European hopefuls Eibar welcome travelling Real Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, as the club aims to continue a three-game unbeaten run.
As for Madrid, Rafael Benitez and his men will be seeking to bounce straight back from an embarrassing defeat at home to Barcelona last time out.
Eibar
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Eibar have enjoyed a strong start to the season and they now occupy sixth place in the table, having lost just twice all campaign in the league.
Since being defeated by Barcelona at the back end of October, Jose Luis Mendilibar's men find themselves unbeaten in three matches following victories against Getafe and Rayo Vallecano and a draw at Villarreal last time out.
The club have shown an efficiency in front of goal that has been particularly impressive this season, with both Borja Gonzalez and Sergi Enrich finding themselves in destructive form up top.
What has been equally admirable has been Eibar's ability to defend, which has seen the team concede 12 goals in 12 games - a statistic that represents the fifth-best defensive record in the league.
Eibar will be keen not to lose all three points at home to Madrid with both Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna nipping at their heels, but they do also have both those sides to come soon as the fight for La Liga's European spots intensifies.
The Ipurua Municipal Stadium has often proven to be a tough place to visit already this term, where Eibar have picked up 11 from 18 points available.
Recent form: WDLWWD
Real Madrid
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Sunday's encounter presents Benitez with the chance to get back to winnings ways following last weekend's humiliating defeat to Barcelona in the Clasico.
As well as the scoreline, the lack of creativity and incision from Los Blancos could soon prove a real worry for Madrid fans, who have been slightly kept at bay in the early stages of Benitez's rule due to his ability to produce some defensively solid displays.
That quality seems to have been brought into intense questioning in recent weeks, however, as Madrid have now conceded 10 goals in their last three matches.
Granted Real have been missing some key defensive players, but Benitez now has it all to do in order to get the club's fanbase back on side after two straight league defeats.
It appears that the coach will be given the time to do so after getting a vote of confidence from the Madrid board, although the Spaniard will now need to put together the results required to keep pressure on Barca, who look to be in a strong position at the top of the standings.
Madrid come into this clash having almost thrown away a four-goal lead against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, where Benitez and his charges had to hold on as the Ukrainian side ran them all the way during the 4-3 victory on Wednesday.
Eibar is certainly no easy place to go, and Benitez will be keen to avoid another questionable performance following the defensive debacles during Madrid's last two fixtures.
Recent form: DWWWLL
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Team News
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Ander Capa should come straight back in at right-back after serving a suspension, but Keko will be missing after being sent off last time out for Eibar.
As a result, Japanese winger Takashi Inui is likely to earn a start in midfield.
Madrid are still missing three key defensive players, with Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo remaining on the sidelines.
Playmaker Isco will be missing too, as he serves the first match of a two-game suspension.
Eibar possible starting lineup:
Riesgo; Junca, Santos, Pantic, Capa; Inui, Escalante, García, Berjon; Enrich, Baston
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Arbeloa, Pepe, Nacho, Carvajal; Modric, Kroos; Ronaldo, Bale, Rodriguez; Benzema
Head To Head
Madrid are certainly favourites when looking at the sides' competitive history. Over the clubs' past four meetings, Madrid have claimed three victories and one draw. The teams last met during the 2014-15 La Liga campaign, where Real did the double over Eibar, with a 4-0 away win before coming back to claim a 3-0 home victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.
We say: Eibar 1-4 Real Madrid
Eibar have proven in recent weeks that they are certainly no pushovers and that they do have the ability to cause Madrid problems at the back, especially when playing at home. However, Madrid's mauling at the hands of Barca last weekend should provide Benitez's men with enough impetus to put on the kind of display that should help rid themselves of the awful memories from El Clasico.
Christopher Dodd
