There is a sense of déjà vu at the Betis camp with the way they have started this 08/09 campaign. Just like last term, and even perhaps the one before, there was a lot of promise and hope of success throughout the pre-season simply because of the team that they had managed to assemble during the summer months.

But once the real competition gets underway, the team underperforms horribly. They have started this season in almost exactly the same fashion as they did the last: drawing two and losing two in their first four games. The Andalucians didn’t register a win until Matchweek Six last year and the parallels could continue this campaign as they take on a rampaging Real Madrid on Saturday for Round Five.

However, Los Verdiblancos have had this tendency in recent meetings to come from behind against the two superpowers of La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid, to force an upset result. They came from behind to inflict a surprise defeat on the pair last term and it almost happened again three days ago at the Camp Nou when Paco Chaparro’s men rallied from two goals down to tie the contest at 2-2, but eventually succumbed to an Eidur Gudjohnsen winner.

Speaking of last season and of victories, the Andaluz side have not won a competitive match since the 19^th of April 2007. Their last five games of the 07/08 program ended with four draws and one loss and, as mentioned before, their first four outings of this campaign have yet to yield a win.

Add to that, Betis also have a poor record against Madrid. Their 2-1 home triumph over the merengues last season was their first ever win against the capital side in 17 attempts in all competitions over the last seven years. It’s not the kind of statistic you would want to take into a game against an opposition who is hitting form at the right time.

Seventh Heaven

Indeed, Los Blancos are on a wave of high after their 7-1 annihilation of Sporting Gijón in midweek. Granted, the newly-promoted outfit were completely out of sorts and out of their depth but the real highlight of Madrid’s performance, the scoreline aside, was the impressive shots to goal ratio: 16 shots, 12 on target, seven scored.

It’s a much more effective display compared to the tally that they had a week prior in the Champions League against BATE Borisov, where they amassed 29 shots at goal, but just nine on target and only two ended up in the back of the net.

The improvement in terms of cohesion and understanding between the players has also been evident. Everyone on the pitch appears to have their frequencies finally in tune and collectively, they are playing like a team again: forwards and midfielders helping to defend, defenders and midfielders helping to attack. If they can carry on in this vein, their failed summer transfer market dealings might just be forgotten and forgiven.

The hazard for coach Bernd Schuster this weekend is that his players will have one eye on the very complicated trip to Russia to face UEFA Cup champions Zenit St. Petersburg on Tuesday in the Champions League.

The German could be tempted to continue rotating his squad ever so subtly, just as he did against Sporting, but he is aware that Betis are a dangerous outfit, in spite of what their form guide may suggest.

The ultimate confidence booster for the reigning league champions will be to head into their clash with Zenit as the new La Liga leaders. There’s a chance of that happening if other results go their way but first, they will have to beat Betis in Saturday’s early kick-off.

FORM GUIDEReal Betis

Sep 24 FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Betis (LA LIGA)

Sep 21 Real Betis 0-0 Sevilla FC (LA LIGA)

Sep 14 Getafe 0-0 Real Betis (LA LIGA)

Aug 31 Real Betis 0-1 Recreativo Huelva (LA LIGA)

Aug 23 Almería 3-1 Real Betis (MEMORIAL JUAN ROJAS) Real Madrid

Sep 24 Real Madrid 7-1 Sporting Gijón (LA LIGA)

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)TEAM NEWSReal Betis

Striker Xisco is out with an ankle injury but he has the good fortune of avoiding the operating table and will thus require only six weeks to recuperate. Fellow forward Edu has made a complete recovery from his muscular ailment but he is nowhere near match fit.

The Brazilian has earmarked next week’s clash with Villarreal as the earliest possible return date, although the following match against Mallorca looks more probable. Winger David Odonkor is the only other injury casualty and he is sidelined for the rest of the year.Probable Starting XI (4-1-4-1): Casto – Nélson, Arzu, Juanito (c), Fernando Vega – Aurélio – Sergio García, Emana, Capi, Mark González – Pavone Real MadridMidfielders Guti and Wesley Sneijder should be ready to return to action next week as they stay on schedule to recover from their respective injuries. Fernando Gago, however, is still at least three weeks away from any sort of comeback as he nurses a thigh muscle damage.Sergio Ramos and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who were both rested in the midweek win against Sporting, look certain to be reinstated to the first XI, while Gabriel Heinze could also make the starting berth either at leftback or as a centre half.

Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Heinze – Van der Vaart, Diarrà, De la Red – Higuaín, Van Nistelrooy, Raul (c)

PLAYERS TO WATCHReal BetisSergio García showed flashes of brilliance against Barcelona, eventhough it may only have been for nothing more than a quick ten, fifteen minute spell. But he is showing signs of improvement as he continues to settle in to his new surroundings and he’ll be using this big game as a springboard to kick-start his season and indeed his career as a Bético. Emana has also looked impressive thus far. Although he is still not yet the finished article, the potential certainly is there.Real Madrid

The likes of Raúl and van der Vaart will be the key figures, should they play, after their stunning midweek exploits. But the one man to keep an eye out for will be Rubén de la Red. The youngster has been amazing in the few games where he has been given the chance to shine, but he knows that he will not have too many more opportunities to impress once the midfield regulars return from their injuries and his playing time begin to dwindle.

Wesley Sneijder expects to be fit for Real Madrid's October 5 clash with Espanyol.

The Dutch midfielder is fully recovered from a preseason knee injury and revealed: "I feel very good. I have trained very hard in double sessions to reduce the time I'd be out and this has helped me to build up very strong muscles in my legs.

"When I was told about the injury, they said I would be three months out and I said, 'it will be two months'.

"I am very keen to get back into the shirt of Madrid."

Sneijder added: "The team looks very good to me and we are strong. We have not changed much, we are the same as last year plus Rafael Van der Vaart. This year we want to play better in the Champions League.

"We have the quality to do so and to win many titles with this team."

Real Madrid hit Sporting Gijón for seven in a game that saw Rafael Van der Vaart claim a hat-trick Raúl net two and Gonzalo Higuaín and Arjan Robben claim one apiece.

Casillas 7.5 - Deserves a good mark because he was called into action on more than one occasion and had to stay alert.

Torres 7 - Another at the back who had no real reason to stand out given that Sporting did not test Madrid enough, even when they had periods of possession.

Pepe 7.5 - The same can be said for the giant Portuguese international, apart from the fact that he appeared to be more pro-active at the back.

Cannavaro 7 - The Italian did not have a great deal to do against a visiting team that did go forward at time but were very naïve.

Marcelo 8 - Was very good in the second half after having to repel several Sporting attacks down his side before the break.

Diarrà 7 - Always strong in the midfield, but his protective influence was unable to prevent Sporting enjoying possession down the flanks in the opening half.

De la Red 8 - Showed some very good touches and proved that he should be given more chances to prove himself in Bernd Schuster team.

Van der Vaart 9 - Not only did the Dutchman score a hat-trick, all three of which were good finishes, he set up another and was influential throughout.

Robben 7.5 - Set Higuaín's goal up and was lively throughout, but his control on a couple of occasions let him and prevented Madrid having chances.

Higuaín 7.5 - Took his goal very well and involved himself as much as he could but with Madrid not laying siege to the Sporting goal he was quiet at time.

Raúl 8.5 - After netting a trademark poachers goal the much maligned captain showed he still has the touch with a superb looping effort for number two.

Subs

Javi García 7.5 - Another youth team product desperate to show what he can do and he produced some good touches to impress.

Drenthe 7 - Really made very little difference when he came on and found it difficult to fit into a game that was already won.

Saviola 6.5 - Looked busy, but against such a brittle defence he made it look difficult with some poor touches and his inbaility to stay onside.

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.

Real Madrid

Casillas - 7: Called into action just once in the first half and was off his line to avert the danger. Similarly untested in the second period, but remained solid.

Sergio Ramos - 8: Ramos as we know him. An invaluable outlet going forward, worked his man in that regard as well and was strong on the ground and in the air at the back - but always suspect positionally from time to time when he gets too far forward and is susceptible to the counterattack. In the second half, however, he stayed back in defence and was simply unbeatable.

