Real Madrid will enter Saturday night's clash with Rayo Vallecano knowing that a victory at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas would see them move to the top of the La Liga table.
Los Blancos are currently second in the division, two points behind leaders Barcelona with a game in hand, while Rayo are 12th, and the home side will enter this contest off the back of successive victories.
Match preview
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Rayo have a record of five wins, four draws and six defeats from their 15 La Liga matches this season, with 19 points leaving them in 12th spot in the table, six points ahead of the relegation zone.
The capital outfit have been relatively solid defensively this term, only conceding 16 times in their 15 games, but finding the back of the net has been a problem, scoring just 15, which is the joint-fourth worst attacking record in the division.
Los Franjirrojos secured a spot in the third round of the Copa del Rey courtesy of a 3-2 success over Unionistas de Salamanca on December 4 before recording a 1-0 victory over Valencia in the league last weekend.
Inigo Perez's side have only picked up eight points from their seven home league matches this season, but Real Madrid have dropped points in half of their eight league games away from Bernabeu - drawing three and losing once.
Rayo also held Real Madrid to draws in both league meetings between the two sides last season, but Los Franjirrojos have only won seven of their previous 44 matches with Los Blancos, who average over 2.5 goals per game against Rayo throughout history.
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Real Madrid will enter this match off the back of a huge win in Europe, beating Atalanta 3-2 in Italy to move into 20th spot in the Champions League table, now on nine points from six games.
Ancelotti's side also recorded a 3-0 victory over Girona in La Liga last weekend, with the team bouncing back impressively from their 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on December 4.
Los Blancos are second in the La Liga table, two points behind leaders Barcelona with a game in hand, so a victory on Saturday night would move them to the summit, as Hansi Flick's side are not in action until Sunday at home to Leganes.
Real Madrid have been solid defensively this term, conceding just 13 times in their 16 matches, while they are the second-highest goalscorers on 34, but Barcelona have managed 16 more in Spain's top flight this term.
Ancelotti's team have undoubtedly been short of their best in the opening months of this campaign, but they are now well-placed to advance to the next stage of the Champions League, even if that means competing in a playoff, while Barcelona's recent wobbles in the league have put the title race back in Real Madrid's hands.
Team News
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Rayo will be missing two players on Saturday, with Pelayo Fernandez and Raul de Tomas unavailable for selection, but the hosts are otherwise in strong shape heading into their clash with Los Blancos.
Due to the nature of the performance and indeed the result against Valencia last time out, it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field here, meaning another start at centre-forward for Randy Nteka.
Alvaro Garcia, Isi Palazon and Jorge de Frutos are set to continue as the attacking three, while Pathe Ciss, who was on the scoresheet against Valencia, will again feature in the middle of midfield for Perez's side.
As for Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe is unlikely to feature due to the muscular injury that forced him off against Atalanta; the issue is not believed to be serious, but the Frenchman is not expected to play on Sunday.
Jude Bellingham should be fit despite concerns surrounding his fitness after the Atalanta clash, while Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo both returned from injuries in the European game last time out and are in line to start.
Rodrygo is expected to play through the middle, while Dani Ceballos is in line for another spot in central midfield, with Aurelien Tchouameni set to continue in the middle of the defence.
Los Blancos will again be missing Ferland Mendy, Eduardo Camavinga, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal and David Alaba for what is their penultimate league match of the year.
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Mumin, Chavarria; Ciss, Valentin; De Frutos, Palazon, A Garcia; Nteka
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Tchouameni, Rudiger, F Garcia; Ceballos, Valverde; Brahim, Bellingham, Vinicius; Rodrygo
We say: Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid will not be at full-strength on Saturday, and Rayo are capable of making this a very tricky match for Los Blancos; it would not be a shock to see the points shared this weekend, but we just have a feeling that Ancelotti's side will be able to navigate their way to all three points in order to move to the top of the division.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
