LaLiga Fixtures 2016 Week 3: Schedule, Live-Stream Info, Picks and Key Players

LaLiga makes its return to the 2016-17 calendar after the international break this Friday, when Real Sociedad and Espanyol open the Week 3 schedule at the Anoeta Stadium.

Barcelona and Real Madrid unsurprisingly come into this week as two of the three clubs who are still to drop a point, but shock leaders Las Palmas will look to defend their perch in Saturday's trip to Sevilla.

The upstarts have got off to an explosive start in the 2016-17 campaign, but they could find their top-spot status tested in Seville, where manager Jorge Sampaoli is unbeaten since arriving in the summer.

The same can't be said for Atletico Madrid, who are still to claim a win this season and will look to end their drought when they travel to face Celta Vigo in Saturday's early kick-off.

Read on for a breakdown of LaLiga's Week 3 fixture schedule, complete with predictions and a look at which key players will play major roles over the weekend.

Date	Time	Fixture	Pick
Friday, September 9	7:45 p.m. BST/2:45 p.m. ET	Real Sociedad vs. Espanyol	Real Sociedad
Saturday, September 10	12 p.m. BST/7 a.m. ET	Celta Vigo vs. Atletico Madrid	Atletico Madrid
Saturday, September 10	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	Real Madrid vs. Osasuna	Real Madrid
Saturday, September 10	5:15 p.m. BST/12:15 p.m. ET	Sevilla vs. Las Palmas	Draw
Saturday, September 10	5:15 p.m. BST/12:15 p.m. ET	Malaga vs. Villarreal	Draw
Saturday, September 10	7:30 p.m. BST/2:30 p.m. ET	Barcelona vs. Alaves	Barcelona
Sunday, September 11	11 a.m. BST/6 a.m. ET	Sporting Gijon vs. Leganes	Draw
Sunday, September 11	3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET	Valencia vs. Real Betis	Draw
Sunday, September 11	5:15 p.m. BST/12:15 p.m. ET	Granada vs. Eibar	Eibar
Sunday, September 11	7:30 p.m. BST/2:30 p.m. ET	Deportivo La Coruna vs. Athletic Bilbao	Deportivo La Coruna

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Las Palmas	2	2	0	0	9	3	+6	6
2	Barcelona	2	2	0	0	7	2	+5	6
3	Real Madrid	2	2	0	0	5	1	+4	6
4	Sevilla	2	1	1	0	6	4	+2	4
5	Deportivo La Coruna	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
6	Sporting Gijon	2	1	1	0	2	1	+1	4
7	Leganes	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4
8	Eibar	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3
9	Real Sociedad	2	1	0	1	2	3	-1	3
10	Alaves	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
11	Atletico Madrid	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
12	Malaga	2	0	2	0	3	3	0	2
13	Villarreal	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
14	Espanyol	2	0	1	1	6	8	-2	1
15	Osasuna	2	0	1	1	1	3	-2	1
16	Granada	2	0	1	1	2	6	-4	1
17	Real Betis	2	0	1	1	2	6	-4	1
18	Athletic Club	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0
19	Celta Vigo	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0
20	Valencia	2	0	0	2	2	5	-3	0

All matches can be streamed live via Sky Go (UK), FuboTV (U.S.) or beIN Sports Connect (U.S.).

Antoine Griezmann, Atletico Madrid

Few Spanish clubs are under as much pressure as Atletico Madrid to ensure they make a quick bounce back to form following the international break, and all eyes will be on Antoine Griezmann to lead them there.

The fortunate thing for manager Diego Simeone is his star striker has at least looked sharp while on duty with France over the past week or so, as football writer Dave O'Connell attested:

Celta Vigo welcome Simeone's men this Saturday having lost both of their matches so far this season, one of which was an embarrassing 1-0 home defeat to Leganes on the opening day of the campaign.

Griezmann made his 2016-17 league debut in the 0-0 stalemate at Leganes in Week 2 after an extended post-Euro 2016 break, but he now needs to find his shooting boots—or head, for that matter:

Los Rojiblancos have drawn both of their opening league games and scored just a single goal, meaning the burden is on Griezmann to supplement their lack of incision up front.

Compatriot and summer signing Kevin Gameiro has scored Atleti's only goal of 2016-17 thus far, but a tough start to the campaign can be steered back on track if Griezmann rediscovers last season's golden touch.

Nabil El Zhar, Las Palmas

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

As far as underdog tales go, Las Palmas' stellar start to the campaign has made for an endearing watch, and former Liverpool flop Nabil El Zhar has been one of the chief stars pulling the strings in their rise.

Not only has the midfielder been creating goals—two assists from his first two games—but the Morocco international is also the club's joint-top scorer with two goals to his name, per LaLiga:

Another big threat for manager Quique Setien's side is Croatian forward Marko Livaja, who also has two goals this term and has made an impression on ESPN FC's Michael Yokhin:

Las Palmas have been mightily impressive en route to the league summit and sit as top scorers with nine goals altogether, but Sampaoli's Sevilla are just two points below and have also shown big promise.

LaLiga's dark horses will hope the Estadio Sanchez Pizjuan doesn't turn out to be the site of their first loss in 2016-17, and one can back on the in-form El Zhar having a lasting impact on whether that comes to pass.