La Liga Preview: Real Madrid - Real Valladolid

Kick-off: Sunday, 12 April 2009, 17:00 CET - Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Midweek Distractions

Real Madrid will have a chance to put their theory to the test this weekend and see if title rivals Barcelona will be affected physically and mentally by their extra game in midweek as the two sides prepare for the final sprint to the finish line in the championship race.

This weekend, Los Blancos will only play a day after their arch nemesis. If the Catalans do slip up, which seems highly unlikely as they face Recreativo Huelva at home, Madrid will be there to pounce. But it’s not so much this weekend that the Merengues are interested in. It’s the effects that the Blaugrana will show over the coming few weeks if they continually play a game every three or four days, compared to just one every seven days for the reigning champions.

But Madrid do have some distractions of their own, albeit off the pitch. Their lack of action throughout the week has prompted the press to dig for something juicy to write about, and the Guti-Juande Ramos fall-out has largely dominated the headlines.

The club and the squad’s future also continue to be put under the microscope, with Juande now being rumoured to be a strong candidate to retain his position after this season. And then ofcourse, there’s the on-going Kaka transfer saga. Although the players are not showing too much concern with what the press have been printing, one has to wonder if they are quietly worried about their future, especially since most of those on the current payroll are unlikely to keep their place in the squad next season under the new administration, even if they do help the side win their 32nd La Liga crown.

Mid-Table Masters

Just as it was last season, Valladolid have again been extremely inconsistent this campaign in terms of results, but amazingly, they have pretty much set up camp at mid-table since November.

A series of impressive wins would always be accompanied by a succession of defeats, but in the last four and a half months, they have not hovered any higher than eighth or dipped any lower than 12^th in the standings. They are nine points clear of the drop zone and eventhough they look unlikely to challenge for European places, they have still managed to improve significantly from last term, when they only just escaped demotion by three points.

Coach, Jose Luis Mendilibar, will be pleased with the way this season has unfolded and if they can stay the course, they should easily finish inside the top ten. After next weekend’s clash against Villarreal, Los Blanquivioletas will have a very straightforward jog down the home stretch. They will have only one more opponent currently above them in the standings (Deportivo La Coruna) while the rest are in the bottom half of the ladder. However, that doesn’t mean that the players can start planning their summer holidays as the survival strugglers could prove to be extra dangerous.

FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

Apr 04 Malaga 0-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Mar 22 Real Madrid 3-0 Almeria (LA LIGA)

Mar 14 Athletic Bilbao 2-5 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Mar 10 Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Mar 07 Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (LA LIGA)

Real Valladolid

Apr 04 Real Valladolid 0-1 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Mar 21 Sevilla 4-1 Real Valladolid (LA LIGA)

Mar 15 Real Valladolid 1-0 Getafe (LA LIGA)

Mar 08 Recreativo Huelva 2-3 Real Valladolid (LA LIGA)

Mar 01 Valencia 1-2 Real Valladolid (LA LIGA)

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Gabriel Heinze is back from suspension but right-back Sergio Ramos will have to serve a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation, which means Miguel Torres should earn his second successive start.

Lassana Diarra and Fabio Cannavaro will return after sitting out last weekend’s Malaga clash due to a fitness concerns. Arjen Robben and Pepe resumed regular training on Friday after struggling to shake off their respective ailments earlier in the week but Marcelo is certain to miss out as he is still carrying a muscle strain in his left thigh.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Casillas – Torres, Pepe, Cannavaro, Heinze – Higuain, Lass, Gago, Robben – Raul (c), Huntelaar

Real Valladolid

Captain, Marcos did not train on Friday as he was given the day off to rest and recover from an injury. Veteran defender, Jose Garcia Calvo looks unlikely to recuperate in time from an inflamed toe while Sesma has a muscular niggle in his left thigh and he will have to run a late fitness test on Saturday to determine his availability.

The good news for Mendilibar is that Luis Prieto and Alvaro Rubio both trained normally in Friday’s session and should be available.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Asenjo – Pedro Lopez, Prieto, Bea, Marcos (c) – Rubio, Borja – Pedro Leon, Canobbio, Sesma/Escudero – Goitom

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid

Gonzalo Higuain further cemented his star status in the team last weekend when he not only netted Madrid’s winning goal against Malaga, but he did so with a wonderful individual effort. As a forward, his place in the squad will be in jeopardy the most as the incoming regime look set to recruit a number of high profile attackers to resurrect the Galacticos empire. He will be eager to prove that he deserves to be part of that dynasty.

Real Valladolid

Uruguayan attacking midfielder Fabian Canobbio scored the only goal of the game when the two sides met in the reverse fixture. The unheralded 29-year-old has been one of Valladolid best performers this season and he will have to shoulder much of the attacking responsibilities if his side are to have any chance of leaving the capital with a decent result.

PREDICTION

Valladolid are a side who do have a tendency to play attacking football every once in a while and still remain solid in defence. At home at least. But on the road, they have leaked in their fair share of goals and they are likely to revert to a more conservative approach for this encounter.

Still fresh in the Pucelanos’ memory is the surprise 1-0 win over Madrid at home earlier in the season. But even fresher in the minds of the Madridistas is the 7-0 beating they handed to their opponents at the Bernabeu last term.

The Blancos should be confident of bagging maximum points, but Juande Ramos will be preaching to his troops to avoid being over-complacent.

Real Madrid 3-0 Real Valladolid

KS Leong, Goal.com