Real Madrid will return to the top of the La Liga table if they avoid defeat in Saturday afternoon's intriguing contest with Las Palmas at Estadio Gran Canaria.
Los Blancos were 3-2 winners over basement side Almeria last weekend, while high-flying Las Palmas will enter the match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
Match preview
© Reuters
Girona's form in La Liga this season has stolen many of the headlines, but Las Palmas are also enjoying an excellent campaign on their return to the top flight of Spanish football.
La Union Deportiva, who finished second in the Segunda Division last season, have a record of nine wins, four draws and eight defeats from their 21 La Liga matches this season, with a total of 31 points leaving them in eighth position in the table.
Garcia Pimienta's side are only four points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad and will enter Saturday's contest off the back of successive wins over Villarreal and Rayo Vallecano.
Las Palmas have scored five times in their last two matches, but they are still among the lowest goalscorers in the league this season, only registering 21 times, with much of their success built on a strong defence, with only Real Madrid (13) conceding fewer than their 17 in Spain's top flight this term.
Saturday's contest will therefore be a meeting of the best two defensive sides in La Liga this season, and Real Madrid will be bidding to make it four straight league victories over Las Palmas, with the run including a 2-0 success in the reverse fixture at Bernabeu in September 2023.
© Reuters
Real Madrid's elimination from the Copa del Rey on January 18 has allowed them to have a rare free week, with Carlo Ancelotti's side not in action since beating Almeria 3-2 in La Liga last weekend.
Almeria led 2-0 at the interval of the clash, with the team at the bottom of the division en route to what would have been a shock first league win of the campaign, but Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior struck to make it 2-2, before Dani Carvajal won it in the 99th minute.
There were some controversial VAR calls during the match, and it was a lacklustre performance from the title hopefuls despite managing to collect all three points.
Real Madrid are second in the table, picking up 51 points from their 20 league matches this season courtesy of a record of 16 wins, three draws and one defeat.
Girona at the summit have played a game more and sit one point ahead, but a draw would be enough for Ancelotti's side to return to the top of the division on Saturday, as they have a superior head-to-head record over the surprise title challengers.
Real Madrid have another four league games, including fixtures with Atletico Madrid and Girona, before heading to Germany for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
Team News
© Reuters
Las Palmas remain without the services of on-loan Barcelona defender Julian Araujo through suspension, while Daley Sinkgraven is a doubt due to illness.
Alvaro Lemos and Eric Curbelo will require late fitness tests, but the team did not pick up any fresh problems during the two-goal success over Rayo last weekend.
Alberto Moleiro and Munir El Haddadi should again feature in support of Sandro Ramirez, with Marc Cardona expected to be among the substitutes for the first whistle.
As for Real Madrid, Bellingham's 98th-minute yellow card against Almeria last weekend will rule him out of this contest through suspension.
Ancelotti has plenty of options when it comes to a replacement for the team's leading goalscorer this season, but Brahim Diaz is expected to get the nod.
Los Blancos will again be missing Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba through injury, but the team have no other fitness concerns ahead of the match.
Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga are options to come into the midfield, but Ancelotti could make just the one outfield change from the side that started against Almeria - Diaz for Bellingham - as the squad have been able to rest this week after a busy start to the month.
Andriy Lunin has also been confirmed as the starter in goal ahead of on-loan Chelsea stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Valles; Suarez, Herzog, Marmol, S Cardona; El Haddadi, Munoz, Perrone, K Rodriguez, Moleiro; Sandro
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Kroos; Diaz; Vinicius, Rodrygo
We say: Las Palmas 1-2 Real Madrid
Las Palmas are a team to be taken extremely seriously in La Liga, and they are more than capable of picking up a positive result on Saturday. We are expecting a close match in terms of the scoreline, but Real Madrid have enough quality to put an important three points on the board at Estadio Gran Canaria.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
