Real Madrid will go back to the top of the Spanish first division, at least for 24 hours, if they can win at Real Zaragoza on Tuesday though they will be without David Beckham.
The reigning Spanish champions decided not to take a risk on including the England captain who missed Real’s scrappy 3-1 win over Racing Santander on Saturday because of a strained right hamstring.
Real coach Carlos Queiroz said: ”We decided to leave Beckham in Madrid because we didn’t want to take one step forward and three back. We thought it was better to be more cautious and allow more time for recovery.”
The replacement of Beckham, who will probably make his comeback against Athletic Bilbao next Saturday, is likely to be either Esteban Cambiasso or Jose Maria ”Guti” Gutierrez.
Beckham, who had trained normally on Monday, has become a talismanic figure for second-placed Real in the short space of time he has been in the Spanish capital but Zaragoza’s La Romareda stadium has long been a happy hunting ground for them.
Real have won on 22 of their 50 league visits and also hold the accolade of inflicting the worst home defeat to date on Zaragoza when they won 7-1 there during the 1987-88 season.
One man who believes that Zaragoza will upset the odds is former Real Madrid winger Savio Bortolini, whose five years at Real were punctuated with a series of contract and pay disputes.
”I’m motivated to beat Real and I know the rest of the team are,” said Zaragoza’s Brazil international.
If Real do go top on Tuesday, it is a fair bet they will only be in pole position overnight as league leaders Deportivo La Coruna play struggling Real Mallorca on Wednesday.
The Galicians have 21 points from eight games, while Real are two points adrift.
Valencia, also on 19 points, are at home to Celta Vigo on Wednesday but lie third on the basis of having scored fewer goals.
Deportivo have won all four home matches this season while Mallorca have lost all four on the road.
After scoring the winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Valencia and extending their best start to date to a season, Deportivo coach Javier Irureta is expected to give a starting role to Diego Tristan.
The Spain international striker, the Spanish first division’s leading scorer two seasons ago, is likely to replace Walter Pandiani, who scored in Deportivo’s first six games but whose form has fallen away recently.
By contrast, veteran coach Luis Aragones, who took over the helm at Mallorca two weeks ago, admitted in the wake of their 3-1 home defeat to Barcelona on Sunday there was a lot of work to do.
”Against Barcelona, we were second best in almost every position,” admitted the Spanish first division’s most experienced coach.
After thrashing Mallorca, Barcelona will be hoping they can finally win a game at home in the league when they face Murcia on Wednesday.
The Catalans found the winning formula in Mallorca, their first victory in five games, but coach Frank Rijkaard knows he has yet to convince the Nou Camp fans.
”This game will be another final. Now we have to show that we can do as well at home as well do away,” the beleaguered Dutch coach said on Monday. — Sapa-AFP
Tuesday (kick off 10pm unless stated):
Real Zaragoza v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Albacete v Villarreal
Athletic Bilbao v Malaga
Barcelona v Murcia
Deportivo La Coruna v Real Mallorca
Osasuna v Real Betis
Racing Santander v Espanyol
Sevilla v Valladolid
Valencia v Celta Vigo
Thursday
Atletico Madrid v Real Sociedad (10.30pm)