La Liga leaders Real Madrid travel to Pamplona to face Osasuna on Saturday, while Villarreal hosts Valencia in the Derbi de la Comunitat as the race for the top of the table heats up.
Real Madrid vs. Osasuna
Following Barcelona's slip-up to Girona last week, Real Madrid enters the weekend atop the table. However, it's hardly a celebratory mood at the Bernabéu as the club deals with the fallout from an alleged racist incident involving Vinícius Jr.
Vinícius scored the only goal in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League playoff win against Benfica in Lisbon. After the goal, Vinícius alleges that Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni covered his mouth with his shirt while making racist remarks. The Brazilian forward informed the referee, who initiated the anti-racism protocol and paused the match for 10 minutes.
Prestianni denied the allegations after the match, but Vinícius' teammates supported his account.
"Vinícius scores the goal and goes to dance," Kylian Mbappé said after the match. "The crowd boos him, which is something that happens. Then there is a moment of tension with the Benfica players, which can also happen because this is the Champions League and it's normal, as people want to win for their fans. After that, Benfica's number 25, I don't want to say his name, he doesn't deserve it, started speaking badly to him. It's unacceptable, but it has happened and will happen. But then he lifted his shirt to say that Vini is a 'monkey' five times, I heard it."
Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga said a 10-minute break doesn't go far enough.
"It's not about stopping for 10 minutes, but stopping the entire match," Camavinga said. "If you only stop for 10 minutes, it doesn't affect anyone. The tolerance is zero. If something like this happens, the whole match should be stopped, and people will be calmer."
On Friday, Real Madrid released a statement indicating it had provided all available evidence to UEFA to continue investigating the incident. Should Prestianni be found to have uttered the alleged remarks, he would face a 10-game ban.
"Our club has actively collaborated with the investigation opened by UEFA following the unacceptable episodes of racism experienced during that match," the statement read. "Real Madrid appreciates the unanimous support, backing, and affection that our player Vinícius Jr. has received from all areas of the global football community."
Los Blancos head to Pamplona to face a 10th-place Osasuna side that is unbeaten in five matches. Alessio Lisci's team played to a scoreless draw with Elche last time out.
"They're on a huge winning streak in the league," Lisci said on Friday. "People say they're struggling, but they win every weekend and are now league leaders. When you're at a certain level, what you love most is playing against the best, and they're one of the best teams in the world."
Real won the reverse fixture back in August, 1-0, on an Mbappé penalty.
Villarreal vs. Valencia
Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi will be in action as Villarreal hosts Valencia in the regional derby at Estadio de la Cerámica.