Real face final rehearsal before PSG showdown

Just days before Paris Saint-Germain touch down in the Spanish capital,Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid have the chance to boost their fragileconfidence when they face Real Sociedad in La Liga today. The reigningEuropean champions have been shipping a worrying number of goals in thebuild-up to their Champions League last-16 showdown with the likes ofNeymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe.Zidane’s side have kept just one clean sheet in their last eightoutings, and they could pay a heavy price for any goals conceded againstthe French giants in next Wednesday’s match at the Santiago Bernabeu.“It shows that we need to work even harder. That’s football — whoeveryour opponents they are there to make things difficult for you,” saidZidane after last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw at Levante.That result left Madrid fourth in the table, a point behind Valencia inthird but with a game in hand. Real Sociedad lie in the lower half ofthe table but they score goals for fun — witness a 5-0 win overDeportivo La Coruna last weekend.They also have one of the worst defensive records in Spain, so CristianoRonaldo — who turned 33 this week — will hope to fill his boots alongwith Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Zidane’s side are still 19 pointsbehind leaders Barcelona, who remain unbeaten, but the Frenchman refusesto completely give up on a successful La Liga title defence, publiclyat least.“The league is not over. There are a lot of points to play for, but wedropped two in a game we were controlling,” he said of last week’s game,when Levante twice came from behind to draw. “We needed to make itthree straight wins and we couldn’t do it.”Barcelona have what looks like a straightforward home meeting withmid-table Getafe tomorrow, fresh from securing their place in the Copadel Rey final by beating Valencia on Thursday. The Catalans do not faceChelsea in their Champions League last-16 tie until February 20 so canfocus on further consolidating their nine-point lead over AtleticoMadrid at the summit of La Liga. Atletico visit bottom club Malagatoday, while third-placed Valencia host local rivals Levante todayhaving suffered six consecutive losses in all competitions. The former Dutch international, and ex-Real Madrid midfielder, ClarenceSeedorf, will take charge of Deportivo for the first time when they takeon Real Betis at Riazor on Monday. Seedorf was appointed by theGalician side at the beginning of this week after Cristobal Parralo wassacked in the wake of the 5-0 defeat at Anoeta that left the club in therelegation zone. Seedorf, 41, is Depor’s third coach of the season — he has only had twoprevious short and unsuccessful spells as a coach, at AC Milan in 2014and then at Shenzhen in the Chinese second division from July toDecember 2016.There has been scepticism about his appointment, but Seedorf believes acertain rookie coach in La Liga has shown the way to go. “You need tobelieve in young people, in the new generation. Zidane is an example. Hemight have had less experience than me when he started at Madrid andlook what he has done,” he said at his unveiling.Fixtures (all kick-offs GMT)Today: Villarreal v Alaves (1200), Malaga v Atletico (1515), Leganes v Eibar (1730), Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (1945)Tomorrow: Sevilla v Girona (1100), Barcelona v Getafe (1515), Celta Vigo v Espanyol (1730), Valencia v Levante (1945)On Monday: Deportivo v Betis (2000)