He'll find out if Cristiano Ronaldo is in the starting line-up - and he almost definitely will be - but only after events unfold at the Bernabeu will he discover if his team faces the all-guns-blazing version who tore up the Premier League for Manchester United and then raced to his half century of goals at Real Madrid in as many games, or the slightly burnt-out version forced to sit out five of his last seven matches while being taken off in the other two.
The main man: Real have growing fears over the condition of Cristiano Ronaldo
? ??More from Pete Jenson...?Game in Spain: Unfinished business pits Real against Jose's suitors 24/03/11?Game in Spain: Is Ali Syed a sugar daddy or serial fraudster?17/03/11?Game in Spain: Raul may have snubbed Man United but is there an unlikely trip to Old Trafford ahead?10/03/11?Game in Spain: Mourinho mayhem at Madrid more exciting than title race04/03/11?Game in Spain: Toral gives Barca another reason for revenge24/02/11?Game in Spain: Special One Mourinho offers Real European reminder18/02/11?Game in Spain: New deal couldn't have come at a more poignant time for Pep 11/02/11?Game in Spain: Who is Pedro? He's Barcelona's brilliant Mr Nobody03/02/11?VIEW FULL ARCHIVEViews differ in the Spanish capital with some of Madrid's supporters fearing their most important player was overloaded with games in the first half of the campaign and is now paying the price.
When he left the field in the 77th minute of Real Madrid's win over Malaga in February - having scored a hat-trick - it was the first league minutes of the season he had lost.
He was the last player in the league to have played every second of every game for his side and had already clocked up more playing time than during the whole of last season.
The muscular problem in his left thigh that forced him out of Portugal's recent international friendlies has also left him a doubt for Saturday's clash with Sporting Gijon but not everyone at Real Madrid is panicking.
Some argue that to believe Jose Mourinho has flogged his thoroughbred like a carthorse, leaving him with nothing left for the final furlongs of the season is to completely ignore six titles and two European cups won by knowing exactly how to pace his squad over the course of a season.
Ronaldo has missed missable games - matches against relegation threatened Racing Santander and bottom club Hercules, plus Portugual's friendlies against Chile and Finland.
If he sits out Saturday's (again, on paper, straightforward) home game with Sporting, then it will be more a case of having him coiled up ready to spring into action on Tuesday than having him convalescing on the brink of having to call it quits on the season. The latter theory fits with an overall attempt by Mourinho to take the pressure off his talisman.
Real Madrid's most vocal supporters refer to the former Manchester United striker as 'Animal' in honour of that physique, but Mourinho wants the super-hero expectations lowered.
He has constantly steered him away from controversy, famously shushing him in his last appearance against Atletico Madrid when Ronaldo continued arguing with the referee after Real had scored. With an index finger to the lips the message was 'concentrate on your game, not the referee's'.?
Hush, hush: Jose Mourinho tells Ronaldo to shut it at Atletico Madrid
Ronaldo was subjected to vile abuse from some Atletico fans during that match but Mourinho played the down the chants of 'die Ronaldo die' afterwards, again trying to keep the spotlight off his star performer.
And when Mourinho was questioned about Ronaldo not scoring during four consecutive league matches recently - his worse run to date in the white shirt - he simply said: 'If he doesn't score another goal until the end of May he will still have have had an incredible season.'
'"Madrid can't depend on one player alone,' said Ronaldo after the team excelled recently in his absence. You get the feeling that has been the message drilled into him by his coach.
'I'm not obsessed with the 38-goal record. I want to win things,' he said of his chances of smashing Hugo Sanchez's best ever one-season tally. That too suggested he is also learning to take the pressure off of himself.
And there were even words of praise for rivals Barcelona recently when asked if Leo Messi wasn't being made to look good by his team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
Favourite: Real fans adore their 'Animal'
It was 'Ronaldo v Messi' bait but he didn't bite answering: "Messi knows how important his team-mates are. They've won the World Cup and European Championship. Messi is a phenomenon but Xavi and Iniesta are perhaps Barcelona's most importantplayers right now.'
The Ronaldo-calming operation has taken place quietly but consistently over the course of the season. Gerard Pique has even taken him off the front page of the gossip magazines with his celebrity girlfriend Shakira.
What remains to be seen is if his recent workload reduction has all be part of the masterplan to take the pressure off him and allow him to concentrate on the most important business of winning trophies, or if he really is feeling the strain of carrying the team the first half of this season and all of last.
'I felt limited physically, I was not right and I want to get back to being 100 per cent,' he said after his last frustrating outing against Atletico Madrid. 'When I am injured it goes around in my head and I don't want it to end up affecting me psychologically.'
Burnt out or still very much on fire? The two games against Tottenham, not to mention two against Barcelona in the space of 14 days, will answer the question.
?Jose Mourinho doesn't need any help with team-talks but Barcelona president Sandro Rosell thought he would lend him a hand anyway.
'We will beat them 5-0 so as not to get out of the habit,' he said of the upcoming Real Madrid Barcelona cup final.
You could almost hear Pep Guardiola's head hit the nearest wall - easy for Rosell to say.
Please, stop: Pep Guardiola's plans have not been aided by Sandro Rosell
For a long time when he took over at the start of the season Barcelona's new president said nothing and was criticised for it. On Thursday night those critics were urging him to take the oath of silence again.
Mourinho, meanwhile, was wondering where exactly on the wall of the Mestalla dressing room Real Madrid will use for the final he should pin that quote.
?Far too early still to be kicking off another Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona debate, but Fernando Torres' comments this week were brutally honest and interesting from both the player and the two respective clubs' viewpoints.?
Asked if he thought Fabregas would be a good signing for Barcelona he said: 'It's a question for Guardiola but I think it is very difficult to improve on what they already have. If Cesc comes, then who do you take out?'
As national team-mate of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, he would know.
?Didier Drogba lined up by Real Madrid in ?15m bid to keep Jose MourinhoReal Madrid striker Benzema doubtful for Spurs clash in Champions League
?Explore more:People: Harry Redknapp, Gerard Pique, Fernando Torres, Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta, Leo Messi, Shakira Places: Barcelona, Madrid, Finland, Portugal, Chile, Spain
Source: Daily Mail
Source: Daily Mail