Judgement day for Mourinho in the Bernabeu

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho knows that his side needs a win this Saturday if talks of crisis are to disappear from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Real Madrid have suffered a disastrous week with a defeat away to Levante last Sunday followed by a 0-0 draw against a Racing Santander side that has very limited resources. The results mean that Real Madrid have dropped five points that could mean the difference between winning the title or not at the end of the campaign. Just as worryingly for Mourinho, for the first time in his time in charge at Real Madrid, he has been the center of the criticism from a normally subservient pro-Madrid press. Mourinho has been criticised for insisting his players work together to pressure referees, creating a poor image for the club. Meanwhile some think that team talks have been more about how to influence officials rather than on-field playing tactics. The Madrid coach was also castigated for his decision to publicly single out midfielder Sami Khedira following the Levante game. Mourinho implied Khedira's red card had cost his side the defeat. There are also rumors of divisions in the dressing room with the Spanish players, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso unhappy at Mourinho's tactics and unhappy at the way he seems to favor players such as Fabio Coentrao and Ricardo Carvalho while others such as Raul Albiol and Esteban Granero appear to have been ostracized. Real Madrid entertain Madrid based Rayo Vallecano on Saturday night. Rayo are one of the poorest teams in the BBVA Primera Liga, but are well organized by coach Jose Ramon Sandoval and have shown they are hard to beat away from home. Rayo will travel to the Bernabeu and look to keep the game tight in midfield and defense, knowing that the longer they can keep players such as Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring, the more impatient Madrid fans will become. If Madrid have not taken the lead in the opening half and hour, there will probably be boos and catcalls against the team and that will put Mourinho in the eye of a storm. Real Madrid are without injured quartet of Pepe, Fabio Coentrao, Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop, while Carvalho is a doubt after receiving a blow on his head in Santander. Khedira is available after suspension, but whether or not Mourinho returns him to the side after his criticism last weekend, is just another topic of interest ahead of the game.