Three Kings? Messi, Ronaldo and Falcao in action on January 6

 MADRID, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Spanish football fans will have to wait until Sunday for the three main courses of the weekend as the BBVA Primera Liga returns to action.

January 6 is a holiday in Spain and is traditionally the day that children in the country receive their presents from the 'Three Kings'. However, it is likely that the three 'Kings' in the Primera Liga will be the same trio that ended the year capturing headlines: Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Radamel Falcao.

Ronaldo will be first into action on Sunday when Real Madrid entertain an in-form Real Sociedad in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Madrid are without defenders¹, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Raul Albiol and Fabio Coentrao, while there is interest to see if Iker Casillas will return in goal after being surprisingly dropped for the defeat in Malaga.

Meanwhile Jose Mourinho will also be in the public eye after that decision and defeat and needs a win in order to maintain his diminishing credit with the Madrid fans.

Messi has all the credit in the world after scoring an incredible 91 goals in 2012. He will expect to kick off 2013 in style in the Barcelona derby at home to an improving Espanyol, but the best news for Barca is the likely presence of coach Tito Vilanova in the dugout less than three weeks after he underwent a cancer operation.

Vilanova directed Wednesday' s training session and his rapid return is the best possible way to start the New Year.

There is certain frustration² among Atletico Madrid fans that their side is still mentioned after Real Madrid in the media and with Atletico eight points ahead of their neighbors in the league table, they have reason to feel aggrieved³.

Falcao has been outstanding all season and will be optimistic of kicking off 2013 with a win against Mallorca, who are deep in trouble despite ending a run of 11 league matches without a victory away to Betis in the last game of 2012.

Mallorca are still in the battle against relegation⁴ and are in an institutional crisis following the resignation of club president, Jaume Cladera during the week.

The weekend kicks off of Friday night with Zaragoza, who ended 2012 with a surprise win in Bilbao, at home to Betis, who were shocked by Mallorca a fortnight ago.

Saturday sees Levante aim to continue with their impressive season against Athletic⁵ Club Bilbao, whose players insist they have recovered from the Zaragoza defeat and are looking to bounce back with a win.

That is followed by Granada - Valencia as Ernesto Valverde looks to continue with the Valencia revival⁶ before Domingos Paciencia makes his debut⁷ as Deportivo la Coruna coach as the side bottom of the table entertain high-flying Malaga. Deportivo sacked former coach Jose Luis Oltra last weekend in a slightly surprising move.

Saturday ends with Sevilla at home to second bottom Osasuna with Sevilla coach Michel Gonzalez still under pressure.

Sunday sees Valladolid travel to struggling Celta and after the top three are in action the round of matches ends on Monday as Rayo Vallecano entertain Getafe in a south Madrid derby.

1 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 relegation   

n.驱逐，贬黜；降级

参考例句：

• Liaoning team lost this game, is still deeply avoid relegation zone. 辽宁队本场失利后，仍然深陷保级区。 来自互联网
• In society, relegation is based on your income. 社会上的规类是以你的收入为基准。 来自互联网

5 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

6 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

7 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。