Match Preview

Real Madrid make their return to the Bernabéu on Wednesday in a midweek match after getting the weekend off. It will be the first time in a while where they do not enter the match as league leaders after they sustained their first loss of the season to Mallorca two weekends ago.

With that weekend’s loss, Real are now 6th in the league, though this is their game in-hand. A win would bring them into second, just a point behind league-leading Barcelona.

Leganés have had a dreadful season so far, holding just five points and in the bottom spot of LaLiga. They were able to win their first match of the season against Mallorca this past weekend. Prior to that they had lost their previous three matches.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid will be without Asensio, Bale and Nacho due to injuries. Zidane did not include either Vinicius nor Brahim Diaz in Wednesday’s squad. James is also not available in the squad after just welcoming his new child.

Leganés have several injuries to their roster including Fede Varela, Rodrigo Tarin, Ruben Perez, Marc Navarro and a long-term injury to Alexander Szymanowski.

Alvaro Odriozola is suspended for Wednesday’s match.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Hazard, Benzema

Modric has recovered from injury, so he will likely get back to starting in the midfield alongside Casemiro and Toni Kroos.

Zidane decided to include Lucas Vazquez ahead of both Brahim and Vinicius. Rodrygo is also included in the squad, so one of them will start in Bale’s spot.

Leganés

Cuéllar; Rosales, Bustinza, Siovas, Silva; Mesa, Rivera, Recio; Arnaiz, Braithwaite, Carrillo

Prediction

Real Madrid—Leganés 3-1

Real Madrid must get back to form in this match after they sustained a loss in their last one against Mallorca. They must get three points so they don’t start to fall behind Barcelona, who have seemingly hit their stride and are now leading the league once again.

With Leganés at the bottom of the league table, there’s really no clear reason why Real shouldn’t be able to come away with the win on Wednesday. Of course there’s always ac chance at an upset, as we saw with the Mallorca match, but Leganés is a team that has only just recently won their first match this season.

Real are at home, which should be a good boost for them even with the likes of Bale and James missing. They should be able to get the job done and come away with all available points and jump right back into league title contention.