Kroos: Everyone was sorry when Ancelotti left

Toni Kroos says every single player at Real Madrid was sorry to see the departure of coach Carlo Ancelotti this year.

Despite ending Madrid's long wait for their 10th European title in 2014, Ancelotti was fired by president Florentino Perez after failing to deliver the Liga title or the Copa del Rey last season, with Rafael Benitez installed in his place.

While Benitez has been forced to battle constant rumours of player unrest this season, Cristiano Ronaldo described Ancelotti as "a big bear" in an interview with ESPN and admitted he would relish the chance to play for the former AC Milan head coach again.

Ronaldo missing Ancelotti, Messi's fitness & Neville's debut -La Liga talking points

Barcelona saw their lead at the top of La Liga cut to two points last weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia, with Atletico in second place and Real Madrid just two further back in third.

Luis Enrique's side host Deportivo La Coruna in the 15th round of La Liga, the Catalans' last match before flying out to Japan for the Club World Cup.

That game comes on Saturday, with Madrid facing a tough trip to Villarreal on Sunday and Atletico at home to Athletic Bilbao in an exciting encounter the same day. And in Eibar, Gary Neville makes his Primera Division debut with Valencia after losing to Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

With that and much more to talk about ahead of the weekend, here is Goal's guide to all the latest action and the biggest stories developing in the Primera Division...

'Real Madrid can still win La Liga and UCL'-say Fernando Hierro

The club have been backed to end the season with silverware despite recently suffering a heavy Clasico defeat to Barcelona

Real Madrid are still capable of winning La Liga and the Champions League, according to the club legend Fernando Hierro.

While Madrid are in third place and only four points off Barcelona, Benitez's tenure has already experienced difficulties including reported dressing room tensions, a Clasico thrashing at the hands of Barcelona and a Copa del Rey expulsion.

The latter came about due to Denis Cheryshev's selection against Cadiz - the club's hierarchy claiming not to have been notified that he had yet to serve a suspension in the competition before eventually accepting their exclusion - but the 4-0 defeat to Barca at Camp Nou brought the most stinging criticism of Benitez.