Cannavaro - 7.5: Looking stronger game by game as he comes back to full fitness. His nightmare start in Spain looks all but behind him. One somewhat shaky moment as he chose to head a low ball that was easier to kick, but was otherwise formidable in the challenge and unfortunate to get booked.

Pepe - 7: Still lacking a little bit of sharpness and looked like he could be exposed by the tricky nature of Racing's forwards, but ultimately his physical presence and power kept him ahead of the game.

Heinze - 6.5: Another one unfortunate to be shown the yellow card. Defensively solid in the first half, let nothing past him, but of course failed to provide much genuine width down the left as Marcelo has done in recent weeks. Was stretched in the second period upon Tchite's introduction, beaten too many times and allowed too many balls to find their way into the box.

Higuaín - 8: Despite his promising showings up front, again shunted to right-wing this evening, but made a better fist of it than usual. His running caused Christian problems, though his dive in the area certainly could have been done without. Proved decisive as he darted forward superbly down the right hand side and played a cool ball inside to de la Red to finish for the opening and all important goal.

Diarrá - 7.5: Rock solid as ever, let nothing past him and helped organise the defence fairly well against the Racing counterattacks. A little wayward on the ball, but it is hardly his speciality or necessarily required of him anyway.

De la Red - 8: Justified his inclusion with defensive discipline and some strong long shots. Did not pass as well as he can, but made up for it by darting forward on the counterattack with his team-mates and showing a cool head to finish the straightforward chance presented to him to get the opening goal.

Guti - 7: Will be content with his half's work. No end product to show for it, but with both de la Red and Diarra protecting him, Guti was able to play with a degree of freedom and made some good passes, as well as some smart set-plays. Unfortunately went off injured at the end of the first half.

Raúl - 7: Largely anonymous due to the nature of Madrid's counterattacking game in the second half, and in the first he was defended against very well. Nevertheless linked up tidily when he was involved and made a crucial run to drag defenders out of position which allowed de la Red the space to score the opening goal.

Van Nistelrooy - 7.5: Like Raul, very much anonymous, but he showed good defensive work rate - particularly in the first half - and besides all that, scored a magnificent goal to kill the game. Chasing a ball down the left, he cut inside and somehow managed to deceive absolutely everybody and fire it home at the near post. Sublime.

Substitutes:

Van der Vaart - 7: Did not make quite the impact he would have hoped, as Madrid played much of the second half on the counterattack. Nevertheless, he provided a sublime long ball along the floor for Ruud van Nistelrooy, who finished spectacularly.

Robben - 6.5: A relentless runner - as ever - but once or twice he could have been more effective if he had released the ball earlier.

Saviola - n/a.

Racing Off Slow

Racing Santander are one of only two teams who have yet to lose after two rounds but also yet to win. A 1-1 draw with Sevilla on opening day was followed up by a similar result – and performance – at Barcelona last weekend, as they won plaudits for their resolute defending and effective counter-attacking.

While they may not have come bursting out of the blocks, it is a very decent start nonetheless, considering they were up against inarguably the two most offensive-minded teams in the league in the first 180 minutes of the new season.

But it is a slow start by the Cantabrians in more ways than one. Their ultra-defensive approaches not only suggest that they are unafraid to play with ten men behind the ball, but their newly assembled squad, including a new coach, has yet to click into gear to play any kind of adventurous football.

They also transferred their form to Europe when they sneaked past unknown Finnish side, FC Honka Espoo 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Cup first round on Thursday in what was yet another cagey and cautious performance.

Coach, Juan Ramón López Muñiz has pretty much built on where Marcelinho left off from last season, relying on good old fashion teamwork and disciplined defending to get the desired results from his very modest squad. It is something that has worked supremely well for the last two seasons, it worked even better in the last two league games and chances are they will try and make it work again on Sunday.

Loose Cannons

Real Madrid’s style of football, as anyone would know, contrasts sharply from that of Racing’s. While the verdiblancos like to keep it tight at the back, the merengues prefer to keep it loose.

Their 2-0 triumph over Belarusian side BATE Borisov on Wednesday in the Champions League was in fact, their first clean sheet since the new term kicked-off eleven matches ago in the pre-season.

