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Match Preview
Having played their last two matches away from home, Real Madrid is set to return to the Santiago Bernabeu this Saturday to take on sixteenth place Alaves in La Liga action. Both clubs have enjoyed positive play these past weeks as they are both currently riding high with win streaks (Madrid, 4; Alaves, 3).
In their last contest, Madrid grabbed a 3-1 win against Leganes in a game that saw Lucas Vazquez, Casemiro, and Sergio Ramos notch a goal. Apart from scoring a goal in 550th Real Madrid appearance, Sergio Ramos collected his fifth yellow card of the campaign, which will render him out of this weekend’s matchup. In addition to his recent yellow card keeping him out of the match against Alaves, Ramos also became the most booked player in La Liga history.
The Madrid captain will not be alone out this Saturday with a yellow card suspension. Alaves and Barcelona loanee Munir El Haddadi will be suspended from the match due to his own yellow card accumulation.
Even with the loss of their striker, Alaves is still riding high at the moment. They currently have won their last three matches, the most recent of which was against Deportivo La Coruna. The match was decided in the 51st minute off of Munir’s goal.
Injuries
There are three pertinent injuries currently affecting Real Madrid: Toni Kroos (Ligament Problems), Marcelo (Muscle Injury), and Luka Modric (Muscle Injury). All three of the players are expected to make full recoveries sometime late next week.
As for suspensions, Sergio Ramos will sit out this weekend’s match after accumulating his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Leganes. He will return after the weekend’s contest against Alaves.
BREAKING NEWS: Marco Asensio likely to miss the match due to a recently extracted wisdom tooth.
Potential XIs
Real Madrid
Navas; Carvajal, Nacho, Varane, Hernandez; Casemiro, Vazquez, Kovacic, Isco; Bale, Ronaldo
With many of Madrid’s regular defenders and midfielders out due to injury or suspension, the squad will have to be heavily rotated for the weekend.
Alaves
Pacheco; Ely, Duarte, Laguardia, Martin; Pedraza, Pina, Garcia, Ibai; Bojan, Guidetti
The only change to their usual lineup for Alaves is the absence of Barcelona loanee Munir El Haddadi, who will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation.
Prediction
3-1 Real Madrid-Alaves
Both clubs are playing brilliant football for the time being, but Madrid’s top talent clearly makes them this match’s likely winner.
Yes, both sides are missing clear leaders but whoever plans to replace them will have to be on their best form to compensate for their team’s loss.
Madrid is finally playing at home in the league for the first time in a while and will surely defeat one of La Liga’s lower ranked teams.
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
Date: 2/24/2018
Time: 16:15 CET, 10:15am EST, 07:15 am Pacific.
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.
Available TV: BeIN Sports (USA), BeIN La Liga (Spain).
Available Streaming: BeIN Sports (USA),Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a winter discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).