Deportivo Alaves will host Real Madrid on Thursday night for round No. 18 of the La Liga season.
The Spanish top flight is heading for the winter break, but before it does, Madrid will attempt to close the gap to first-place Girona.
Desde ya, pensando en el jueves.👊 ¡Seguimos! 🔜#GoazenGlorioso ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/CjBVRb2efm— Deportivo Alavés (@Alaves) December 18, 2023
Desde ya, pensando en el jueves.👊 ¡Seguimos! 🔜#GoazenGlorioso ⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/CjBVRb2efm
Yes, you read that right. Girona are in first place after 17 matches. Two points separate the two clubs, as Girona won on Monday night, 3-0, against Alaves.
By the time Real Madrid kick off in Alaves, they could be five points behind Girona. Los Rojiblancos will play Real Betis earlier in the evening in Seville.
Los Blancos are on a three-game winning streak against Alaves in all competitions. However, these teams have not played since 2021-22.
Fifteen of the last 17 matches between these clubs finished as Real Madrid wins.
Could Thursday’s game be another win for the capital club? Alaves are in poor form ahead of kick off.
They lost their last two La Liga matches, 1-0 to Las Palmas and 3-0 to Girona. Indeed, Deportivo did not score in their last three league matches.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid took 14 points from the last 18 points on offer in La Liga. The team scored 15 goals, while the defence conceded a mere three times.
Defender David Alaba is an injury casualty after suffering an ACL injury. He is out for the rest of the season.
Alaba was the third Madrid player to suffer an ACL injury this season. Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao also suffered ACL injuries and are out for the season.
Alaves’ attack scored just five goals in the last six games. They should continue to struggle on Thursday night.
Real Madrid conceded the fewest goals in La Liga in the opening 17 games. Just 11 goals were allowed by Madrid.
Joining Alaba on the sidelines will be Ferland Mendy. The full-back is recovering from a head injury.
Dani Carvajal is also out of action due to a calf injury. Adding to Ancelotti’s headaches will be the absences of Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga, and Arda Guler.
Deportivo coach Luis Garcia has just two players on the injury list. Defender Aleksandar Sedlar and Giuliano Simeone are both expected to miss the fixture.
Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is carrying the team in the goals department. Bellingham has 13 goals, which is 34% of Madrid’s scoring. The Englishman should get onto the scoresheet, as he leads Madrid to a 3-0 win over out-of-form Deportivo Alaves.