Real Madrid face Real Zaragoza in their league fixture, knowing that a victory coupled with Barcelona's defeat against Espanyol will be enough from them to win their first trophy in four years. Fans of the success-hungry club have faced four trophy less seasons during which the club has been managed by three coaches.

The season started badly enough for Madrid and very few believed the team to be in contention for the league title by this time. There were even rumors of Fabio Capello getting the sack after just one season, with names such as Rafa Benitez, Arsene Wenger, Sven Goran-Eriksson and Bernd Schuster being bandied around as possible replacements.

However the former Juventus manager put his head down and worked hard to turn things around for the club. Getting dumped out of the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich proved to be a blessing in disguise as the players realized the importance of winning trophies.

The turning point of the season came during the 3-3 draw against champions and arch-rivals Barcelona in a game where Madrid were unlucky to have not won. The team hit a rich vein of form after that match and has won 9 of their 10 games so far with important victories against Sevilla, Valencia, Espanyol and Recreativo Huelva.

With the recall of David Beckham into the team and the form of striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who has scored 23 goals, saw Real Madrid slowly consolidate their position in the league and aim for a late charge on the league title.

Capello's men will be looking to win both their remaining games against Zaragoza and Mallorca in order to keep their destiny in their own hands. Madrid has tasted victory against Zaragoza in the league early this year, but will have to be careful of getting complacent. Capello has his whole squad fit for the tie with no injuries and suspensions.

With the team likely to dump out non-performers and rumors of bringing in players such as Kaka, Thierry Henry, Adriano, Christoph Metzelder, Gabriel Heinze and William Gallas, Capello will be relishing for the start of the next season. 

Meanwhile Real Zaragoza will be fighting hard to book a place in next year’s UEFA Cup and have collected 58 points from 36 matches played, with Villarreal just 2 points behind in seventh place. You can watch live La Liga football with Real Madrid v Real Zaragoza in our member’s area.