Real on the rocks after Beckham ban?
Real Madrid will be without at least four of their key players at Deportivo La Coruna in the wake of their first loss in five games when they went down 2-1 at home to Valencia on Sunday.
Real Madrid will be without at least four of their key players at Deportivo La Coruna in the wake of their first loss in five games when they went down 2-1 at home to Valencia on Sunday.
The dismissals of David Beckham and Thomas Gravesen, who will both be suspended for the trip to Spain's Atlantic coast, adds to the list of absences that includes the injured Brazil strikers Ronaldo and Julio Baptista.
Beckham's red card will be the most frustrating for Real coach Wanderley Luxemburgo as the England captain could easily have avoided his second sending-off in barely two weeks, following his departure when England played Austria.
He got his first yellow card for protesting about a decision by referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez three minutes from time and then a quick-fire second for sarcastically applauding the initial booking.
"I don't know whether his sending off was fair or not. I haven't had time to talk to Beckham to find out what he said to the referee," said Luxemburgo, after Real were toppled from pole position in the Spanish first division and slipped to third.
Most Spanish pundits on Monday said they believed Beckham deserved to get his marching orders.
Comparisons were inevitably drawn with the sending-off of Manchester United's England striker Wayne Rooney for a similar gesture during their Champions League match at Villarreal last month.
To cover for his missing men, Luxemburgo admitted he will have to delve into his reserves.
"I'll have to put in some calls to the B team. For me the bad thing about the match was not just losing the game but also losing players, it makes me more fed up the more I think about it," said Luxemburgo.
Perhaps even more worrying for Luxemburgo than the absence of Beckham, who will be back to face Real Betis next Saturday, is the astonishing decline in form of three-times World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane missed a penalty on Sunday, his first since he has been a Real player, to add to his recent woes.
"This Zidane isn't Zidane," ran a headline in the sports daily Marca.
Luxemburgo also knows Deportivo's claustrophobic Riazor stadium is one place to avoid if you need a morale-boosting victory or have a weakened team. Real have not won in La Coruna for 14 seasons.
Getafe coach Bernd Schuster has few of his near-neighbour's worries, ahead of their match at Real Sociedad on Thursday.
The unglamorous team from Madrid's southern suburbs is on top of the Spanish first division with 17 points from eight games, one point clear of Celta Vigo, after their 5-2 hammering of Real Zaragoza on Sunday.
"This team is playing very impressively. We deserved all five of those goals," said Schuster.
Even the doubting Spanish media has warmed to the team guided by the inspirational, and often idiosyncratic, former Germany international.
"Getafe are clearly serious about going for the title. All those who were sceptical, including those who were laughing behind their hands, now have to give them respect," commented another sports daily As on Monday.
Schuster's only concern is the fitness of his outstanding striker Riki Sanchez who was violently ill during the half-time interval against Zaragoza.
Other crucial midweek matches include second-placed Celta's trip to bottom side Real Mallorca on Wednesday, where the job of coach Hector Cuper is in jeopardy after only one win this season.
Reigning Spanish champions Barcelona play host to Malaga on Wednesday, with both teams coming off big wins at the weekend.