Real Madrid vs. Elche, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on TSN+
Real Madrid is flying high right now after a midweek thrashing of Manchester City, but manager Alvaro Arbeloa wants to make sure there's no crash landing on Saturday. Following their Champions League victory in the first leg of the Round of 16, Los Blancos return to La Liga action on Saturday with a visit from Elche. The danger of a Champions League hangover must be avoided.
Things at the Bernabeu couldn't have gone much better for the hosts on Wednesday. Real thoroughly outplayed Pep Guardiola's side and got a sensational hat-trick from the excellent Fede Valverde in the 3-0 win. If there was anything to grouse about from the performance it was that Vini Jr. failed to make it 4-0 late on when his penalty was stopped by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Instead of a letdown from Wednesday, Arbeloa hopes to use the victory as a springboard against Elche.
"We approach it with the mindset that we are playing for the La Liga," the World Cup-winning former defender said of Saturday's match. "We know it is a very important match at our stadium. We want an atmosphere very similar to the one we had last Wednesday. We are also aware of the team we will face, they play better than the points they have and made things difficult for us in the first leg. We are prepared to make an extra effort after the Champions League match, staying very focused and motivated knowing the difficulty of the game."
Elche's Desperate Situation
If Elche isn't already playing desperate football, it will be imminently. With 11 matches remaining on the schedule, Los Franjiverdes sit in 17th, just a single point above the drop zone. The biggest issue, though, is their current form. Elche was last victorious on Dec. 21 when they thrashed Rayo Vallecano, 4-0. Since then, Elche is on a 10-match winless run in league play and has only picked up four points in that stretch.
On the road this season, Elche is winless and has lost 10 of 13 matches away from home, including last week's 2-1 defeat to Villarreal.
"Away from home has cost us more [this season], but maybe Saturday is the day when we change the dynamics," the former Barcelona assistant said. "It's one of the best teams in the world and we'll have to play a perfect match, but football is so wonderful that it allows us to believe."
Arbeloa Focused on Elche
Trailing leaders Barca by four points heading into the weekend's action, Arbeloa says he won't be taking his foot off the gas against Elche even with the return leg at the Etihad looming on Tuesday.
"We will field the best team possible to beat Elche," Arbeloa said. "I have no doubt. I am not thinking about anything other than tomorrow's match. The players need to give their all and go home exhausted after each match, recover, and be ready for the next one. That is their job. It is a very demanding job, not an easy one, which is why they are here, because they are Real Madrid players. They must be capable of giving their best version every three days and be ready to run, fight, and work again as they did on Wednesday."
Mbappé Update
As for Kylian Mbappé, the France superstar won't feature on Saturday, but he's getting closer to a return.
"I think he is getting better every day," Arbeloa said on Friday. "The progress he is making follows the plan we set when we decided to pause, after conducting all the tests with the medical services and the physical preparation department. It is clear that it also depended a lot on his daily progress, but I see him doing very well. He will not be available [Saturday], but we are optimistic about his recovery."