Real Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome Alaves to the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Saturday night.
Zinedine Zidane's side are currently fourth in Spain's top flight, six points behind leaders Real Sociedad, while Alaves occupy 15th position in the table, having picked up 10 points from their 10 matches.
Match preview
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Madrid picked up a hugely important victory in the Champions League on Wednesday night, beating Inter Milan 2-0 at San Siro to move into second spot in the table ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk.
Los Blancos will now attempt to return to winning ways in the league, having lost heavily at Valencia and drawn with Villarreal in their last two matches in Spain's top flight.
Zidane's team have won five, drawn two and lost two of their nine La Liga matches this term to occupy fourth spot in the table, six points behind leaders Sociedad, who have played one game more.
There is no question that the club's supporters will be expecting a victory on Saturday, which would lead the team nicely into two huge matches against Shakhtar and Sevilla at the start of December.
Madrid recorded a 2-0 win in the corresponding fixture last season and have actually been victorious in their last three meetings with Alaves, although the Basque club recorded a shock 1-0 success when they locked horns in the early stages of the 2018-19 campaign.
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Alaves have won two, drawn four and lost four of their 10 league matches this season to sit 15th in the table, just three points outside of the relegation zone, which is occupied by Levante, Huesca and Celta Vigo.
The Basque outfit are unbeaten in their last four league outings, though, and held Barca to a 1-1 draw when the two teams locked horns at the end of October.
El Glorioso are in their fifth straight season at this level of football but finished 16th last season, and it does appear that they could face another battle to stay outside of the bottom three.
That said, Pablo Machin's side have performed impressibly in their last two away games in the league, picking up four points against Real Valladolid and Levante, and as mentioned, they know what it takes to overcome Madrid, having recorded a 1-0 victory over Los Blancos in October 2018.
Real Madrid La Liga form: WLWWLD
Real Madrid form (all competitions): DWWLDW
Alaves La Liga form: WLWDDD
Team News
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Madrid will again be without the services of Sergio Ramos and Federico Valverde through injury, while Luka Jovic and Eder Militao remain doubts due to recent positive coronavirus tests.
Militao has been included in the squad, though, and the Brazilian could be handed a spot in the XI as Dani Carvajal will miss out with a thigh issue, further limiting Zidane's options at the back.
Alvaro Odriozola is also still out with a calf problem, while a groin injury will again rule key striker Karim Benzema out of the contest.
Benzema is thought to be entering the latter stages of his recovery, and the Frenchman could return for the Champions League clash with Shakhtar next week, meaning that Mariano Diaz is likely to retain his spot in the middle of the attack for this game.
Casemiro and Rodrygo Goes could come into the XI following the Champions League clash on Wednesday night, while Marco Asensio is also an option for change in the final third of the field.
As for Alaves, Pere Pons is still on the sidelines with a foot injury, while Manu Garcia has tested positive for coronavirus and will not be involved in the Spanish capital.
There are not expected to be many surprises in the away side's XI on Saturday night, with former Premier League duo Lucas Perez and Joselu likely to continue as the front two.
Jota Peleteiro should retain his spot in an attacking area, while Edgar Mendez is available following a one-game suspension and is likely to come straight back into the starting side.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Nacho, Militao, Varane, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Odegaard; Hazard, Mariano, Rodrygo
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Navarro, Lejeune, Laguardia, Duarte; Mendez, Pina, Battaglia, Jota; Perez, Joselu
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Alaves
Madrid had a demanding fixture away to Inter on Wednesday night, meaning that Alaves will be the fresher of the two sides this weekend. Los Blancos will be determined to return to winning ways in the league, though, and we are expecting a comfortable home success for Zidane's side.
Top betting tip
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 74.63%. A draw had a probability of 16.7% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 8.63%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Madrid win was 2-0 with a probability of 14.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.72%) and 3-0 (10.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.88%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (3.5%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 2.4% likelihood.
