La Liga Weekend Preview: Can prolific Benzema help Real Madrid beat Athletic?

Following hot on the heels of El Clasico is another round of La Liga fixtures, which will be the final set of games played in this calendar year.

Competition for places is fierce, with Barcelona above Real Madrid only on goal difference after the sides drew 0-0 in midweek.

Here, Sportsmail provides you with an insight into this weekend's fixtures.

Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 8pm, La Liga TV/ Premier 2)

This is an intriguing clash and one that Real will be especially determined to win as they aim to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona.

Karim Benzema has been in prolific form for Real this season - scoring 12 goals in 16 appearances in La Liga.

If Real are to prevail in this encounter then they could well be heavily reliant upon the Frenchman again.

Benzema boasts an impressive record against Bilbao having found the net 13 times in 16 appearances against them.

Bilbao, meanwhile, are in seventh place in the table and are capable of causing problems for Real, with Inaki Williams in particular posing a major threat.

Both sides have conceded just 12 goals so far this season, so this could well be a low-scoring affair, but Real may just edge it.

Barcelona v Alaves (Saturday, 3pm)

Barcelona will be seeking to return to winning ways, with Ernesto Valverde's side having drawn their last two fixtures.

They face an Alaves side that have struggled of late, going four games without a victory, three of which were defeats.

Barcelona may have to work hard to break Alaves down but if they manage to get an early goal they should be able to prevail comfortably.

Mallorca v Sevilla (Saturday, 12pm, La Liga TV/ Premier 2)

Sevilla's form of late has been rather patchy, but Julen Lopetegui's side will be confident of getting the better of a Mallorca team that are struggling and are in serious danger of being relegated.

Attacker Ante Budimir has done very well for Mallorca in recent games and hit a brace against Barcelona before scoring against Celta Vigo, meaning he will be full of confidence going into this clash.

Mallorca are very vulnerable defensively - they have conceded 30 times in La Liga this season and have a goal difference of -12.

Real Betis v Atletico Madrid (Sunday, 3pm, La Liga TV/ Premier 2)

An intriguing encounter is in prospect in this clash, with Betis going into this game having won three of their last four matches.

Nabil Fekir will be determined to unlock the Atletico defence, while Diego Simeone's team will be eager to ensure that they don't lose any further ground on the sides above them.

This could be another game with few goals - out of the last four meetings between the two teams, no side has scored more than once.

Villarreal v Getafe (Saturday, 5.30pm, La Liga TV)

Getafe have been excellent of late and go into this fixture having won their last six games in succession across all competitions.

Currently fourth in the league, Getafe can rely upon the prolific Angel Rodriguez, who has four goals in his last five games.

Villarreal are in 13th place but they did manage to draw with Atletico Madrid before beating Sevilla.

Osasuna v Real Sociedad (Sunday, 1pm, La Liga TV/ Premier 2)

Real Sociedad are sixth in La Liga and are aiming to secure a spot in Europe for next season, while Osasuna are currently in tenth.

Ezequiel Avila is an attacking force for Osasuna but Sociedad are a threat themselves with the likes of Mikel Oyarzabal and Alexander Isak.

Sociedad will certainly be favourites to win but Osasuna are a hard-working side and can't be taken lightly.

Other games

Elsewhere in La Liga, ninth-place Eibar host Granada, who are in 16th, on Friday night.

On Saturday, relegation-threatened Real Valladolid are in action against Valencia.

Sunday sees Leganes play Espanyol and Levante take on Celta Vigo.