Real Madrid will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins at the start of their 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they travel to Almeria on Saturday night.
Carlo Ancelotti's side, who were runners-up in Spain's top flight last term, opened their season with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao, while Almeria started their campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Rayo Vallecano.
Match preview
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Almeria finished 17th in La Liga last season, with their survival battle going to the final day, and they will be hoping to avoid another relegation fight this term, but it would not be a surprise to see them in and around the bottom three for much of the campaign.
La Union made a disappointing start to their 2023-24 season, suffering a 2-0 loss at home to Rayo on the opening night, with penalties from Isi Palazon and Randy Nteka deciding the match at the Power Horse Stadium.
Vicente Moreno's side have managed to make a number of new signings this summer, with Luis Suarez arriving on a permanent basis from Marseille, while Ibrahima Kone, Dion Lopy and Sergio Arribas are also among those to have made the move to Almeria during the transfer market.
El Bilal Toure has been their main departure, joining Napoli in a big-money deal, but the squad looks strong enough to cope with the rigours of La Liga football.
Almeria's season is not going to be shaped by their results against the likes of Real Madrid, and they have lost each of their last seven La Liga games with Los Blancos, including a 2-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture during the 2022-23 campaign.
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Real Madrid, meanwhile, made a strong start to their 2023-24 La Liga campaign, securing all three points against Athletic courtesy of a 2-0 success, with Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham on the scoresheet at San Mames.
Ancelotti's side finished second in Spain's top flight last season, 10 points behind the champions Barcelona, who opened their new campaign with a goalless draw against Getafe.
Los Blancos have made five new signings this summer, bringing in Bellingham, Arda Guler and Fran Garcia on permanent deals, while Joselu and Kepa Arrizabalaga have arrived on loan from Espanyol and Chelsea respectively.
Karim Benzema has been the team's major departure, and it remains to be seen whether Ancelotti keeps faith with his new 4-3-1-2 formation throughout the season, with Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior operating as the front two, which worked well against Athletic.
Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey last season but will certainly have their eyes on the La Liga title in 2023-24, while success in the Champions League is also demanded.
Los Blancos will seemingly now not be signing Kylian Mbappe this summer despite the recent rumours, with the France international expected to remain at Paris Saint-Germain.
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Team News
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Almeria will again be without the services of Leo Baptistao and Martin Svidersky on Saturday due to Achilles and knee injuries respectively.
Head coach Moreno is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack despite the disappointment of the loss to Rayo, but there could be a couple of changes, with Marc Pubill and Arribas pushing to start.
Suarez will again lead the line for Almeria, with Adri Embarba operating off the left, while Edgar Gonzalez will retain his position in the middle of the home side's defence.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have lost Eder Militao to a long-term knee injury, with the centre-back damaging his ACL during the clash with Athletic last time out.
Thibaut Courtois also faces a battle to return before the end of the campaign due to an ACL tear of his own, while Guler has recently undergone an operation in the hope of fixing a troublesome issue in his knee.
Ferland Mendy and Dani Ceballos are also still out with muscle and hamstring problems respectively, while Eduardo Camavinga faces a late fitness test, so the injuries are piling up for Ancelotti's side early in the season.
Antonio Rudiger will replace Militao in the XI for this match, but Andriy Lunin will keep his spot between the sticks despite the arrival of Kepa from Chelsea.
Almeria possible starting lineup:
Marino; Pubill, E Gonzalez, Babic, Akieme; Robertone, Baba; Arribas, Ramazani, Embarba; Suarez
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, F Garcia; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Bellingham; Vinicius, Rodrygo
We say: Almeria 0-2 Real Madrid
Almeria have enough quality to cause Real Madrid problems in this match, but we are finding it tough to back anything other than an away win. Bellingham was excellent on his debut for the club last week and will be looking to inspire his new side to another victory early in the campaign.
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