In terms of competitive games, they have already haemorrhaged ten goals in five outings. Granted, it is only the beginning of the campaign but it raises the question about whether or not Los Blancos are slowly slipping back to their old days of a leaky defence.

To be fair to Madrid, Bernd Schuster has yet to be able to call on his first choice backline. Players such as Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Metzelder and Marcelo are not only just getting back up to speed after the off-season, but they are all on varying degrees of match practice and sharpness due to international commitments from the European championships to the Olympics and more recently, the World Cup qualifiers.

At least they are not having trouble scoring goals, which would have been the main concern after losing several attacking players during the transfer market. Schuster’s emphasis on the club’s failure to sign a proven back-up striker also triggered a sense of pessimism amongst the merengue faithful but so far, everything seems to be going like clockwork.

Although Raúl and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s fitness has yet to be really tested in this early phase of the campaign, the encouraging sign is that almost everyone in the team has the ability to score from any part of the pitch.

That may be the case but Madrid have to get a win at El Sardinero and that means scoring and then defending the lead. Their away form, including their pre-season showing, hasn’t been the best and they desperately need a victory on the road to start building up their confidence ahead of the tricky trip to Zenit St Petersburg on September 30 for the second matchday of the Champions League.

FORM GUIDERacing Santander

Sep 18 Racing 1-0 FC Honka Espoo (UEFA CUP)

Sep 13 FC Barcelona 1-1 Racing (LA LIGA)

Aug 31 Racing 1-1 Sevilla FC (LA LIGA)

Aug 27 San Fernando 1-2 Racing (FRIENDLY) Aug 23 Xerez 1-2 Racing (FRIENDLY)Real Madrid

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)Aug 24 Real Madrid 4-2 Valencia (SUPERCOPA)TEAM NEWSRacing Santander

Leftback Christian is doubtful for this clash after picking up an ankle sprain against Barcelona last week and sitting out the midweek UEFA Cup tie. His regular back-up, Luis Fernández is also an uncertainty as he continues to nurse a muscular injury, although he was expected to be back in action by Sunday. If neither passes a late fitness test, then new arrival, László Sepsi will be the natural replacement.

Young striker Jonathan Pereira has found himself in excellent form after scoring against Barça and Honka and he is expected to get the nod ahead of Tchité. Defender Ezequiel Garay is ineligible to play against the club that picked him up over the summer as per the expected clause on the loan agreement.Probable Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Toño – Pinillos, César Navas, Marcano, Sepsi – Valera, Luccin, Colsa, Serrano – Munitis (c) – Jonathan PereiraReal MadridThis might just be the first match of the new season where Schuster will be able to call upon his best backfour. Pepe, suspended for the midweek CL game, will be available for selection again, while Cannavaro, rested against both Depor and Numancia, should make his first 08/09 La Liga appearance.Defensive midfielder Fernando Gago is ruled out for a month after tearing a muscle on the back of his left thigh during the match against BATE. Wesley Sneijder remains sidelined but he may now be only two weeks away from a return.The main focal point, however, will be whether or not Schuster will in fact drop Raúl in favour of Gonzalo Higuaín in attack.Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Marcelo – Diarrà, Guti (c) – van der Vaart, Higuaín, Robben – van Nistelrooy PLAYERS TO WATCHRacing SantanderEzequiel Garay would have been the danger man for Madrid had he been allowed to play. But Racing may have found another secret weapon anyway in the form of Jonathan Pereira. The 21 year old, on loan from Villarreal, has kicked-off his verdiblancos career in style, scoring crucial goals in his team’s last two games. He is precisely the kind of target striker that could trouble Madrid on the rare counter-attacks, as Barcelona will attest.Real Madrid

If given the chance to start, all eyes will be on Gonzalo Higuaín. Not only is he trying to prove that he is the man to succeed Raúl long term, but he also has to show Schuster that the team does not need another striker. To do that, he must rise to the occasion and deliver the goods on the scoreboard. His ratio of goals to playing time has been phenomenal thus far and he would want to keep that up by rattling in a few more on Sunday.

