MADRID - The third round of matches in La Liga takes us to the first international break of the season and the close of the summer transfer window. Here are four things to look out for in Spain over the weekend.

1. Rayo and Barcelona to entertain and defenses to suffer

FC Barcelona travels to play Rayo Vallecano in the small Vallecas Stadium in a match that nearly always provides plenty of entertainment.

Under coach Inigo Perez, Rayo is an aggressive side that likes to get onto the front foot, win possession and pull its rivals' defenders out of position and the club is on a high after qualifying for the group stage of the Conference League on Thursday.

Barca's attacking quality is well-known, but last weekend's win in Levante showed it is vulnerable in defense without Inigo Martinez as Ronald Araujo isn't comfortable playing in a high line and right footed Pau Cubarsi moving to the left to cover for the departed Martinez.

Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and company could be enough to win the game for Barca, but Rayo will show if that attack is built on a solid defense.

2. Rotations to continue at Real Madrid.

Xabi Alonso caused some surprises last weekend when he brought Rodrygo and Dani Carvajal into his starting 11 for the visit to Oviedo, leaving Vinicius Jr and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the subs' bench.

Alonso has made it clear that he is very much his own man, and anyone who wants to play will have to prove their worth on the training ground by following his instructions-especially when it comes to maintaining a high press on the pitch.

Real Madrid will be at home to Mallorca on Saturday, and Alonso is likely to make more changes, with many eyes on Rodrygo and Dani Ceballos, both of whom were linked with moves away over the summer.

3. Must win game for Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid's visit to face Deportivo Alaves on Saturday has become a 'must-win' game for Diego Simeone's side in just the third round of matches of the season.

An opening day defeat to Espanyol was followed by a 1-1 draw at home to newly promoted Elche last weekend to leave Atletico with one point from a possible six.

With Barcelona and Real Madrid (as well as Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao) winning both of their opening games, Atletico has already given itself a five-point handicap in the title race, and failure to win in Vitoria could see Diego's Simeone's side drop further behind.

It's still early days but with neither Barca nor Real Madrid likely to lose many games, Atletico's title hopes are in danger and after another big-spending summer, that simply isn't good enough.

4. Early drama in Girona

Saturday's game in the Montilivi Stadium has become an early season crunch match for both Girona and Sevilla.

Girona goes into the match after a 3-1 opening day defeat to Rayo Vallecano, followed by a 5-0 thrashing in Villarreal with Michel Sanchez's side 4-0 down before reaching the half-hour mark.

Girona's defense looks fragile and the coach is thought to be unhappy with the club's summer transfer business.

Sevilla was unlucky to lose in Bilbao in its opening game but was outplayed in the home debut against Getafe. With off-field problems and issues with registering players due to financial fair play, another defeat would mean the tension continuing over the international break.