t.co/i7ZCDskvEr
— Andy Brassell (@andybrassell) December 29, 2014
Perez makes the list of key players not because he might make Valencia that much better or more dangerous but because he will likely feature despite not knowing his team-mates and the kind of offence the hosts like to run.
Making your debut days after completing a transfer is difficult. Making it against La Liga leaders Real, arguably the most in-form team on the planet? Yeah, good luck with that.
Perez could be a pleasant surprise for the hometown fans or he could be completely out of his depth against some of the best midfielders this sport has to offer. Valencia's star January signing will certainly make an impact on Sunday—whether it's for the best or worse is something we won't find out until then.
Pepe, Real Madrid
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images
Star defender Sergio Ramos has been training separately from the rest of the group and indoors all week, and as reported by AS English, he is a doubt for the match against Valencia:
Sergio Ramos Marcelo will undergo fitness tests to see if they are able to face Valencia http://t.co/jve9hgNYXK pic.twitter.com/Lax2IEl20h
— AS English (@English_AS) January 2, 2015
If Ramos misses the match (and the latest reports indicate he will), Raphael Varane will likely replace the World Cup winner at the heart of the defence, playing next to Pepe.
Valencia are planning to give Real a guard of honour for the Club World Cup win back in December, via AS English, but that will be the last time the Mestalla behaves in a friendly manner:
Valencia will give Real Madrid a guard of honour at the Mestalla on Sunday following CWC win http://t.co/GkES0QtT4s pic.twitter.com/Hbeq2BwMYL
— AS English (@English_AS) January 2, 2015
The hosts have a terrific home record this year and have throttled most of their opponents by putting tremendous pressure on the back four from kick-off, and things won't be any different on Sunday.
Whether Pepe is playing next to the young Varane or Ramos, he remains Los Blancos' least technically able defender. If there's one member of the back four Valencia will target, it's Pepe.
He simply can't afford to make any mistakes against Valencia's deadly attackers or Real Madrid's winning streak of 21 matches—nearing Corotiba's official record of 24 and Ajax's actual record of 26—could come to an end in a hurry.
Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Since Moyes became the new manager of Real Sociedad, the Basques have leaned heavily on Carlos Vela, who has been responsible for the vast majority of the hosts' goals in the past month.
As he told reporters on Friday, Moyes fears his Mexican striker could be out with an injury on Sunday, per Sport's Sam Marsden: "Vela has trained a little bit and isn't sure how he'll be. We'll see on Saturday how he trains, but he is not at 100 percent."
David Ramos/Getty Images
If Vela isn't ready to go, expects the Basques to lean further back and not take any chances on the offensive front. The Mexico international has been the team's only productive forward since Moyes was appointed—there's no need to take any unnecessary risks against the Catalan juggernaut.
Barcelona have had difficulty breaking down defensive squads this season, failing to find spaces between the double line of players just in front of the box. It will be up to Lionel Messi to either find the space or create it himself, running at the defenders and pulling them out of position.
This goal is a good example of how the Argentina international forces defenders to step up, creating space in the process:
When Messi is at his best, defenders have almost no chance, but he'll have to be at his very best against Sociedad, who have been very solid defensively under Moyes, apart from a 4-0 drubbing against Villarreal.