Real Madrid will be hoping a change of scenery provides an upturn in fortunes when they travel to Basque minnows Sociedad Deportiva Eibar’s 6,000-capacity Ipurua tomorrow aiming to make amends for their 4-0 humiliation by Barcelona.
Madrid president Florentino Perez said he still has full confidence in coach Rafael Benitez, despite both being targeted by the Madrid fans with calls to resign last weekend.
That confidence was unlikely to have been assured, though, by a nervous final 15 minutes in Ukraine on Wednesday as Madrid slipped from cruising into a 4-0 lead away to Shakhtar Donetsk to holding on for a 4-3 victory.
Benitez made a series of changes in Lviv, with Brazilian midfielder Casemiro one of those to come in to add extra bite to the midfield, and he insists they must look ahead in trying to close the six-point gap to Barca at the top of the table, rather than dwelling on the problems on and off the field over the past week.
“The defeat to Barcelona is in the past, we need to look forward. Now we have a tough game away from home,” Casemiro said. “I am here for what Benitez tells me to do, he is a great coach. We are with him, with the president and the fans. Staying together, I am sure we will win.”
However, Madrid can expect an extremely tricky test against a side that are surpassing all expectations in just their second season in the top flight in sixth place.
“It is difficult for any team to play at Ipurua. We are playing really well and have the confidence that we can get something positive from the game,” Eibar midfielder Adrian Gonzalez told the club’s Web site.
Real have mounting injury problems in defense after Raphael Varane came off against Shakhtar with a hamstring problem, while Sergio Ramos and Marcelo are also out.
Isco is banned after his frustrated kick out at Neymar last weekend, but Eibar are also without one of their key creators through suspension in Keko Gontan.
By contrast to Madrid’s woes, Barcelona’s week just got better after inflicting a thrashing at the Santiago Bernabeu when they stuck six past AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored twice on his first start following a two-month injury layoff, as did Luis Suarez, to take Messi, Suarez and Neymar’s combined tally for the calendar year to 121.
Yet, Barca boss Luis Enrique urged for caution amid claims Barca could go onto repeat their treble winning feats of last season.
“These players are very intelligent, and they know perfectly that we are in the first third of the season and the best is still to come,” Enrique said. “I am sure that at some point it will turn in the other direction and you need to be prepared to overcome all the moments.”
Next in Barca’s firing line are Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou today.
However, Sociedad did make a good start to life under former Barca B coach Eusebio Sacristan with a 2-0 win over Sevilla last weekend.
The in-form Sergi Roberto is a doubt for Barca, but Javier Mascherano and Andres Iniesta are expected to return after being left out in midweek.
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