Reak Madrid vs Almeria | Spanish Primera Liga | Round 27 | Preview
Real Madrid will face Almeria at the Bernabeu on Sunday at 17:00 CET, hoping to put pressure on Barcelona with another victory. Coach Hugo Sanchez will return to the stadium where he became a legend. Cannavaro, Gago and Higuain will be able to play.
Almeria are currently 12th on the table with 31 points. They are a solid local team, but they have trouble as visitors, having taken only six points away from their stadium. Former Castilla player Nieto and Esteban Solari -brother of former Madridista Santiago Solari- are the new faces on Sanchez’s squad list. Alvaro Negredo and Chico will miss the clash.
Positive precedent
Almeria have lost their three previous matches at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid defeated them 4-1 in the 1979/80 season, 4-0 in 1980/81 and 3-1 over 20 years later.
Hugo Sanchez returns home
The emotional touch of the game will be Hugo Sanchez’s return to the Bernabeu. The Mexican joined Real Madrid in 1985 and left in 1992. He scored 250 goals and won five league titles and one UEFA Cup amongst many other accolades. He won the Pichichi trophy five times -four as a Real Madrid player-. Sanchez will surely receive a very warm welcome from the crowd.
Gago and Cannavaro return; Higuain recovers in time
Juande Ramos has called-up 18 men for Sunday’s 17:00 CET clash with Almeria at the Bernabeu. Fernando Gago was suspended for the match in Bilbao and has made his return to the coach’s list. Cannavaro and Higuain have recovered from their injuries and will also face the southern side. Guti, Saviola, Drenthe, Garcia, Codina and Faubert have been left our for coaching decisions.
SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek.
Defenders: Pepe, Metzelder, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Heinze, Torres.
Midfielders: Lass, Gago, Sneijder, Marcelo, Parejo, Robben.
Forwards: Raul, Higuain, Huntelaar.
Juande press conference
Juande Ramos talked to the press prior to Real Madrid’s Sunday clash at the Bernabeu with Almeria.
How does Higuain feel?
He’s made the squad list and I hope he can play. He trained hard and feels ready to help the team.
Will you make any changes to the starting line-up?
I’ve calle-up 18 men because I like making my mind up a few hours before the game starts. We may experience some last minute problems and that’s why I don’t like to announce my line-ups. A tactical change is possible.
You have a good chance to use just one defensive midfielder, as opposed to two…
This is not a defensive team. In fact, this is one of the top-scoring Real Madrid sides of recent years. I think the team is earning magnificent numbers in attack. The squad is very well balanced both in defence and in the front line.
Did the victory in Bilbao help the team recover psychologically?
It naturally did. Our match against Athletic gave the team new hopes and excitement to be successful at the end of the campaign. Barcelona hold an important lead, but it’s possible to catch up with them. It is our duty to win all our games.
Almeria are dangerous. Real Madrid drew against them in the first part of the season.
Every team tries to do its best at the Bernabeu. They are all professional and try to earn a good result. On the other hand, Real Madrid are used to playing against teams like Almeria. We will play hard at the start in order to decide the match as soon as possible.
It will be Hugo Sanchez’s first game at the Bernabeu as a First Division coach.
I’m sure the fans will give him a warm welcome, but they also know how important the three points are for us and they will want us to win.
Do you think Almeria will try hard to win the game?
You should ask him that, but I can tell you no professional coach tries not to win.
They were disappointing against Barcelona…
I just like to give my opinion on Real Madrid. I don’t know how they played against Barcelona and I also don’t know if he will change his system against us. I have little to say on the matter.
Hugo likes to be the centre of attention, the star. Can one person do so much for a whole team?
I think every team resembles its coach. He must have had something to do in Almeria’s new mentality.
He said it’s possible for Real Madrid to catch up with Barcelona. Does Barça’s participation in the Champions League favour Real Madrid?
It does, but just on a mathematical level; they have to play more games than us. They will have to exert themselves more, but I don’t know if that will really favour us. What would help is that they drop points while we win all our games.
How does Drenthe feel?
He’s been sick with flu and hasn’t been able to train normally. He has less chances of playing because Marcelo has done brilliantly in his position and because I can’t use all my men.
Just another Madridista
Junta speak