Real Madrid Vs Sporting Gijón (preview)

Sporting Gijón have yet to pick up a single point after 270 league minutes into the new season and that streak could go on for another 90 as the minnows travel to the Bernabéu cauldron to take on a Real Madrid side who are finally shifting into gear. Normal Service Resumed Real Madrid chalked up their second consecutive 2-0 win at the weekend when they downed a normally dogged Racing Santander side and the merengues are now starting to look like the disciplined, efficient side that galloped to the league title last term. The game at El Sardinero was also the first this season where coach, Bernd Schuster was finally able to recover his full selection of defenders. Unfortunately for the German, the injury crisis has now been shifted to the midfield after Guti became the latest casualty, joining Fernando Gago and Wesley Sneijder in the treatment room. In all fairness, it can’t really be called a crisis, considering the wealth of talent they have in the middle of the park to begin with. Arjen Robben is finally stringing a decent number of games together without any signs of serious injury, Rafael van der Vaart continues to settle in brilliantly, while youngsters Gonzalo Higuaín and Rubén de la Red are showing how valuable their versatility can be. One of the most encouraging points to come out of the win at Racing Santander last Sunday was that the capital giants gave the normally ultra-defensive Cantabrians a taste of their own medicine. Cleverly adopting a counter-attacking approach, Madrid took their opponents by surprise and stung them with two first-rate goals on the break. It was a strategy that showed perhaps the reigning La Liga champions are now not afraid to alter their tactics to get a better result away from home, where they are not bound by the pressures of playing attractive football. It has always been something that has held them back in recent years, often losing crucial matches in knock-out style competitions (eg. away legs of the Copa del Rey and Champions League last season) because of that tactical inflexibility. But if they can use the La Liga games to fine tune their game plan, Schuster’s men might just come good by the time the business end of the Champions League rolls around. Nightmare Return Sporting Gijón’s return to top flight of Spanish football after a ten year absence has been a nightmare so far. They have already conceded twelve goals in the opening three games and they are the only side yet to collect a single point. But that is the last of their worries. After their trip to the Bernabéu on Wednesday, the newly promoted outfit have to play host to Villarreal and by this time next week, they could become the owners of one of the worst starts in La Liga history. As difficult as their opening fixtures have been, the rojiblancos simply have not been able to carry their pre-season form into the competitive league campaign. Their stunning 2-0 win over Serie A giants, AC Milan and the admirable draws against Cruz Azul and Atlético Madrid are all now just a distant memory, eventhough it was no more than a month ago. It just seems as though everything they learned from their off-season preparations have gone straight down the drain. Coach Manolo Preciado has to re-assess his side’s game plan. Whatever the team deployed against Sevilla and Barcelona, it backfired horrendously and the same will most likely happen against Real Madrid if they do not make some adjustments. Granted, the fixture list will eventually ease up on the Asturians, but as the season wears on, things will only get tougher. Teams who make a bad start, especially the sides with small, inexperienced squads, rarely are able to bounce back in time to escape the jaws of relegation. FORM GUIDE Real Madrid Sep 21 Racing Santander 0-2 Real Madrid (LA LIGA) Sep 17 Real Madrid 2-0 BATE Borisov (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE) Sep 14 Real Madrid 4-3 Numancia (LA LIGA) Aug 31 Deportivo La Coruña 2-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA) Aug 27 Real Madrid 5-3 Sporting Lisbon (TROFEO BERNABÉU) Sporting Gijón Sep 21 Sporting 1-6 FC Barcelona (LA LIGA) Sep 13 Sevilla FC 4-3 Sporting (LA LIGA) Aug 31 Sporting 1-2 Getafe (LA LIGA) Aug 24 Sporting 2-0 AC Milan (FRIENDLY) Aug 19 Sporting 2-2 Cruz Azul (TROFEO TERESA HERRERA) TEAM NEWS Real Madrid Guti will be sidelined for about 15 days to nurse the thigh muscle injury that he picked up at Santander. Fernando Gago suffered a similar ailment against BATE a week ago but he will be out for up to a month. Third choice goalkeeper Jordi Codina is sidelined with tonsillitis while Wesley Sneijder continues to build up his match fitness with a strict on-the-pitch training regime as his October comeback draws nearer. The rest of the squad should get a clean bill of health but this being a midweek game, Schuster could very well choose to rotate some parts of the team. Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Marcelo – van der Vaart, Diarrà, Robben – Higuaín, van Nistelrooy, Raul (c) Sporting Gijón Striker Mate Bilić suffered a knock in his ankle in the game against Barcelona but the club doctors have given him the green light to play at the Bernabéu. Midfielders Carmelo and Francisco Maldonado have also shrugged off their minor niggles and they should retain their places in the first XI. Defender Gerard will be suspended after being red carded in the Barça clash but new Dutch signing, Jurgen Colin should slot in to replace him at centreback. Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Sergio Sánchez I – Sastre, Colin, Jorge, Cámara – Matabuena, Míchel – Maldonado, Diego Castro, Carmelo – Bilić PLAYERS TO WATCH Real Madrid Dutch goal machine Ruud van Nistelrooy just keeps banging in the goals, no matter what season he’s in at which league, no matter who’s playing alongside him or who’s supporting behind him. He has now netted in five of the team’s first six competitive games, with the only anomaly coming, surprisingly, against promoted Numancia. He’ll have a chance to make that right against the second newcomer to the top flight. Sporting Gijón Amazingly, as woeful as Sporting’s start to the campaign has been, they do have the league’s current joint leading scorer, Mate Bilić. The 27 year old Croatian bagged a hat-trick against Sevilla on Matchday Two to join Messi and Sinama-Pongolle at the top of the Pichichi standings with three goals. And against another highly attacking-minded side such as Madrid, he will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet again.