Bidding to bounce back from just their second defeat in all competitions this season, Real Madrid will resume their La Liga campaign with a contest against bottom-of-the-table Almeria on Sunday afternoon.
Los Blancos suffered a 4-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Thursday evening, while Almeria have not been in action since drawing 0-0 with La Liga leaders Girona last weekend.
Match preview
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Thursday's last-16 Copa del Rey contest with Atletico proved to be one game too far for Real Madrid, as they suffered a 4-2 defeat to their rivals to exit the competition that they won last season.
Carlo Ancelotti's side had been in Saudi Arabia, beating Atletico 5-3 in the semi-finals of the competition, before recording a 4-1 win over Barcelona in the final, but they lost the latest Madrid derby after extra-time, with Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme both registering in the additional 30 minutes.
Sunday's contest will be Real Madrid's first league match since beating Mallorca 1-0 on January 3, and they were knocked off top position in the table by Girona last weekend, but the Catalan side were held to a goalless draw by Almeria, so the gap between the top two is just a single point.
Girona are not in action until Sunday night, so a draw or a win for the Whites here would see them return to the top of the division, and they have another five league matches to come before switching their attention back to the Champions League, facing RB Leipzig in the last-16 stage of the competition.
Los Blancos have won eight and drawn one of their nine league matches at home this season, and they will be bidding to make it nine straight La Liga victories over Almeria on Sunday, with the strong run including a 3-1 success in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
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Almeria are still waiting for their first league victory of the season, with a record of six draws and 14 defeats from 20 matches bringing them six points, which has left them rooted to the bottom of the table.
La Union, who finished 17th in La Liga last season, only narrowly avoiding the drop, are 10 points behind 17th-placed Sevilla in the table, which is a huge concern considering that they only have six points from 20 games.
There is enough time for head coach Gaizka Garitano to lead the team to what would be a great escape, though, and a big step in the right direction was taken last weekend when they held leaders Girona to a 0-0 draw.
Almeria's last two defeats have been narrow ones, meanwhile, going down 3-2 at Barcelona and 1-0 at Osasuna, and they will certainly be the fresher of the two sides entering this weekend's contest.
UDA have struggled badly on their travels during the 2023-24 campaign, though, drawing one and losing nine of their 10 matches, scoring just nine times in the process, while they have the worst defensive record in the division this season with 43 goals conceded.
Team News
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Real Madrid will again definitely be missing Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba on Sunday due to long-term knee problems, but Lucas Vazquez has recovered from a hamstring injury and is back in the squad.
Los Blancos have not reported any injury problems following the Copa del Rey clash with Atletico, but Ancelotti will certainly assess the fitness of his players ahead of the contest.
There is expected to be another change between the sticks, with Kepa Arrizabalaga set to replace Andriy Lunin, while Toni Kroos and Aurelien Tchouameni are likely to return to the midfield.
Rodrygo had been a doubt for the clash with Atletico due to a minor problem, but he ultimately started against Diego Simeone's side and should again be fit to feature in a front two with Vinicius Junior this weekend.
As for Almeria, the strugglers will be without the services of Arnau Puigmal and Ibrahima Kone through injury, while there are four further absentees for the side at the bottom of the table.
Leo Baptistao is unavailable due to the milestone booking that he picked up in the draw with Girona last time out, and Marciano Sanca, Iddrisu Baba and Houboulang Mendes are in action for their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Luis Suarez made his return from a long-term injury off the bench against Girona, but the 26-year-old, who has scored four league goals this season, is potentially not yet ready to start, so Largie Ramazani could feature through the middle in the absence of Baptistao.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Bellingham; Rodrygo, Vinicius
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Maximiano; Pubill, Montes, Chumi, Akieme; Arribas, Robertone, Gonzalez, Lopy, Embarba; Ramazani
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Almeria
There has certainly been an improvement in Almeria's recent performances, and the return of Suarez in an attacking area will boost their survival hopes. Real Madrid have had a tiring start to 2024, and we are not expecting Ancelotti's side to be at their best here, but the hosts should have enough to get the job done.
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