MADRID, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 21st round of La Liga comes with Real Madrid in Morocco for the World Club Cup and gives FC Barcelona a chance to move 11 points clear at the top of the table. However, one man will be very keen to stop them.

1. Quique Setien faces the club where it all went wrong

Barcelona's trip to play Villarreal sees them come up against the side coached by former boss Quique Setien. Setien endured a difficult spell at the Camp Nou after Ernesto Valverde's harsh sacking by Barca in January 2020, and during his spell in charge, the club saw Real Madrid overtake them in La Liga, while they also suffered an 8-2 humiliation to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Setien's departure from Barca was also acrimonious, with accusations the club took a long time to pay him everything he was owed.

Expect Villarreal to be motivated against the La Liga leaders, especially as they need to get back on track after defeats to Rayo Vallecano and bottom of the table Elche.

2. No Busquets, but De Jong to cover

Sergio Busquets misses the visit to Villarreal with a twisted ankle that he suffered against Sevilla last weekend, but even though the 34-year-old has been in excellent form of late, Barca will hope not to miss his influence too much.

Frenkie de Jong has also been close to his best in recent weeks and Barca will hope he can cover for Busquets' absence and provide support for youngsters Gavi and Pedri. Meanwhile Franck Kessie could get a chance in the starting 11, with Robert Lewandowski and a much-improved Raphinha leading the Barca attack.

3. High tension in Valencia

There is a good chance that Valencia could go into Saturday's home game against Athletic Club in the bottom three and that will add to an already tense atmosphere at the Mestalla Stadium.

Valencia fans are angry at what they see as the continued running down of the club under owner Peter Lim, with a section of them are planning to protest outside of the Mestalla Stadium until the 19th minute of Saturday's game.

The departure of Gennaro Gattuso and the return of 'Voro' Gonzalez for the seventh time as interim coach has not stopped Valencia's slide down the table and the club are looking for another coach.

Athletic won 3-1 in Mestalla in the Copa del Rey a fortnight ago and were much better than their rivals. A repeat performance from the Basque side on Saturday would give them three valuable points in their battle for Europe, but the consequences for Valencia could be catastrophic.

4. Chance for Valladolid to move clear

Two weeks ago, things were looking bleak for Valladolid after a run of five consecutive defeats saw them drop into the relegation zone and put coach Juan Jose Rojo's (Pacheta) future on the line.

However, a 1-0 win at home to Valencia was followed by a surprise 1-0 victory away to Real Sociedad to lift Pacheta's side to 13th. Another win against Osasuna this weekend would take Valladolid well clear of the danger zone.

The results are not just testimony to Pacheta's good work, but also to January signing Cyle Larin, who has given them more bite in attack. It is also credit to club owner Ronaldo Nazario, who on more than one occasion has kept faith with his coach in difficult times and been rewarded by an upturn in form. Enditem

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