Albacete, Spain (My Sportsbook) - Struggling Albacete will get a minor break when two more Barcelona starters miss Saturday's La Liga matchup between the two clubs.

Ludovic Giuly and Juliano Belletti are both out for the match due to injuries. They join several long-term Barca injury victims on the sidelines. Youngster Damia Abella is expected to step in for Belletti and second-team players Urko and Lolo were also named to the 19-man squad for the match.

Barca lost 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League action earlier this week. Many of Frank Rijkaard's star players, however, were rested because the club had already secured advancement.

Barcelona will have Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o and others back in the lineup for the Albacete match. So despite all the Barca injuries, Albacete will have a tough time matching up with the plethora of talent Rijkaard has at his disposal.

Albacete, however, did play well in a 1-0 home loss to Valencia last weekend. They will hope for a similar effort this weekend, but with a better final result at the end of the tunnel.

Second-place Real Madrid is nine points back of Barcelona. The 'galacticos' could take the field Sunday 12 points back, making a positive result at home against Real Sociedad a necessity.

Real Madrid could also be drained given its must-win Champions League victory in Rome earlier this week. Mariano Garcia Ramon, however, will not have any injury worries for the first time in quite some awhile.

Espanyol, which is in third place and even on points with Real Madrid, hosts Mallorca on Sunday. Espanyol could be without star striker Dani Garcia due to injury, but Mallorca has struggled mightily this season. Mallorca has just three wins and 13 points so far during the current campaign, leaving them stuck in the relegation zone.

Fourth-place Valencia needs to bounce back Sunday at home against Numancia. The pressure is on Claudio Ranieri and company to win after a disappointing Champions League exit. Valencia lost to Werder Bremen in a must-win match to get bounced out of the competition. To add insult to injury, there were several embarrassing late-game incidents, including Miguel Angulo getting sent off for spitting on an opponent.

Deportivo La Coruna gets back to La Liga action after a disastrous Champions League appearance. Depor failed to score a goal in any of its six group-stage games. They have also struggled in domestic play as well, with just 21 points and 18 goals in 16 matches.

Sevilla is in fifth place and has won two of its last three matches.

WEEKEND LA LIGA FIXTURES:

SATURDAY:

Albacete - Barcelona

Athletic Bilbao - Atletico Madrid

SUNDAY:

Deportivo La Coruna - Sevilla

Getafe - Villarreal

Malaga - Levante

Osasuna - Real Zaragoza

Real Betis - Racing Santander

Valencia - Numancia

Real Madrid - Real Sociedad

Espanyol - Mallorca