Preview
Real Madrid will aim at getting back to winning ways when they host Elche at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Los Blancos have seen their charge to defend their league title being complicated with a couple of draws coming their way. Zinedine Zidane's side have been held to back-to-back 1-1 results in clashes with Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid and will be looking for a first victory in three games after winning the last four games prior to that.
They currently sit third on the league log, two points off Barcelona's haul and seven away from going level with their cross-town rivals Atletico. So far, the Merengues are unbeaten in each of their last seven appearances across all competitions. With a Champions League clash with Atalanta on the cards for the upcoming week, the Spanish capital club will set their sight on boosting the morale in camp by getting the better of Elche this time around. The meeting between the two sides ended in stalemates although the Whites were tipped as favourites to carry the day.
With that at the back of their minds, the Elche players will also fancy their chances of pulling off another upset and effectively contribute to their relegation charge. Fran Escriba's side sits in 17th position and are just two points away from the danger zone having managed just 24 points from 25 outings this season. Needless to say, they will approach the upcoming clash with renewed confidence and the mentality to prove a point after securing an extraordinary win over top-four chasing Sevilla last weekend.
All the three bottom dwellers face tough assignments this weekend and it needs no mentioning as to how significant a win over Real Madrid would be for Elche.
Team news
Real Madrid will be without Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard, Dani Carvajal and Mariano when they take on Elche on Saturday. However, there is a boost in the squad with Fede Valverde making a full recovery.
For Elche, only Argentine midfielder Emiliano Rigoni is expected to miss the clash after picking up hamstring injury earlier this month.
Predicted starting XI
-
Real Madrid: Courtois; Vazquez, Varane, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Asensio
-
Elche: Badia; Barragan, Gonzalo, Calvo, Josema; Morente, Guti, Marcone, Fidel; Boye, Carrillo.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
