Nivea Football Insight: Real Madrid vs Huesca

There’s nothing quite like a victory in El Clasico to brighten the mood.

Last weekend, Real Madrid heaped further woe on fierce rivals Barcelona with a 3-1 triumph that demonstrated the enduring quality of these footballing giants.

Despite having their early lead pegged back by Ansu Fati, Real responded strongly in the final half an hour.

Sergio Ramos’s 63rd-minute penalty gave them the advantage in front of an empty Nou Camp, before Luka Modric added a third at the death—following excellent work from Rodrygo—to round off a fine win against Ronald Koeman’s side.

Lionel Messi, later so impressive against Juventus, cut a frustrated figure as he was neutralised effectively, while Zinedine Zidane will have every reason to be encouraged by performances from the likes of goalscorer Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos and Raphael Varane.

However, that victory doesn’t entirely settle the ship at Real, who still have much to prove when they host SD Huesca on Saturday.

Real headed into the Clasico on the back of consecutive defeats, and the shock 1-0 triumph by Cadiz at the Bernabeu may well give Huesca hope that they can pull off a similar upset.

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There are also very real defensive frailties for Los Blancos which have yet to truly be addressed by Zidane.

They conceded three in Champions League defeat at home by Shakhtar Donetsk, and again conceded twice away at Borussia Monchengladbach, where Real were only able to take a point in a 2-2 draw.

They’re without a clean sheet since the 2-0 victory at Levante on October 4, having conceded seven goals across their last four matches in all competitions.

Can Huesca, the joint third lowest scorers in La Liga so far this season, extend that troubling run for Real’s backline?

While Los Merengues will be boosted by the fact that their opponents are winless in the top flight this term—the only side along with Real Valladolid who haven’t picked up any points—they must be wary of the fact that Huesca have nonetheless taken five draws from their seven fixtures to date.

There is a resiliency about this side, a nous when it comes to grinding out results, and they will be looking to stymie and neutralise Real when the two sides meet on Saturday.

Zidane will have to make do without defenders Daniel Carvajal and Nacho, with Ferland Mendy an option to come into the side at right-back, while Martin Odegaard is also absent with injury.

Alvaro Odriozola and Mariano are both doubtful, but Eden Hazard could return to contention after overcoming his latest fitness setback.

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Zidane will also have to monitor the fitness of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who has a slight muscular problem, although expect the stopper to start between the sticks.

Encouragingly for Real, they have a blemish-free record against Huesca in the top flight, having won both fixtures between the pair, both of which came during the tumultuous 2018-19 season.

However, that recent defeat by Cadiz—a rarity in that it was the first time in 12 home games against newly promoted teams that Zidane has lost—proves that the domestic giants can come unstuck against plucky minnows with a coherent strategy.

The danger man for the visitors will be Rafa Mir.

Only Karim Benzema, with 22 shots, has had more attempts on goal so far this term than the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee, and his 18 strikes is equal with Messi and Luis Suarez.

It’s heavyweight competition, but can his willingness to have a go at goal translate to points on the board for Huesca this weekend?