Fresh from booking their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Real Madrid will resume their La Liga campaign at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday night.
Los Blancos are chasing success in the European Cup and Copa del Rey this term, but they are currently second in the La Liga table, 11 points behind leaders Barcelona, while Celta occupy 12th position, collecting 36 points from their 29 matches during a solid campaign to date.
Match preview
© Reuters
Real Madrid proved to be far too strong for Chelsea over the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final, winning 2-0 home and away to breeze into the semi-finals courtesy of a four-goal aggregate success.
Carlo Ancelotti's side will now take on tournament favourites Manchester City in the final four next month, while they will have the chance to claim some silverware at the start of May, with Osasuna their opponents in the final of the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid are in a difficult position in the league, though, currently sitting 11 points behind leaders Barcelona, meaning that only a serious collapse would allow the reigning champions back into the title race.
Los Blancos were 2-0 winners over Cadiz in La Liga last weekend, and they are not in any real danger of dropping out of the top four, sitting 14 points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, but the European champions are only two points ahead of Atletico Madrid in third.
It will be fascinating to see how Ancelotti treats the league matches in the coming weeks, as the Italian will certainly be thinking about the Copa del Rey and Champions League.
Real Madrid have the second-best home form in La Liga this season, picking up 31 points from 14 matches, and they will be hosting a Celta side with 16 points from their 14 games on their travels.
© Reuters
Celta will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 home loss to Mallorca, which made it three league matches without a victory for the Vigo outfit.
The Sky Blues have now not been victorious in La Liga for over a month, but a relatively solid campaign has left them in 12th position in the table, boasting 36 points from their 29 matches.
Carlos Carvalhal's side are nine points ahead of the relegation zone and only two points behind Girona in ninth, so they should certainly be looking up the division rather than down at this stage.
Celta have finished eighth and 11th in their last two top-flight campaigns, and it would not be a surprise to see them in a similar position come the end of the season.
The Sky Blues do not have fond memories of their recent meetings with Real Madrid, though, losing each of their last five La Liga games with the Spanish champions.
Celta's last league success over Los Blancos was back in May 2014, but they did manage to claim a point in a 2-2 draw at Bernabeu during the 2019-20 campaign.
Team News
© Reuters
Real Madrid will again be missing Ferland Mendy due to a hamstring problem, while David Alaba is a fresh injury blow for the Spanish champions.
Alaba was substituted at the interval of the Champions League quarter-final second leg with a tight hamstring, while Karim Benzema was replaced late on after taking a blow to his foot.
There is no spot in the squad for Alaba; Benzema has been passed fit, but it would not be a surprise to see him start on the bench here.
Head coach Ancelotti is expected to shuffle his pack for this match, with Lucas Vazquez, Antonio Rudiger, Aurelien Tchouameni, Nacho and Marco Asensio likely to come in for starts on Saturday night.
Rodrygo, who netted both of Real Madrid's goals against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, could operate through the middle, with Asensio on the right and Vinicius Junior to the left.
Celta will again be without the services of Diego Alves due to a knee injury, while a muscular issue will cost Oscar Mingueza the chance to face the Spanish champions.
The Sky Blues will also be missing Hugo Mallo through suspension due to the red card that he picked up during the home loss to Mallorca last time out.
Kevin Vazquez should therefore come into the side at right-back, while there are also likely to be starts for Goncalo Paciencia and Carles Perez, with Carvalhal preparing to make alterations to his first XI.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Valverde, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Asensio, Rodrygo, Vinicius
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Villar; Vazquez, Aidoo, Nunez, Galan; Perez, Veiga, Beltran, De la Torre; Aspas, Paciencia
We say: Real Madrid 1-0 Celta Vigo
Celta will certainly be the fresher of the two teams entering this match, and it could be a close affair at Bernabeu, with Ancelotti likely to make a number of changes to his side. However, Real Madrid should still be able to navigate their way to their 20th league victory of the campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
