Real Madrid will attempt to avoid a third straight home league defeat when they welcome Deportivo La Coruna to the Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon.
Madrid lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal last weekend, and the reigning champions are now an incredible 19 points off league leaders Barcelona. Deportivo, meanwhile, have dropped into the relegation zone following a four-game winless run in Spain's top flight.
Real Madrid
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Unless something staggering happens in the final months of the campaign, Real Madrid will concede the title that they so impressively won last season. Not only are Los Blancos 19 points behind Barcelona, they are 10 points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid, and eight off third-placed Valencia entering the final months.
As mentioned, Madrid have lost their last two home league matches after the 3-0 defeat against Barcelona before the international break was followed by a one-goal loss to Villarreal last weekend.
Zinedine Zidane's side had a whole host of chances to score against the Yellow Submarine, but a late goal from Pablo Fornals saw the Spanish champions make it just one point from their last three league fixtures.
Real Madrid did beat Leganes 1-0 in the Copa del Rey on Thursday night though, and will also be confident of overcoming Deportivo. They face a trip to Valencia next weekend, however, and defeat there would pile more pressure on Zidane.
Talk of Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave has surfaced once again, and the Portuguese will enter this match having managed just four league goals this season. The attacker had a whole host of chances against Villarreal, but could not find the back of the net.
Real Madrid have won 13 of their last 14 league matches against Deportivo, however, and have only lost one of their last 32 home top-flight fixtures against their opponents this weekend.
Recent form: WDWLDL
Recent form (all competitions): LWDDLW
Deportivo
Deportivo will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 home defeat to Valencia last weekend. The Blue and Whites have not been victorious in the league since the start of December, with a four-game winless run – which has included three defeats – leaving them in 18th position in Spain's top flight.
Four wins, four draws and 11 defeats have brought Deportivo just 16 points. They are two points behind 17th-placed Alaves, and will enter this match having won just one of their nine away La Liga fixtures this season. Real Madrid might be struggling for results, but Deportivo are really not in the best of form.
Deportivo have finished 16th, 15th and 16th in La Liga since returning to the top flight, and it does appear that it will be another difficult campaign. They will be wary of dropping into the second tier, but do have some winnable matches coming up. Indeed, next weekend they will welcome Levante.
It is their results against the teams around them that will determine whether Cristobal Parralo's side can avoid the threat of relegation in the final months of the season.
That is even more apparent when considering that they have not beaten Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga since 2004 - losing 27 of their last 32 visits to the famous stadium.
Recent form: LWLLDL
Team News
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Karim Benzema could return to the Real Madrid XI for the first time since the defeat to Barcelona on December 23.
Club captain Sergio Ramos also has a chance of taking part after recovering from a muscular problem, although it is thought that the centre-back will not be risked for this particular match.
Gareth Bale and Ronaldo will both return after missing the Copa del Rey clash on Thursday night, while Marco Asensio could also feature following his late goal against Leganes.
As for Deportivo, centre-backs Raul Albentosa and Sidnei are both doubtful, while Fede Cartabia is out injured.
On-loan Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde will be unavailable to face his parent club, but head coach Cristobal has no fresh injury concerns entering the clash in Madrid.
On-loan Arsenal forward Lucas Perez will look to add to the four league goals that he has managed this season.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale
Deportivo possible starting lineup:
Ruben; Juanfran, Sidnei, Navarro, Luisinho; Mosquera, Guilherme, Borges; Adrian, Andone, Perez
Head To Head
Real Madrid recorded a 3-0 win over Deportivo when they travelled to La Coruna on the opening weekend of the season, when Bale, Casemiro and Toni Kroos were all on the scoresheet for the Spanish champions.
Last season's clash at the Bernabeu was a lot closer, however, with Real Madrid needing a 92nd-minute winner from Ramos to record a 3-2 success.
Real Madrid have won 13 of their last 14 league matches against Deportivo, and have only lost one of their last 32 home top-flight fixtures against these particular opponents.
We say: Real Madrid 3-0 Deportivo
Real Madrid are certainly short on confidence, but they will welcome a Deportivo team that has struggled this season. We fancy the Spanish champions to return to winning ways with a fairly routine 3-0 success.
Matt Law
