La Liga Preview: Can Wobbling Barcelona and Real Madrid Get Back on Track?

Even during the humdrum of an international break that typically serves as a 10-day cure for football-mad insomniacs the world over, when the frenzy is meant to subside, the worlds of Barcelona and Real Madrid still managed to make enough noise to keep everyone wired, as is their wish. Who said silence was golden? 

Over in Spain's north-east, Luis Enrique spent the break looking for a dressing-room mole, according to Sport's Javier Miguel, after Mundo Deportivo published a leaked document detailing Barcelona tactical strategies at set pieces. For what it's worth, we reckon the CSI-style sunglasses would suit Lucho rather well.

Gerard Pique also got himself in a storm for having the temerity to be Gerard Pique. How dare he. (What Pique gets put through is ridiculous, but that's a discussion for another time.)

The action was just as busy back in the capital. Having had them delayed previously, Real Madrid announced the plans to revamp the Santiago Bernabeu have been approved, following an agreement with the Madrid City Council. The design looks a bit like a shiny sewing-machine pedal.

Elsewhere, Toni Kroos committed the rest of his days to Madrid by signing a contract that will see him earn a small island a week, while Zinedine Zidane spent the break telling RMC that his sacking is inevitable. He's right, too. 

When it came to actual football, unrest was the key theme. As the Barcelona and Real Madrid contingents joined up with the Spain squad, AS put together a nice collection of them all looking "glum" upon arrival. That might have been due to the fact that a camera follows them everywhere, but it's worth remembering both clubs are coming off dropped points as the action resumes this week. That's rather rare. 

On Saturday afternoon, Barcelona tackle Deportivo La Coruna at the Camp Nou following a 4-3 defeat to Celta Vigo. It's a straightforward-looking fixture on paper, particularly when you remember the Catalans won 8-0 in the last meeting between the clubs. But the Galicians have taken a point in both of their last two trips to Barcelona, the first of those seeing them memorably escape relegation on the final day two seasons ago. 

The Catalans have a few headaches, too. Full-backs Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto are both injured, meaning Lucho might have to turn to Aleix Vidal—whom he likes so much. There are also doubts over the readiness of the returning Lionel Messi and Samuel Umtiti, and the looming clash with Manchester City on Wednesday will have to be kept in mind when it comes to rotation. 

But it's not all bad. After a performance against Celta riddled with everything from the disastrous to the comical, in which Marc-Andre ter Stegen experimented with a new form of trauma delivery, Luis Enrique can be confident that it's almost impossible for his side to be that bad again.

"We didn't win any of our individual battles in the first half," he said that night in Vigo. "We didn't attack into space, we weren't well-positioned, we didn't have control of the game and we didn't play with any fluidity." Other than all that, they were just fine. 

Encouragingly for Barcelona, no one has yet made the mistake Real Madrid's Danilo did. After his side's draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, the Brazilian asserted that "Eibar will pay for it this weekend." As Madrid slept through the afternoon in question, the only thing Eibar paid for was some champagne and a bubble bath to celebrate a first point at the Bernabeu. 

Depor might not have been similarly wound up, but they will arrive as a tough nut to crack. After seven games, the men from Riazor own the third-best defensive record in the league behind Atletico Madrid and Villarreal. That's in part due to a gentle schedule to this point, but also to the continuity at the back between the likes of Sidnei, Fernando Navarro and Juanfran. Raul Albentosa also looks like an excellent summer buy. 

Can they cause Barca some trouble the other way? It will help that the Catalans might be forced to field a bit of a makeshift defence, but Depor's record of five goals in seven games won't unnerve even the most neurotic Barcelona fans. Marquee signing Florin Andone is yet to get going, and the loss of Lucas Perez to Arsenal hurts.  

Depor aren't the only ones wanting more up front, either. When Real Betis manager Gus Poyet was asked the obligatory Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo question by Marca this week ahead of the showdown with Real Madrid on Saturday night, he said his team right now needs a Luis Suarez more. 

By some, it was interpreted as a dig at his own striking options. In a 4-3-3, Poyet has been using leading striker Ruben Castro on the left flank, seemingly following the example set by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool in marginalising his most natural scorer. Poyet doesn't have Sadio Mane, Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, though.

What he's got instead is a Liga rookie in Alex Alegria and a 35-year-old Joaquin. With the latter on the right, a former star who's lost the dynamism, Poyet is using wingers with a combined age of 70. At least he's got his wish of not playing on Friday, though. It's back to that next week. 

Joining Betis in Seville will be a Real Madrid side coming off four consecutive draws, three of them in the league. It's a run that has prompted crisis talk among those surrounding the club, which even if predictable is rather absurd. Madrid have lost one league game this calendar year. 

Still, Zidane does have his concerns. Both Ronaldo and Karim Benzema don't yet look anywhere near 100 per cent, and the injuries to Casemiro and Luka Modric have upset the side's structure. Or more accurately, without that pair, there isn't one. 

Just as troubling is Madrid's habit for starting games with Arsene Wenger's famous handbrake on. "We're struggling to get going at the start of games," Zidane told Radio Montecarlo (h/t AS) during the break. "We're looking for a solution. Right now it's difficult. I need to fix the problem. I think the problem is psychological, not physical."

What might help is the Jamie Vardy pre-match routine. In the Leicester City striker's new book, Jamie Vardy: From Nowhere, My Story, being serialised by the Sun, he admits to having a double espresso and three Red Bulls before each game so he can "run around like a nutjob."

Admittedly, running around like that isn't always productive. Sergio Ramos has shown that consistently this season. The Madrid captain has already given away four penalties in all competitions for club and country and has maintained the sort of connection with his partner that you see after the family lawyers step in. His injury that will keep him out on Saturday could be the classic blessing in disguise.

Not to Be Missed

• There may be a lot of Basque derbies this season, but Sunday features the Basque derby. Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sociedad at San Mames should be a lot of fun as it always is—the ferocity of the contest is set against the unusual backdrop of friendliness in the stands, where fans from the two clubs sit among each other. Athletic will go in as favourites, but La Real haven't yet lost at the new San Mames and are undefeated in their last four trips to Bilbao overall. 

• At least Cesare Prandelli seems to know what he's signed up for. "Everyone has told me how passionate [they are here], how difficult [the job is], the most difficult position in Spain, and that is why I accepted," the fifth Valencia boss in 10 months told Marca last week (h/t ESPN FC's Adriana Garcia), looking ahead to his task that begins with a long journey north to tackle Sporting Gijon on Sunday. Prandelli added that Claudio Ranieri recommended he take the position. What a horrible bastard Ranieri is.

• Sevilla are away on Saturday, and you know what that means: We can wheel out their bonkers record once more (zero wins in their last 22 away trips in the league, and counting) and be relatively safe in the knowledge they'll find a way to cock it up on the road again, this time against Leganes. 

• After a slow start and some uneasy sensations, Atletico Madrid are starting to look good. Really good. We fancy them to bulldoze Granada. 

• Keep an eye on Sandro Ramirez's progression at Malaga. 

• Villarreal vs. Celta Vigo late on Sunday won't grab much attention, but it should. Crisp in style and neat in possession, these sides are routinely a joy to watch, and away from the Real Madrid-Barcelona circus, they encapsulate much of the essence of Spanish football between them. 

Follow @TimDCollins