Benitez walking the tightrope at troubled Real

Rafa Benitez is just two days away from receiving the judgement of the Estadio Bernabeu about his stormy six-month reign as coach of Real Madrid.
Benitez will not only be judged on how his expensive but stuttering team performs tomorrow against lowly Real Sociedad, but also on how he is personally greeted by the disgruntled madridista fans.
Real president Florentino Perez has reportedly said he will listen to the Bernabeu reaction before deciding whether to sack him. 10 days ago, before the home match against Rayo Vallecano, there was a cacophony of jeers when Benitez’ face flashed up on the screen ahead of the march.
The 10-2 win - which left Real in third place, two points behind joint leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid - has done nothing to improve the image of the unpopular coach.
Online polls taken by the AS and Marca sports papers show almost 70 per cent of readers wanting to see the back of Benitez. Reserve team coach Zinedine Zidane appears to be the favourite replacement, ahead of Jose Mourinho.
The two dailies said that the Real captains - Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe - have asked Perez to bring in Zidane as soon as possible.
Ramos, Marcelo and Toni Kroos are doubtful for the clash with Sociedad who in 14th place are just two points above the relegation zone.
“We are really looking forward to the trip to Madrid, we are really motivated for it,” defender Diego Reyes said.
“Anything can happen in football, you never know. We will be up against difficult opponents, but we will be trying to play our normal game and achieve something positive ... It is a good opportunity to show how we have improved in recent weeks.”
Later tomorrow, Atletico will make the short trip south to face struggling Rayo Vallecano.
Diego Simeone’s charges are determined to finish 2015 on a high note, after crashing 1-0 at Malaga 10 days ago.
“We cannot afford to drop any more points at all,” veteran striker Fernando Torres said.
“We need to score more goals, it has to be said. We have scored only 22 in 16 games, and that is clearly not enough.”
In contrast, Real have banged in 42 goals and Barca 36. Torres, 31, has netted only five times since returning to Atletico a year ago.
Also tomorrow, Barca will receive Real Betis, keen to return to winning ways after draws against Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna.  Lionel Messi and company will receive a warm welcome from the Camp Nou after their emphatic triumph at the Club World Cup.
Luis Suarez, who scored five goals in two games in Japan, is second in the Liga scorers’ chart behind teammate Neymar.
Tomorrow’s other games are Levante vs Malaga, Sevilla vs Espanyol, Eibar vs Sporting Gijon, Getafe vs Deportivo Coruna, Celta Vigo vs Athletic Bilbao and Las Palmas vs Granada. The Villarreal-Valencia derby is scheduled for Thursday.