Liga Preview: Valladolid-Real Madrid

Having played out a largely meaningless cup tie at the Mestalla in midweek, Valencia and Real Madrid return to the serious business of championship chasing this weekend with the champions protecting a two point lead going into round 22.

Wednesday's shadow-boxing told us precisely nothing about the destination of this season's title with both sides choosing to rest key players and conspiring to produce a pleasant training match experience for the healthy crowd.

In the context of modern European football, domestic cups mean very little in comparison to the real prizes of the Champions League and domestic title. This game simply copper-fastened that impression. Valencia would seem to be in something of a mini slump, finding goals hard to come by and victories scarce. Yet, they had scored just one goal less than the champions at the half-way stage this season, and still only find themselves two points adrift having endured their temporary stutter.

Saturday night offers them the opportunity to reclaim league leadership with victory at Malaga, and such an eventuality would set the scene nicely for Real Madrid's visit to the Estadio Jose Zorilla 24 hours later to face mid-table Real Valladolid.

Valladolid lie tenth having recently secured a valuable point in a home draw with Valencia. Coach Fernando Vasquez is being head-hunted by Manchester United to fill the number 2 position at the club as Alex Ferguson's assistant. However, the tactician has decided to remain loyal to the club he has worked small miracles for, weaving a redoubtable and hard-to-beat side out of a rather mediocre pool of players.

Ironically, Vasquez need only peer over to the visitor's bench on Sunday afternoon to see a man who has already played understudy to United's golden goose. Carlos Queiroz has begun to stamp some authority on this Madrid side as he has grappled with the significant problems thrown up by the loss of both Claude Makelele and Fernando Hierro in the summer. Queiroz has largely succeeded in masking the true extent of defensive frailty in his side with some imaginative positional tinkering.

However, any team that was already defensively suspect with Makelele and Hierro on board are always likely to be seriously compromised without them. And so it has proved. Many in Spain are simply holding their breath for the next calamity to befall the champions in the long, sometimes hilarious series that has included unforgettable hammerings by Mallorca, Real Sociedad, and most recently Sevilla.

Defensively weak they may still be, but just ask Valladolid about the attacking prowess of the champions. September's meeting at the Bernabeu will live long in the collective psyche of their players as Figo and Ronaldo ran riot in a 7-2 spectacular. Still, Valladolid got two that night, and something similar this weekend will more than likely reap a reward in terms of points.

After all, it is now four years since Madrid won in the Jose Zorilla, and Fernando Vasquez will have learned much from the earlier meeting this season.

TEAM NEWS

Real Madrid welcome back Zinedine Zidane from injury. The Frenchman has been hampered recently by a thigh injury, but is likely to play some part in the game having returned to first team duty in midweek. Raul's poor form continues to baffle, and it will interesting to see if the return of Zidane and the inclusion of Beckham has any affect on his fortunes or those of the Roberto Carlos who has been plagued by personal problems.

PLAYER TO WATCH

One man with a huge personal stake in this clash is former Real Madrid keeper Albano Bizarri who faces his former club on Sunday. Valladolid's Argentinian custodian was the direct predecessor of Iker Casillas in the Real Madrid goal but crumbled under the weightlessness of his non-existent defence in 1999. Now 26, Bizarri will feel he was blackguarded by Madrid and made to suffer while he was still learning his trade for the defensive failings that still haven't been rectified in his absence.

Casillas too took a hammering from the press that season after replacing Bizarri in goal, but as he was something like the fourth man tried in the position that season, they eventually persevered and are now reaping the rewards. If ever Bizarri had a chance to show what might have been, here it is.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Real Valladolid: Bizzarri, Torres Gómez, Jonathan or Julio César, Peña, Marcos, Sales, Jesús, Ricchetti, Sousa, Oscar, Losada.

Real Madrid: Iker Casillas, Michel Salgado, Helguera, Pavón or Mejía, Solari, Figo, Beckham, Guti, Zidane, Raúl, Ronaldo.