Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says he will sleep well ahead of Saturday's huge La Liga Clasico at Barcelona's Camp Nou.
Madrid go into the game in third place in the table, a full 10 points adrift of leaders Barca in the Primera Division table, and with the team's performances not having improved significantly since Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez as coach last January.
The last five Blancos managers have lost their first Clasico in charge -- including November's 4-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu with Benitez on the bench and the 5-0 at the Camp Nou in November 2010 when in Jose Mourinho's first game as boss.
Asked at the pre-game news conference if he was concerned about what might happen in his own debut on the bench in the world's biggest domestic club fixture, the former Galactico player said he was not at all worried and plans to enjoy the game tomorrow.
"Tonight I will sleep peacefully," Zidane said. "That's the truth. It's a football game. We must remember that and enjoy it -- to play against good players and test yourself against Barca. I will sleep same as always. I will enjoy tomorrow my first Barca vs. Madrid as a coach. I want to enjoy it."
Saturday marks 10 years and one day since Zidane's last game against Barcelona as a player, a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou. The Frenchman also famously had some run-ins with Luis Enrique during their time as players, including the infamous clash at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in April 2003.
Asked for his memories of the now-Blaugrana coach, Zidane laughed away the question.
"What are you referring to?" he said with a smile. "That can happen sometimes on the pitch, but it is forgotten long ago. For a player, the Clasico is the most beautiful that exists in football. Now I will experience it as a coach, for the first time. I am very happy about that."
The Galactico coach was less happy when it was suggested that the game could be seen as a chance to avenge the embarrassing 0-4 from earlier in the season when he was still coaching Madrid's B team.
"We have not spoken about that," Zidane said. "They know perfectly well what happened. But now we are just thinking about tomorrow, another game. All games are different. Revenge -- no, it's just a game we want to win. It's not an exam for us. We are on a good run, have been playing well lately. It's a good game of football, which the fans want to see, and I want to see my team playing as they have been doing. We must keep improving as a team. There is a lot of personality in this team."
Barcelona have won all three Clasicos in which Madrid's 'BBC' strikeforce of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo have all started -- but Zidane denied that loading his team with attacking superstars was handing their opponents an advantage.
"Tomorrow is a game to change that [record]," he said. "Nothing else. And we will try. It will not be easy for [Barca]. It is not easy to beat Real Madrid. I want to see a good game of football, and to see my team winning. On paper maybe it's a different game. But we will not change anything. We will prepare well and start the game strongly."
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is sure to start despite missing some training this week with a back issue, with Raphael Varane sidelined due to a calf muscle problem. Brazilian holding midfielder Casemiro is also expected to be in the XI, with James Rodriguez remaining on the bench.
Some reports have suggested the Bernabeu hierarchy are angry with James for comments made about a lack of support when on international duty last week, but Zidane denied he had any personal problem with the €80 million Colombian.
"Not James, nor anyone else, accepts being on the bench," he said. "I don't know anybody who likes being a substitute. But I must make decisions. We have 22 players and I always put out team I feel best in that moment. But James is fine. He knows he will play with us and is an important player in the team. Most important is that we know he is committed when goes onto the pitch."
As for Varane, Zidane said the injury was beyond his control.
"We cannot control that the player played the second game with an issue," Zidane said. "Now we do not know exactly what the problem is. We know he cannot play for us -- he had a scan this morning. We will see now what he really has. Having two games in short time this can happen."
Given the situation in the Primera Division table Madrid's only real chance of salvaging their season appears to be in Europe, but Zidane denied he was already looking forward to Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Wolfsburg.
"Tomorrow's game is the most important for me," he said. "So we will play tomorrow, and then see about Wednesday. I will put out the team I see best for tomorrow's game. There can always be rotations, until the end of the season. The important thing is to do things as we have been doing recently, and to keep this up. We will then see at the end. But something positive will happen."