Real Madrid vs Sporting Gijon - Match Preview

...And breathe. A Cristiano Ronaldo ran display at the Vicente Calderon in midweek has helped Real Madrid back to a 4 point advantage over Barcelona, which they can extent to 7 points this evening if they do the, supposed, routine task of beating Sporting Gijon at home. This would put the pressure back on Barcelona for a little while, and they deserve some, they haven€™t had any in weeks. However Sporting Gijon won€™t go down without a fight as they have their own problems to deal with, being 7 points adrift of safety and second from bottom, they need to go out believing they can win, and more importantly, actually win if they want any hope of staying up this season. Whether that€™s feasible or not, it€™s hard to tell as they will be playing a Madrid side with renewed vigour and can break teams down if Sporting go in to defend, and counter attack with venom if Sporting go out for the win. Sporting must be hoping for the pressure of the title race to get the better of Madrid tonight if they want all three points from the Bernabeu.

Team News:

Marcelo returns from injury for Madrid, although Coentrao is likely to retain his starting place as Mourinho keeps his eye on the midweek fixture against Bayern. Xabi Alonso is suspended, Nuri Sahin is the most likely to take his place in the centre of midfield. Sporting€™s injury problems run deeper as Orfila is unlikely to feature as well as Gregory, Carmel, Eguren and Mendy all missing out. Defender, Moises, could make his first team debut against one of the most prolific strike forces in history...No pressure.

Prediction:

Real Madrid 5 €“ 0 Sporting Gijon At the end of the day I think Madrid will have far too much going forward for a Gijon team who are probably looking to take points from other matches.