Real Madrid will attempt to make it five straight wins in all competitions when they continue their La Liga campaign against high-flying Alaves at Bernabeu on Tuesday night.
Carlo Ancelotti's side have been victorious in their last three La Liga matches, while Alaves will enter the contest off the back of an impressive home success over Sevilla.
Match preview
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It would be fair to say that Real Madrid have not been at their best in the early stages of the season, but that is a scary thought for their rivals, as they are still unbeaten and have won six of their eight games in all competitions.
Ancelotti's side lifted the UEFA Super Cup last month, while they opened their Champions League league-phase campaign with a 3-1 success over Stuttgart last week.
In La Liga, Los Blancos have won four and drawn two of their six matches to collect 14 points, which has left them second in the table, one point behind leaders Barcelona, who have a game in hand.
Real Madrid drew two of their opening three league matches of the season, but they have been victorious in their last three, beating Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Espanyol, scoring eight times in the process.
Los Blancos have the small matter of a trip to Atletico Madrid to come next weekend, before travelling to France to tackle Lille in their second match in the Champions League at the start of October.
Kylian Mbappe is feeling his way into life at Bernabeu, but the France international has six goals and one assist in eight appearances, and it should not be too long until the 25-year-old hits top form.
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Alaves enjoyed an excellent 2023-24 campaign on their return to the top flight, finishing in 10th position, and they have also been impressive in the early stages of this season.
Indeed, the Blue and Whites have won three, drawn one and lost two of their six matches to collect 10 points, which has left them in fifth spot in the table, just four points behind Real Madrid.
Alaves do not have European commitments, so all of their football this season has been played in La Liga, and they have been victorious in three of their last four matches during an excellent run of form.
Indeed, Luis Garcia's side beat Real Sociedad and Las Palmas before the international break and then returned to winning ways against Sevilla on Friday after losing 3-2 to Espanyol on September 14.
Alaves suffered a 5-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the corresponding match last season, but they famously recorded a 2-1 victory at Bernabeu when the two teams locked horns in the famous stadium in November 2020.
Team News
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Real Madrid will definitely be without the services of four players on Tuesday, with Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos, David Alaba and Brahim Diaz on the sidelines through injury.
Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal were both forced off through injury against Espanyol, meanwhile, with the former suffering a recurrence of a shoulder problem, and the latter picking up a knock; neither issue is serious, but the pair are not expected to be risked in this match.
Ancelotti is set to recall Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy into his side, while there could also be a start for Lucas Vazquez at right-back.
Endrick has scored twice off the bench for Real Madrid since arriving at the club, and the 18-year-old is also being tipped to earn his first start on Tuesday night.
As for Alaves, Jesus Owono remains on the sidelines, but the visitors are otherwise in excellent shape, and it could be a case of same again from the win over Sevilla.
Carlos Vicente and Toni Martinez have scored twice each in the league this season, and the pair should continue in the final third of the field, while Carlos Martin is also set to retain his spot.
Joan Jordan and Ander Guevara should again be the holding midfielders for Alaves, while Manu Sanchez is in line to make his sixth league appearance of the campaign at left-back.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Modric, Tchouameni, Valverde; Endrick, Mbappe, Vinicius
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Sivera; Tenaglia, Abqar, Sedlar, M Sanchez; Jordan, Guevara; Vicente, Stoichkov, Martin; T Martinez
We say: Real Madrid 2-0 Alaves
Alaves know what it takes to win at Bernabeu, but they have only beaten Real Madrid twice since 2000, and we are finding it very difficult to predict anything other than a home victory here.
The visitors deserve a lot of credit, and there will be changes in the Los Blancos XI, but we just cannot see a scenario which involves the home side dropping points on Tuesday night.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
