Real Madrid will look to stave off Barcelona’s inevitable La Liga title win when they host Getafe on Saturday night.
Los Blancos have dropped down to third below city rivals Atletico Madrid and their focus is firmly on the Champions League, playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.
As such, a raft of changes to the starting XI are expected from manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has the return leg at the Etihad next week to look ahead to.
Real face a Getafe side who boosted their survival hopes last time out with a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo earned by Enes Unal’s third-minute penalty.
In an odd quirk this weekend, the three top La Liga teams – Barcelona, Atletico and Real – are playing the division’s three lowest – Espanyol (19th), Elche (20th) and Getafe (18th).
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
Viaplay Sports 1, Viaplay UK, LaLigaTV |
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United States |
ESPN Deportes, ESPN+ |
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Canada |
TSN+ |
Ferland Mendy is the only injury absentee for Real, who will also be without suspended right-back Dani Carvajal, who got into the thick of it with Jack Grealish in midweek. However, Eder Militao is available again after serving a ban.
Ancelotti will want to keep most of his preferred starting XI for the second City leg on the bench on Saturday, meaning a number of fringe squad members could get chances to impress. However, Barcelona can wrap up the league this weekend and Real won’t want to help them to victory by fielding an overly rotated team here.
Real Madrid predicted lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Camavinga; Valverde, Tchouameni, Ceballos; Asensio, Rodrygo, Vinicius.
Getafe predicted lineup (4-3-3): Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Mitrovic, Alvarez; Iglesias, Arambarri, Maksimovic; Alena, Unal, Mata.
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Real Madrid have already secured three trophies this season – the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup – but they almost certainly won’t be claiming Spain’s top domestic prize.
That said, Real and Atleti shouldn’t be dropping points against Getafe or Elche, and Real especially will not want to bow out of the race with a limp result at home against a relegation contender.
Instead, Los Blancos’ fringe players should see it as a chance to make the starting XI for the City game next week. Good performances will catapult them into Ancelotti’s thinking and that should be a driving force in an entertaining home win.
