SATURDAY

Las Palmas 2 - Real Madrid 2 

Before the Match 

Las Palmas look to knock Madrid off perch in Canary Islands

And now the tactical chickens have come home to roost for Real Madrid.

Ever since it became clear that Zinedine Zidane valued the combative Casemiro in midfield light years ahead of the significantly shinier James Rodriguez, it seemed perplexing and peculiar that Real Madrid did not push harder over the summer to secure a back-up to the Brazilian.  

Whilst plenty of newspaper and TV graphics displayed the double-dipped Real Madrid with cover in every position, Casemiro stood alone. It was no coincidence that a key player in Real Madrid’s run of 16 straight league victories was absent during the Bernabeu draw against Villarreal on Wednesday, to leave the record unbroken.

The absence could last up to a month continuing with Saturday’s visit to the Canary Islands to take on Las Palmas, a team who have started the campaign brightly and pushed Real Madrid all the way in this fixture back in March when Real Madrid needed a late winner from…Casemiro. It’s like rain on your wedding day.

SUNDAY

Marc Marquez Wins Aragon MotoGP

Before the race:

King of consistency looks to increase lead in Aragon

While the Moto GP has thrown up an extraordinary number of individual race winners, it is the familiar trio of Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo that make up the first three places in the standings going into round 14.

With only five races left in the 2016, there is precious little time for Rossi and Lorenzo to switch places with the Spaniard at the top who has a 43-point lead.

But Marquez has been the most consistent in an incredible summer that has seven different winners of the past seven races with the standings-leader only winning one of those. “You always want to push and win, but sometimes it's not possible. Here we want to be on the podium as a minimum.”

As well as the three leather-clad legends of the present out on the track, Aragon will feature a leather-clad legend of the past with 2006 winner, Nicky Hayden, taking a break from Superbikes to cover for the injured Jack Miller. “I’d probably be riding motorbikes anyway and I would definitely be watching the race on TV, so I might as well show up and have some fun,” said the Kentucky Kid ahead of the race.

Fiorentina 0 - AC Milan 0 

Before the Match:

A Sunday sizzler in Serie A between two league legends

Sunday is a day to put a pizza in the oven, break open a bottle of red wine and shout exuberantly to your neighbors whilst flapping your arms about as it is time to live and breathe Italy in one of the most historic games in the Serie A calendar, the 153rd meeting in Serie A in actual fact.

The game is likely to be a curious affair with a Fiorentina side build on a sturdy defense that has only conceded four up against a Milan team that is currently relying almost entirely on hot as fire shooting boots of Carlos Bacca who has netted five league goals this season, with a ruthless precision rate of a strike for every two shots on target.

However, neither of these greats of the Italian game have yet to really get going this season, but Sunday’s encounter in Firenze, could be a chance to put some heat into their pizza ovens of passion.