Madrid, Jan 9 (IANS): Real Madrid have the chance to put pressure on both their title rivals, Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona, when they entertain Espanyol in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti's side has had a miserable start to the new year, losing away to Valencia a week ago in a defeat which brought their incredible run of 22 straight wins to an end, and being beaten 0-2 by neighbours Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey Wednesday, reports Xinhua.
Real fans may take comfort that the 22-game winning run came on the heels of their last defeat to Atletico, but those two matches have shown reasons for them to worry.
In both of their defeats Real have failed to match the physical effort of their rivals, indeed against Valencia, the combined team covered the lowest distance on the pitch for the entire season.
That has raised worries that Ancelotti's tactic of having a fixed starting 11 has left key players such as Tony Kroos, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo tired, although it could also be related to the friendly game they were forced to play in Dubai on New Year's eve.
Ronaldo is another source of concern, for although Ancelotti said he was substitute against Atletico for reasons of tiredness, it appears as if the striker's knee is giving him problems.
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos has also been below his best as he struggles to recover from a back injury.
That may see Pepe back in the team alongside Rafael Varene Saturday afternoon, while Dani Carvajal is certain to replace Alvaro Arbeloa at right back.
Ronaldo will start despite fitness worries, but should he struggle, Jese Rodriguez will get another chance to build on his fitness following his long lay-off after a knee operation.
Espanyol traditionally struggle in the Bernabeu and have so far only won one game away from home. Sergio Gonzalez's side have based their campaign on the form of striker Sergio Garcia and their home form.
However, they travel to the capital on the back of a 1-2 home defeat to SD Eibar and know another setback would leave them too close to the relegation zone.