Real Madrid showed their attacking prowess in spades in the Champions League romp over FC Basel on Tuesday night, and now Carlo Ancelotti's side will look to take that same form into the La Liga, where they have struggled considerably this season.
Where to Watch Live
The game is set for an 4 pm local time (7.30 pm IST) start with live coverage on the Star Sports network in India. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India HERE. Catch the action in the UK on Sky Sports 5, with the option to live stream the match online HERE or HERE.
Viewers in the US and Canada can watch the La Liga game on Bein Sports USA and Bein Sports Canada respectively, while the encounter can also be live streamed HERE. Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can catch the action via live streaming HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same HERE.
Having lost their last two La Liga games, Real Madrid find themselves in considerable strife, with just a victory in three matches, which has in turn left them 14th in the table. With Barcelona winning all three of their games, and champions Atletico also looking strong, Real Madrid cannot afford another slip-up when they visit the Riazor to take on Deportivo La Coruna.
"We are not thinking about [the league table]," said Ancelotti. "We have to improve both in terms of our fitness and our tactics. That is the concern. We did things very well against Basel and now is not the time to be worrying ourselves.
"We have be to calm because it is a long season. One thing I'm sure of is that Real Madrid will be in the title race until the very end of the season. I don't understand the concern. We won the European Cup four months ago, after going without the title for a very long time. We have to believe that we have enough quality to do it."
While the 5-1 thumping of Basel did paper over some of the cracks in the Real Madrid side, what is clear is that the Champions League winners are struggling to cope without some of their players from last season.
In Xabi Alonso, they have lost their screener in the middle of the park, and Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have struggled at time to do their defensive jobs.
The 4-2 loss to Real Sociedad a few weeks ago was the perfect example of Real being a little too fragile defensively, with Atletico Madrid also exploiting the team's flaws en route to a 2-1 win last weekend.
Ancelotti needs to shore up the back, which invariably starts from, at least, the midfield, as Deportivo, with a win, a draw and a loss this season, can definitely hurt them.
"We have to carefully consider how we are going to play against each opponent," added Ancelotti. "Deportivo will play with a lot of intensity. That's to be expected. We are used to that.
"It won't be easy given this early stage of the season and we know that we'll have to give it our all against Deportivo".
"We have to improve our level of play and be more consistent. We have lacked a bit of consistency but we believe we will improve and we are doing exactly that now."
