Match Preview

Real Madrid are back in action on Saturday as they take on Valladolid at the Bernabéu for the first time this season.

Last weekend, the first match in the new LaLiga season, Real took a 3-1 victory at the Balaídos. They’ve started off the season on the right foot, they can hopefully replicate that in their home debut.

Real still had faults against Celta, but they did play well overall. There were some highlight performances from Marcelo, Benzema and Bale with creating chances and helping Real achieve the three points. Marcelo was involved in all three Real Madrid goals.

Valladolid won their first match of the season against Real Betis last weekend 2-1. They finished 16th last season after receiving promotion from the Segunda División the season prior.

There’s quite some connections between Real Madrid and Valladolid. Of course, Real legend Ronaldo Nazario is the majority owner of Valladolid now. Real also have loaned out Andriy Lunin, Javi Sanchez and Jorge de Frutos to the Pucela this season.

As MARCA report, Real have not included the “fear clause” in these three loan contracts, so they are eligible to play at the Bernabéu if manager Sergio so chooses. Lunin would be the only one that could seemingly start for Valladolid, however it is still likely Jordi Masip’s starting spot for now.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid are still without Marco Asensio for the majority, if not all, of this season. Brahim joins the injury list that also includes Rodrygo. Hazard is also still injured, however he could be back earlier than expected and be fit for next Sunday’s match against Villarreal, though no guarantee yet. Mendy is back in training with the team and Carvajal is back from suspension this weekend.

Valladolid will likely be without Rubén Alcaraz and Sandro after they picked up knocks against Betis last weekend. Luismi is also still out injured for the club.

There are no suspensions for either side in Saturday’s match.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Isco, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Vinicius, Benzema

Carvajal is back from suspension and will most likely take his spot back.

With Modric out serving suspension, Isco will likely slot into the starting lineup. It also may be likely that we see James as a substitute at some point during the match.

With Hazard out, Vinicius will likely start yet again in his place. And after last weekend’s performance, there’s no question that Bale should start again.

Real Valladolid

Masip; Moyano, Kiko, Salisu, Nacho; Antoñito, Michél, Anuar, Plano; Guardiola, Ünal

Prediction

Real Madrid—Real Valladolid 3-1

An absolutely meaningless statistic, but Real Madrid have won thirteen of their last fourteen meetings with Valladolid. However, Valladolid are a tough and gritty team that can make you pay if Real are not careful.

They proved this last weekend by getting a road victory at the Villamarín thanks to Óscar Plano’s late minute goal. They held their own against and were pretty evenly matched against Betis, if not better, throughout. Real must prepare for a motivated team that know they can already win away this season.

Real should be looking to improve on last weekend’s performance. It wasn’t perfect, but the buildup and team effort on the counter and the goals were immense compared to what was seen during preseason. Not to mention, there were several players who were clear standouts.

Real must build on this team play while fixing the defensive errors that fortunately didn’t cost them much against Celta, but very well could against Valladolid.