Karanka: Real deserve to be champions

Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka believes his players have already shown that they deserve to be crowned champions at the end of season.

La Liga leaders Madrid host relegation candidates Sporting Gijon on Saturday hoping to extend their lead over rivals Barcelona to seven points before the Catalans play their match at Levante later in the day.

Madrid are in the midst of a patchy run of form which has seen their 10 point lead over Barca cut to just four ahead of this weekend's fixtures.

As a result, Karanka is under no illusions of the importance of maintaining at least a four point cushion at the top with El Clasico looming large in a week's time.

"These [Real Madrid] players deserve to be champions because of their hard work and the adversity they are overcoming," Karanka told reporters at a press conference.

"We cannot fail against Sporting. It will be a very important match with a lot at stake for us. Taking three points will be vital.

"They defeated us at the Bernabeu last season and they are a dangerous opponent. A draw will not be enough for them because they need three points to avoid relegation. They will go all out for the match and that will make them dangerous. The match is of paramount importance and we won't use rotations. We didn't win our last home game and we have to win tomorrow [Saturday]."

So curcial could Saturday's game with Gijon be for Madrid's title hopes, that the league leaders are willing to risk star player Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese is one yellow card away from an automatic suspension which would rule him out of next week's encounter with Barca.

"Cristiano Ronaldo has been in risk of seeing a fifth booking for two months and still hasn't," Karanka said.

"He always wants to play and tomorrow is no excepotion. He is intelligent and a player should never be afraid of being booked. There's no problem.

"The fight isn't between Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, but rather between two sides that want to win the title. Cristiano Ronaldo proves he is the best player in the world in every match. We are all aware of how important he is on the team."

Ronaldo has scored 40 league goals for Real this season.