Riazor jinx worries Real
Real Madrid have not won a league game at Deportivo Coruna's stadium in their last 15 attempts and will be out to break that jinx when they travel north in the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday.
The leaders have had a thin time of it at the Riazor since winning 3-0 there in November 1991, and have lost on their last four visits.
Bernd Schuster's side enter the game with a handy eight-point cushion over their closest challengers Barcelona, but have struggled away from the Bernabeu in recent weeks with three defeats from their last four in all competitions.
Depor are two points above the relegation places but have shown signs of a recovery with only one defeat in their last seven league outings.
They beat Sevilla 2-1 at home two weeks ago and came from two down to draw 2-2 with Valencia at the Mestalla last time out.
“We are confident we are going to win. It has been 17 years since Real Madrid won here and it will soon be 18,” said Depor striker Xisco.
Although they are comfortable league leaders with 11 games left, Real have not been impressive of late and are likely to be without striker Ruud van Nistelrooy once again as he struggles to overcome an ankle injury.
Defender Sergio Ramos serves the second game of his two-match suspension.
Barcelona could find themselves 11 points adrift of their arch-rivals before they take to the pitch in Almeria on Sunday.
Having cut a nine-point deficit on Real to just two three weeks ago, Frank Rijkaard's men have to do it all again after consecutive defeats to Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
They will be without the injured Lionel Messi and have doubts over midfielders Deco and Yaya Toure.
Promoted Almeria are riding high in eighth place and claimed Real's scalp with a 2-0 win at the Mediterranean Games stadium last month. They have only conceded once in their last five home games.
An intriguing match-up takes place when King's Cup semifinalists Getafe and Racing Santander meet at the Coliseum on Sunday, for the first of two clashes between the sides in the space of four days.
Michael Laudrup's Getafe, who made the UEFA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday to extend their unbeaten run to 10 in all competitions, hold a 3-1 lead from the home leg of the semifinal. The second leg is in Santander on Wednesday.
At the foot of the table on Saturday, new Real Murcia coach Javier Clemente, whose side are second bottom and eight points from safety, visit 18th-placed Recreativo Huelva who are six points above them, in a real relegation shootout.
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