Newcomers BATE Borisov got away lightly with a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their Champions League debut in Group H on Wednesday.

Sergio Ramos gave the nine-times European champions an early lead and they threatened an avalanche of goals but BATE held firm until early in the second half.

Ruud van Nistelrooy doubled the advantage with his 54th goal in the competition and any thoughts of a fightback by the team from Belarus effectively disappeared when defender Anri Khagush was sent off soon after.

BATE battled away but the gulf in class was clear and only Real’s profligacy in front of goal and a string of saves from Sergei Veremko prevented a heavier defeat.

“Seeing the start we made I expected us to score more goals so I am disappointed. After our first goal we could see BATE could not react, and we needed to have scored a second and third at that point,” Real coach Bernd Schuster said.

“As it was we had to start all over again. I didn’t like the way we eased off. You should ask the players whey they did, not me. I didn’t want them to.”

The Belarus champions started very nervously and the home side took full advantage, slicing them open at will in the opening minutes.

It was surprising it took until the 11th minute before Real took the lead with a neat corner move.

The ball was played low to the edge of the area for Guti who quickly found an unmarked Ramos at the far post, and the Spain full back sidefooted home.

Instead of pressing on though Real eased off to the annoyance of an impatient Bernabeu, and the visitors recovered some composure.

Schuster appeared the more anxious of the two coaches regularly stalking the technical area up to halftime, though BATE’s threat was restricted to long-range shots and the occasional freekick.

After the break, Real showed a greater urgency and the second goal came when Raul fired goalwards and Veremko saved point blank.

The ball rebounded off one of his defenders and Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy tapped in the loose ball in the 57th.

Soon after, BATE lost Khagush when he collected his second yellow card for another foul on Arjen Robben, who had given him a torrid time all night.

Substitute Gonzalo Higuain shot wide in a one-on-one as Real dominated, but they were unable to find a third despite having an extra man, and the team were whistled off at the end.

It’s showtime once again in Europe’s blue-ribbon club competition. The term David vs Goliath could not be more appropriately applied to this encounter as nine-time continental champions, Real Madrid welcome tournament debutants, BATE Borisov.

Another Year, Another Attempt

Last season, Real Madrid snapped a three-year running streak of losing their opening encounter in the Champions League. A 2-1 win at home against Werder Bremen ended that jinx as they went on to top the group but in spite of that, they still could not overcome the gremlin of stumbling at the first knockout round.

It was the third year in succession that they were sent packing at that stage, eliminated this time by AS Roma, and the fifth year in a row that they have failed to reach the semi finals.

The club’s board and their fans were happy enough to overlook that failure just this one time simply because it was Bernd Schuster’s first year in charge and he was missing various key players in each of the legs against Roma. The team as a whole were also inconveniently going through their worst form of the entire campaign at the time of meeting.

But with the amnesty being extended, now comes the time for heightened expectations and success. Schuster cannot afford another flop in the competition this term. And for a club like Real Madrid, anything short of an appearance in the final, at the very least, will be deemed a flop.

This year’s group stage will undoubtedly be one of the trickiest Los Merengues have had to face in a while. Their main rival will ofcourse be Juventus, a side who are always a threat and a constant problem for the Spanish outfit. There’s also a potential banana skin in the form of Zenit St. Petersburg, last season’s UEFA Cup winners and newly crowned Supercup champions, who have already shown that they are capable of beating any of Europe’s top guns.

Which brings us to little known BATE Borisov. They are the unknown entity of the group and it is precisely that quality which makes them so dangerous. Madrid will simply have to study and adapt to their opponents game plan as they go along in the match. But the one piece of homework that you would expect the men in white to do is to brush up on their knowledge of defending dead-ball situations.

History Makers

FC BATE may not have the illustrious history of nine Champions League trophies lined astern in their trophy cabinet but they have already made history in their own country.

Regardless of what happens to them in this competition, they will now go down into the record books for becoming the first ever Belarusian side to play in Europe’s elite tournament.

Up until the draw in Switzerland several weeks ago, not many outside of Belarus would have heard of this club and it’s no wonder judging by their European pedigree.

