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On Saturday night, Real Madrid will continue their La Liga campaign away to Real Valladolid, who are now in the cellar. The goal for Real Madrid is to make it four victories in a row in all competitions.
Carlo Ancelotti's Los Blancos have 46 points after 20 games in La Liga, putting them atop the league. On the other hand, Real Valladolid has 15 points and is now in last place.
Previous Matches and Head-to-head
Real Valladolid is at the bottom of the La Liga standings with 15 points as they prepare to host the reigning Spanish champions. Their record this season is 4 wins, three draws, and 13 losses in 20 matches.
Despite being only five points below 17th-placed Alaves, the squad is undeniably in a relegation fight and will need to make a significant effort to get out of the bottom three. However, panic should not be unleashed just yet.
The team, managed by Diego Cocca, is coming off a 2-1 loss to Espanyol, but they have won their past two home league games against Real Betis and Valencia.
After returning to the top flight of Spanish football for the first time since 2021, Pucela finished second in the 2023–24 Segunda Division. They are now seeking to make it consecutive seasons.
Real Valladolid has not won a La Liga match against Real Madrid at home since November 2008, and they have lost all six of their previous encounters, including a 3-0 loss at Bernabeu earlier this season.
After Real Madrid's shocking 5-2 loss to Barcelona in El Clasico in the Spanish Super Cup final on January 12, the team responded well, winning their last three matches against Celta Vigo, Las Palmas, and Red Bull Salzburg.
After a 5-1 Champions League victory against Salzburg on Wednesday, Los Blancos advanced to the competition's quarterfinals and guaranteed themselves a playoff position. Next week, they will face Brest away in their last league encounter of the season.
Last weekend, Real Madrid jumped two points ahead of Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid club, thanks to the latter's shocking defeat to Leganes and Ancelotti's 4-1 league victory over Las Palmas.
While Real Madrid may find themselves in second place when this match begins (since Atletico Madrid is playing Villarreal earlier in the day), they still have a comfortable advantage over third-place Barcelona (seven points) at the current season stage.
There have been indications that Real Madrid's offensive game has come together recently. They will be looking to win their next two league matches against Real Valladolid and Espanyol, two teams currently suffering, before playing host to Atletico Madrid on February 8 at Bernabeu.
Real Valladolid x Real Madrid Team News
Two Real Valladolid players, Raul Moro, and Juma Bah, have been widely connected with departures, with Bah reportedly nearing a transfer to Manchester City.
Bah, who is 18 years old, is not likely to play this weekend for the strugglers after Real Valladolid issued a statement earlier this week claiming he was in breach of contract for missing training. The La Liga club also accused Man City of "appearing to advise" the youngster to take the controversial steps.
Meanwhile, striker Moro will be out for a long time after breaking his collarbone in the team's most recent match against Espanyol; a winter move is thus out of the question.
Notable absentees for the team in last place in the league include midfielder Stanko Juric, who was banned after receiving a milestone yellow card against Espanyol and will miss the rest of the season.
Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao, and Dani Carvajal cannot play for Real Madrid due to injuries. At the same time, Vinicius Junior will not be able to play either because of his ban.
The France international is scheduled to start in the center of Real Madrid's midfield again this weekend after being substituted against Salzburg due to a minor muscle issue.
After serving a suspension for Wednesday's Champions League match, Lucas Vazquez should be able to return to the starting lineup right back, with Federico Valverde moving back into the center of midfield.
As David Alaba continues to recuperate after a lengthy layoff, Brahim Diaz—a Moroccan international—is anticipated to get playing time due to Vinicius' ban and will likely play in the last third of the field with Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo.
Our predictions
Real Madrid to win & Under 4.5 goals @ 1.66 on Sky247.ng
The loss of Vinicius is a major setback for Real Madrid, which has been struggling away from home lately. Anyway, Ancelotti's squad is in fine form coming into the match, so we're having a hard time predicting anything other than an away win.
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