Topics: Osasuna, Real Madrid, La Liga
Real Madrid’s players and fans can be all smiles now. Rivals Barcelona won’t step at the Santiago Bernabeu come May 22 as they have been knocked out from the Champions League by Inter Milan. But as La Liga draws closer to its end, Los Blancos cannot afford to have their heads elsewhere.

Real Madrid players determined to fight.Coach Manuel Pellegrini has urged his men to concentrate on their own business. The mission here is to win all the matches that are left to be played in the league. This weekend, Real Madrid will pass a test at home to Osasuna which marks the first of their 'four finals' remaining. The match will kick off at 18:00 UK time on Sunday to be precise.

Both teams drew goalless in January 2010. The cold weather conditions came much to Real Madrid’s displeasure. Their play was well below the standard that spectators wished for and the least chances they had were disappointingly blown away. In other words, Real Madrid’s performance on that day wasn’t worth the three points. Meanwhile, pundits had tipped Los Blancos to cruise to victory so as to take advantage of Barcelona’s slip against Villarreal earlier on that weekend. Real Madrid will feel they lost a great opportunity there, but now they can’t look at Osasuna with the fear that they are going to drop points again.

 
Osasuna players trying to contain Real Madrid players during a corner.

Manuel Pellegrini will want his men to be courageous and to view that 0-0 draw at the Reyno de Navarra as a perfect lesson and not a missed occasion in their hunt for La Liga title. Real Madrid know exactly how important it is to get maximum points from their last four encounters.
Osasuna may not equal the illustriousness of teams like Sevilla or Valencia. However, they’ll be an even greater threat to the Spanish giants’ title aspiration if they deny them again from stealing all the points. Coach Jose Antonio Camacho expressed his satisfaction concerning his team’s current situation.

Osasuna have no target of qualifying for Europe, so avoiding relegation is their main goal. As they seat 12th and 7 points above 18th placed Tenerife in La Liga standings, Osasuna are surely safe from going down into Spain’s second division. Coach Camacho stated last week:

“What’s important is that we have 39 points. We’re not doing too badly. As of now, we’re on the right track.”

So Osasuna will have nothing to lose at the Santiago Bernabeu but they could have something to give to the home side and the home crowd: anguish and dejection.

Real Madrid’s injuries update

No Christopher Metzelder; the defender has moved to Schalke on a free transfer. Raul and Van der Vaart aren’t in the squad either. Both suffered injuries recently and look set to miss the rest of La Liga’s 2009/10 season. Guti and Lassana Diarra’s inclusion in the roster is yet to be confirmed as both players are still recovering from their muscle problems.

Real Madrid LogoReal Madrid La Liga’s last five results

Apr. 04: Racing Santander 0-2 Real Madrid
Apr. 10: Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona
Apr. 15: Almeria 1-2 Real Madrid
Apr. 18: Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia
Apr. 24: Real Zaragoza 1-2 Real Madrid

Osasuna LogoOsasuna’s La Liga’s last five results

Apr. 04: Valencia 3-0 Osasuna
Apr. 11: Osasuna 2-0 Real Zaragoza
Apr. 14: Osasuna 2-2 Malaga
Apr. 19: Mallorca 2-0 Osasuna
Apr. 26: Osasuna 0-0 Athletic Bilbao

La Liga LogoLa Liga’s Top Five Standings

Barcelona – 87 points, +63
Real Madrid – 86 points, +59
Valencia – 62 points, +16
Mallorca – 56 points, + 15
Sevilla – 54 points, +10