'Worried' Mourinho Hopes for Home Comfort
Ahead of Saturday's visit of Rayo Vallecano, Jose Mourinho has admitted he is "worried" by Real Madrid's form and says they cannot afford to drop any more points cheaply.
Since a 4-2 victory over Getafe in their last outing at the Bernabeu, Real have suffered on their travels, slumping to defeat at Levante before a goalless draw at Racing Santander left them five points off the lead held by Real Betis.
"It's less worrying to draw a match in which you're the only side that tries to play and win," said Mourinho after Wednesday's match in Santander.
"But we've dropped five points in two away games and that is worrying. We've scored one goal in our last three games and we must return to normality by scoring and winning on Saturday."
Portuguese internationals Pepe and Fabio Coentrao will be missing for Real, having both picked up muscular injuries in the shock 1-0 defeat by Levante, while Ricardo Carvalho and new signing Nuri Sahin are also unavailable.
Rayo Vallecano have had a mixed start on their return to La Liga.
Having opened the campaign with draws against Real Zaragoza and Athletic Bilbao, Rayo's 1-0 victory at Getafe last weekend was followed by a 2-1 home defeat in mid-week against Levante.
Fortunately for Mourinho, Barcelona are not yet firing on all cylinders either and lead Real by just a point after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 at second-placed Valencia on Wednesday.
The Catalans were majestic in their 8-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon last weekend, but they were indebted to a late equalizer from Cesc Fabregas at the Mestalla in mid-week.
After the game, which has left Barca four points off the top, coach Pep Guardiola was once again drawn into a debate over the so-called 'League of Two'.
"Despite what they say or think about the people who manage the game, sportsmen always turn up," he said.
"All players want to compete and win and that is what Valencia showed."
Barcelona host a resurgent Atletico Madrid on Saturday and will hope to have Gerard Pique available after the Spain center-back returned to full training on Monday following a calf injury.
Attacking midfielders Andres Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez have trained alone all week, however, and are not expected to return in time for Saturday.
Meanwhile, Atletico will arrive fresh from a brace of 4-0 victories at home to Racing Santander and Sporting Gijon, the goals of new signing Radamel Falcao having turned around their early-season form.
On Wednesday against Sporting he scored twice and had a hand in the other goals, on the back of a hat-trick last Sunday, prompting coach Gregorio Manzano to claim: "He is on his way to rubbing shoulders with Ronaldo and Messi."
Saturday's other big game sees Sevilla entertain Valencia, as both teams bid to extend their unbeaten records and prove their readiness to crash the Barca-Real duopoly.