Alex Kirkland

In theory, a very winnable game at home.

But we've heard whistles from the crowd at the Bernabeu in the last few weeks for Xabi Alonso's team.

That was part of the sort of deteriorating kind of situation around him that ended in him losing his job.

How will the crowd react to this team now, having just lost the Supercopa final, knocked out of the Copa del Rey?

There was some sort of disagreement and debate about those previous whistles.

Were they aimed at the players?

Were they aimed at the manager?

It's really the players in the spotlight now because the manager's gone.

He's out.

Alvaro Albaloa has come in.

The players are in the spotlight now.

And, of course, the boss, the president, Florentino Perez, as well, who's made the decision.

to sack Xabi Alonso, despite the sort of presentation of that as being by mutual agreement, and bring in Arbeloa.

And this first game has been a disaster.

So I think it's going to be really interesting how the crowd reacts on Saturday and how the team play.

And yeah, Arbeloa, again, just has a couple of training sessions before that game.

Not much time.

Let's see how many of those players who've been rested tonight

are rested sufficiently to come back in for that game.

Quite a few of them, I think, will be.