Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has dismissed their critics.
Apart from their win at Sevilla in September, Real have looked well below their fluent best, and suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat by Paris St-Germain in Europe.
On the criticism his team has received, Zidane said: "We're not such a bad state as people outside of here say we are.
"This is Real Madrid and we're focused on what we can do out on the pitch because we've now got a game where we can show why we're top.
"We want to make sure we remain top at the final whistle. Tomorrow [Saturday] it's first versus second and that means a lot. We know that we're up against a side that are having a good season, just as we are."