Real Madrid are in a killer vein of form. If you overlooked 2 bleak outings and one spectacular performance against Barcelona, we've won all of our last 24 games. Home or away, doesn't matter. Mou's boys have taken care of business regardless of the opposition. There've been some games where the mighty oiled Madridista machine has struggled, like Mallorca away and Malaga at home, where either the whites had to dig deep or Jose had to whip out the ol' hairdryer treatment in the dressing room and the game was won through pure passion. There have been some others where we steamrolled the opposition - like Granada. But this is normal, every team has good games and not-so-good games. What's interesting though, is that the extent to which we play well is usually determined by the performance of one player - you know it already, Xabi Alonso. When he goes missing against Barcelona, we lose. When he struggles to conduct in midfield against Mallorca, we win through pure strength of spirit and determination, literally willing the ball into the net. And when he's on song, we hammer the opposition, even if its the dirty Cules.

You'll remember an earlier post from me where I said our team's loss rate TRIPLES if he isn't on the pitch. Thankfully, he's played 87% of all possible minutes for us this season, only behind Ronaldo and Casillas. Unfortunately, our talismanic midfielder took a knock against Real Zaragoza. When he was substituted on the hour mark, he dashed straight for the dressing rooms. The diagnosis from his agent is that it is a minor injury, but will keep him out of the game against Getafe next weekend. I can't think of a good time for Xabi to be injured except when he's retired, but this injury comes at an especially critical time for us.

Los Blancos face a very tricky away trip to Getafe this week, where keeping that 7 point lead intact will be paramount. Sadly, Getafe isn't a team to play a very open game, so Alonso's incisive and intelligent passing game will be sorely missed, and if someone doesn't step up to the plate and do his job, we may well see our precious lead cut in half. So who can step in?

Nuri Sahin was brought in for precisely this job, but after not seeing him even once in this new year, it seems like  his Spanish is the only thing that's getting better. More often than not, the fiery turk finds himself left in the stands as the Merengues take to the pitch. He may have been voted the Bundesliga's best player, and he may claim to be one determined little man, but these promises need to turn into results soon, or else he might find himself in Florentino's very ostentatious shop window.

On the other hand, we have our own Esteban Granero, whose game is a home-brew of Madridismo, simplicity, and tenacity. With one foot already out of the door towards Betis before Khedira got injured, Granero has been having a renaissance of sorts under Mourinho. In a new position as a defensive pivote, he has impressed more every time he's been given a run out, most memorably last weekend, when he made 2 of the 3 goals in Real Madrid's remontada against Zaragoza. He seems to be doing all the things that Sahin is not - working hard, keeping it simple, and knowing his limitations. The problem is, the Pirata, as they call him, has never played without Xabi. Always along side him. How will he adapt to this new role in a must-win game against Getafe?

Who would you play? Is this Sahin's chance to shine? Or should we trust Granero? Or slot in Kaka!?