As La Liga returns in Spain from its winter holidays, Real Madrid travel to Osasuna in the last game of the weekend. The pair will clash at 21:00 GMT on January 3, 2010.

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos challenges an Osasuna player during a La Liga matchHow Osasuna put their La Liga campaign on hold

Osasuna have picked up only four wins in as much as 15 match-days in La Liga this season. The last of those came back in November when they beat Real Zaragoza 1-0 away from home.

But throughout the month of December, Osasuna enjoyed no victories. They played a disappointing 1-1 draw against Malaga which was followed by defeat at home to Mallorca.

In their last La Liga game of the year 2009, Osasuna suffered an early blow as Athletico Bilbao’s Javier Yeste and Llorente both scored in the first quarter of an hour to deprive the visitors from gaining at least a point from that match.

 

Actually there hasn’t been much to celebrate for Osasuna fans in the first part of the season.

Los Rojillos have won only twice in seven home games and they will need to kick off 2010 with a match against Real Madrid who are in the goal scoring form of their lives since the start of December.

How Real Madrid put their La Liga campaign on hold

Real Madrid were broken-hearted by their 1-0 defeat in El Clasico at the end of November. Los Blancos felt that their ‘brave’ attacking approach to the game wasn’t rewarded with at least a point.

However, they made it clear that losing to Barcelona at the Camp Nou was not an obstacle to their title aspirations.

The Blaugrana haven’t lost since then but so did Real Madrid. Marcelo on the left, Cristiano Ronaldo in the middle, and Mahamadou Diarra on the right, celebrate as Real Madrid hit 5 in their 6-0 thrashing of Real Zaragoza

They kept the pace and picked up maximum points by winning thrice on the trot.

Those victories included a five-goal thriller against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium which saw Gonzalo Higuain and Ezekiel Garay stepping up as the heroes of the game in replacement of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the last game of the year 2009, Real Madrid trounced Real Zaragoza 6-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

This result saw them equalling Barcelona’s goal difference and to close the gap once more to two points at the top of the Spanish La Liga table.

Osasuna’s expectations

Ahead of the game, there is only one aim for both of these teams: it is to kick start the year 2010 with a vital win.

The match might be a case of who wants it most. Both coaches will want their players to be focused as they’ll be returning from short holidays.

Sunday’s hosts, Osasuna, are placed 12th in the table and still far away from qualifying for Europe next season. But they presently look safe and sound from the relegation zone.

The pressure to beat Florentino Perez’s new Galacticos will therefore not be enormous.

However, the desire to bring such an all-star team will be evident as Osasuna will try and overturn their inconsistent and rather disappointing season so far.

Real Madrid’s expectations

Real Madrid, meanwhile, have no choice but to beat Osasuna as they try to keep up the pace with their rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga standings.

Los Blancos are gaining much more confidence as the season goes on and as Cristiano Ronaldo continues to assume his duties as the team’s playmaker.

After scoring 16 goals in their last four matches in all competition, Real Madrid are eager to maintain their goal scoring form which might lead them to cup success.

The Spanish giants endured tough moments during the months of October and November with the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo through injury. They suffered a shocking early exit in the Copa del Rey and lost against AC Milan in the Champions League, and against Sevilla in La Liga.

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini walking on the pitch with his players during training.At a point, it looked like Manuel Pellegrini’s men were a one-man team running out of ideas and missing the goodness of luck.

But things have looked better for Real Madrid statistically since the return of Cristiano Ronaldo. The team insists that more playing time will glue all the players together on the pitch as Real Madrid will grow in strength.

As La Liga re-opens this weekend, the Spanish giants will want to send out a strong message to Barcelona by clinching their fourth consecutive victory in the campaign since their 1-0 defeat in El Clasico.

Real Madrid have made it clear that winning the Champions League was their priority, but this doesn’t mean that their intentions of claiming another La Liga title are dead.

The race is still on and table statistics explain that Real Madrid will go on top La Liga standings again should Barcelona fail to beat Manuel Pellegrini’s former club Villarreal on Saturday.