Real Madrid will be looking to make it back-to-back La Liga victories when they continue their 2020-21 campaign at home to Huesca on Saturday afternoon.
Los Blancos picked up a huge three points away to Barcelona in El Clasico last weekend and are currently second in the table. Huesca, though, are yet to win this season and sit 18th in the division.
Match preview
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Madrid's La Liga form this season, bar a shock home defeat to Cadiz on October 17, has been relatively strong, picking up 13 points from their six matches to sit second in the table.
The reigning champions are only one point off division leaders Real Sociedad with a game in hand and could top the table come the end of the weekend, which would boost their confidence, even at this early stage.
Last weekend's 3-1 success at Barca was huge for Zinedine Zidane's side as they managed to bounce back from a surprise 1-0 loss to Cadiz on October 17.
The capital giants have found it difficult to get going in the Champions League this season, though, picking up just one point from their two matches, and they needed two late goals to avoid defeat away to Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday night.
The matches are coming thick and fast for Madrid at the moment as they are back in Champions League action against Inter Milan next week before travelling to Valencia in La Liga ahead of the international break.
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Huesca, meanwhile, are one of just two teams - the other being Real Valladolid - yet to pick up a victory in Spain's top flight this season.
The newly-promoted outfit have only lost two of their seven matches, though, drawing five times to collect five points, which has left them in 18th position in the table ahead of Saturday's contest.
Villarreal, Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Elche and Valladolid have all failed to beat Huesca this season, although Michel's side will enter this match off the back of a heavy 4-1 loss at Real Sociedad last time out.
Azulgranas won the 2019-20 Segunda Division to secure a return back to the top flight, and they will be determined to consolidate, having dropped straight back into the second tier at the end of 2018-19.
It is a huge ask to overcome Zidane's side on Saturday, but Cadiz left with all three points on October 17, and the visitors this weekend will be looking to take inspiration from their fellow newly-promoted club.
Real Madrid La Liga form: DWWWLW
Real Madrid form (all competitions): WWLLWD
Huesca La Liga form: LDDDDL
Team News
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Madrid will definitely be without the services of Dani Carvajal, Martin Odegaard and Nacho this weekend, while Alvaro Odriozola and Mariano Diaz are also expected to miss out.
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois trained inside on Thursday due to a small muscular discomfort, but the Belgium international is expected to be in the starting XI for the clash on Saturday afternoon.
Eden Hazard came off the bench to feature against Gladbach in the Champions League, and the attacker could now be handed a spot in the first XI against Huesca, although it seems more likely that Rodrygo Goes will come into the side, allowing Hazard to continue his recovery as a substitute.
Marcelo and Luka Modric are also in contention for starting roles, but Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio are expected to continue in the final third of the field.
As for Huesca, Pedro Lopez remains on the sidelines through injury, while Mikel Rico is a huge doubt, having recently been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Shinji Okazaki is also struggling to shake off a knock, meaning that recent arrival Sandro Ramirez could continue alongside Rafa Mir in the final third of the field.
Javi Ontiveros and Sergio Gomez both came off the bench against Sociedad and are options for change, but Michel is not expected to shuffle his pack despite the 4-1 loss.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Mendy, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Modric; Rodrygo, Benzema, Asensio
Huesca possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Maffeo, Pulido, Siovas, Galan; Ferreiro, Mosquera, Rico, Garcia; Sandro, Mir
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Huesca
Madrid will be wary of what could happen on Saturday after losing at home to Cadiz earlier this month, although we are expecting the reigning champions to triumph here. Huesca have been a difficult team to beat this season, but we are predicting a relatively routine home victory in this game.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Madrid win with a probability of 61.64%. A draw had a probability of 22.4% and a win for Huesca had a probability of 15.94%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Madrid win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.08%) and 2-1 (9.64%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.59%), while for a Huesca win it was 0-1 (5.82%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Madrid would win this match.
