Shorthanded Real Madrid need to focus on the task at hand against stingy Deportivo La Coruna

Shorthanded Real Madrid need to focus on the task at hand against stingy Deportivo La Coruna [ad_1]

Sid Lowe believes Real Madrid are still in complete control to win the title despite the loss to Barcelona in El Clasico.

With Barca firmly back in the La Liga title race, the FC panel don't see how Madrid can focus on both competitions at once.

Real Madrid Manager Zinedine Zidane believes that missed chances are what cost Madrid against Barcelona.

When Real Madrid take to the pitch against Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday night in Riazor they will in all likelihood do so three points behind current leaders Barcelona. This was not part of Zinedine Zidane's plan, which came unstuck in stoppage time in the Bernabeu when Lionel Messi buried a shot past Keylor Navas to seal victory in the Clasico.

With seconds remaining the clock on Sunday, Real Madrid remained in the Liga driving seat. James Rodriguez appeared to have salvaged a point for the home side that would have maintained Real's three-point advantage before Messi had the final say. Now Real find themselves in the position of hunter, not hunted. Head-to-head advantage, upon which the final destination of the title will rest if necessary, is in Barcelona's favour.

For some time the eventual destination of this season's Liga title has hinged on Galicia. Real's game in hand against Celta Vigo is still a significant face card in Zidane's sleeve but after the Clasico a different assignment in the northwest has assumed greater significance.

Deportivo in 2016-17 are not the Deportivo who famously provided the fly in the ointment of Real's centenary celebrations 15 years ago. The scene was set, in cahoots with the Spanish Football Federation, for Madrid to celebrate Copa del Rey triumph in the Bernabeu on the day of the club's centenary celebrations on March 6, 2002. Someone forgot to send Depor the script: the visitors won 2-1. 

That scoreline will be etched in the memory of Zidane, who was on the pitch that day. Under Pepe Mel, who assumed the reins at the start of March, Depor have beaten Barcelona 2-1 at Riazor and a Real side licking their Clasico wounds are by no means immune from similar handling by a side that are not exempt from the relegation struggle.

Depor will fancy their chances of an upset given Zidane's defensive concerns. Sergio Ramos is suspended after seeing red in the Clasico and Pepe is injured. Raphael Varane is half-fit and Zidane will be wary of throwing a key defender who has played just 11 minutes of 10 previous La Liga fixtures into the fray after seeing Gareth Bale limp off 35 minutes into the Clasico: the Welshman was restored to the side following two games out with an ankle problem and has subsequently been ruled out of both legs of the Champions League semifinal tie against Atletico Madrid.

These are exactly the sort of situations that Zidane's policy of rotation this season have been designed to avoid. The addition of Castilla central defender Alex Salto -- who has made four appearances for the reserves this season -- in Monday's training session underlines the gravity of Zidane's problem.

Even after losing to Barca, Zinedine Zidane's men remain in control in La Liga but must make sure to take it one match at a time.

Casemiro is the prime candidate to drop back into a makeshift back four if Varane is not risked, otherwise Zidane could use a different formation with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos acting as a screen in a 4-2-3-1. Isco, who was again overlooked for a key fixture against Barcelona, is the obvious choice to occupy a No. 10 role as the pick against a lock-tight defence that will set up to frustrate Real as Sporting did a week ago. It will be a double-edged task for the perennial bridesmaid: only Atletico, Barca and Sevilla have conceded fewer goals at home this season than Depor.

James Rodriguez has also made a case for inclusion after a goal-scoring cameo from the bench on Sunday but the Colombian has failed to fully convince Zidane of his worth this season and Lucas Vazquez, bizarrely omitted entirely from the Clasico squad, is more likely to fill in for Bale on the right.

Above all, Zidane must ensure his side's focus remains entirely on the game at hand. As he noted with no apparent hint of irony after the defeat against Barcelona: "At 2-2, you have to use your head."

Football is by nature unpredictable, but some football is a bit more predictable than others. Real have won this fixture on four of the past five occasions by an aggregate scoreline of 15-4, Depor's nadir coming in an 8-2 drubbing in 2014-15. The home side will look to the only break in that sequence, a 0-0 draw in 2010-11, and to the win over Barcelona for inspiration.

On paper this should be a straightforward game for Real Madrid but on the pitch at Riazor it could be more problematic than the visitors will be comfortable with, particularly in light of Barca's home fixture against Osasuna, who require an improbable victory in Camp Nou to keep alive their flickering hopes of top-flight survival. 

Rob Train covers Real Madrid and the Spanish national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @Cafc13Rob.

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