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Real Madrid will aim for five straight wins in all competitions when they face Alaves in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have won their last three Spanish top-flight games, while Luis Garcia’s side just beat Sevilla on home turf. Los Blancos are far from their best so far, but they are still without defeat and have won six of their eight games.
Ancelotti and his players started the season with UEFA Super Cup success and also made a winning start in the UEFA Champions League. Real have dropped points twice on the road and will travel this weekend to take on bitter rivals Atletico Madrid before Kylian Mbappe returns to France for the UCL, who are not yet in top form in the Spanish capital with six goals and one assist.
Alaves had an excellent 2023/24 season following their return to the top flight and the Basque team are now looking to build on that 10th place finish. With Europe having nothing to worry about, Garcia’s side have won three of their last four matches against Real Sociedad, Las Palmas and Sevilla. A 5-0 defeat to Real last year in this match will not be forgotten, but they did beat Los Merengues 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2020.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday September 24 | Time: 3:00 PM ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabéu – Madrid, Spain
- Watch: ESPN Deportes | Current: Fubo (try for free)
- Chances: Real -500; Sign +600; Alaves +1400
Story so far
Real have won four and drawn two of their six matches in La Liga for a total of fourteen points, which puts them second behind leaders Barcelona. Ancelotti’s men drew two of their first three games, but won all their last three games against Real Betis, Sociedad and Espanyol with eight goals in those games. Alaves have recorded three wins, one draw and two losses so far this year for 10 points, which puts them fifth and just four points behind Real.
Team news
Real: Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, David Alaba and Brahim Diaz are permanently out, while Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal left the match against Espanyol injured, with the England international still struggling with a shoulder problem. Neither is considered too serious, but it’s unlikely they’ll be in danger here now that Vini Jr. will be reinserted into the XI along with Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy, while Lucas Vazquez could also start at right-back. So far, Endrick has also been able to start as a substitute after scoring two goals.
Possible real XI: Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Modric, Tchouameni, Valverde; Endrick, Mbappe, Vinicius.
Alaves: Jesus Owono is out, but otherwise expected the same XI that defeated Sevilla. Carlos Vicente and Toni Martinez have two goals each and should remain at the top, while Carlos Martin should also remain in attack. Joan Jordan and Ander Guevara should form the midfield, while Manu Sanchez is likely to continue at left back.
Possible Alaves XI: Silvera; Tenaglia, Abqar, Sedlar, M Sanchez; Jordan, Guevara; Vicente, Stoichkov, Martin; T Martinez.
Prediction
This one could be tight for a while, but Real have shown they can get away in those types of games. Expect Alaves to put in a good performance, but that Los Blancos ultimately beats the Basques with a margin of two goals. Choose: Real 3, Alaves 1.