This will be only their third ever participation in a competition-proper in Europe. Their two previous involvements came in 2001 and 2007 in the UEFA Cup, but they were thumped by half a dozen goals on aggregate on each occasion by AC Milan and Villarreal respectively in the first round.

Based on their past records, they are the second most inexperienced side in the Champions League this term after only CFR Cluj. But for a team who were playing out of their domestic league’s third division just 13 years ago, it is a massive achievement and a huge leap forward for the club’s development.

Still, BATE are unlikely to cause too much of an upset in this group, with all due respect. With Madrid, Juventus and Zenit set to fight amongst themselves for the top three spots, the most the 2007 Belarusian league champions can hope for is to wait patiently and pounce on any grave slip-ups the trio might suffer and sneak into the UEFA Cup.

FORM GUIDE

Real Madrid

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)

Aug 24 Real Madrid 4-2 Valencia (SUPERCOPA)

Aug 17 Valencia 3-2 Real Madrid (SUPERCOPA)

BATE Borisov

Sep 13 Naftan 1-2 BATE (VYSSHAYA LIGA)

Sep 08 Neman 3-7 BATE (NATIONAL LEAGUE CUP)

Aug 31 BATE 2-2 Smorgon (VYSSHAYA LIGA)

Aug 27 BATE 1-1 Levski Sofia (CL 3^rd QUALIFYING ROUND)

Aug 23 Granit 2-2 BATE (VYSSHAYA LIGA)

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid

Veterans Raúl and Fabio Cannavaro were given a chance to rest at the weekend against Numancia to help them regain full match fitness. Although the captain did make a second half cameo, both will be expected to start against BATE.

Sergio Ramos also missed last Sunday’s game due to a groin problem but he has been cleared by the medical team and he, too, should return to the staring line-up. Michel Salgado and Christoph Metzelder has been left out of the squad completely, while centreback Pepe is suspended due to a ban carried over from last season, as is midfielder Rubén de la Red.

Wesley Sneijder meanwhile, continues to recover from a damaged cruciate knee ligament he suffered during pre-season.

Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Casillas – Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Marcelo – Gago, Guti – van der Vaart, Raúl, Robben – van Nistelrooy

BATE Borisov

BATE manager Viktor Goncharenko could not have asked for a worse time to lose both his key forwards, Vitali Rodinov and Gennadi Bliznyuk to suspension. Regular back-ups Maksim Skavysh and Vladislav Mirchev will be favourites to step in and cover respectively but other than that, the 31 year old coach, the youngest in Champions League history should have no other major absentees.

Probable Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Veremko – Khagush, Sosnovsky, Rzhevsky, Yurevich – Nekhaichik, Sivakov, Krivets, Stasevich – Skavysh – Mirchev

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Madrid

Champions League top scorer, Raúl has yet to hit his stride in terms of form and fitness in La Liga but when it comes to Europe, he always has that knack to outshine everyone when least expected. All he needs is a goal or two to whet his scoring appetite and he will fancy his chances of doing that against the Belarusian minnows.

BATE Borisov

Without Rodinov and Bliznyuk, BATE will be supremely blunted upfront. But at least they still have influential midfielder Sergei Krivets. The self-confessed Real Madrid fan is a box-to-box player, someone capable of pulling defensive duties but also adept in driving forward with his excellent passing range and shooting abilities.

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos skipped the team’s Monday training session due to an injury and he has been deemed as a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash.

Sergio Ramos was in the centre of controversy at the weekend when he was omitted from Real Madrid’s squad to take on Numancia.

His coach, Bernd Schuster revealed that it was because the 22 year old had picked up a groin strain while on international duty in midweek, although the Spanish Football Federation refuted those claims, saying that he left the national team camp in good health.

But whatever the case, the versatile defender was absent in Los Blancos’ Monday training session. He was not even present at the gym, where the first team players who were involved in the 4-3 win over Numancia on Sunday gathered to undergo a recovery session.

As of now, Sergio Ramos has been rated as a serious doubt for Madrid’s midweek Champions League clash against Belarussian outfit, BATE Borisov. But the team’s training schedule today (Tuesday) will give a better indication of his condition and availability.