Real Madrid vs Almeria - Will Los Blancos Sink Even Deeper A Relegation-Threatened Almeria?

Next Saturday night, Real Madrid will go head-to-head with Almeria at Santiago Bernabéu for round 33 of Liga BBVA on what will be a very important match for both teams’ aspirations in the competition.

Real Madrid visited Anoeta last Saturday and hammered the home side of Real Sociedad with a conclusive 4-0 on a match where Cristiano Ronaldo was offered some time to rest because of the knee injury that has been taunting him. At the end of the match, the team’s head coach, Carlo Ancelotti claimed that he is proud of his players and that he will keep believing that his side can win the title until the very last match.

Los Blancos presented a 4-3-3 tactical scheme, a slight variation of their usual 4-2-3-1, that proved to be very effective. Illarramendi played in the midfield alongside Modric and Xabi Alonso on his return to Anoeta and he scored his side’s first goal after being booed at the beginning of the match.

For next Saturday’s match, Carlo Ancelotti will still not be able to count on Marcelo, who is out with a hamstring injury and with Jesé, Arbeloa and Khedira all sidelined due to long term injuries. There are still some doubts about Ronaldo’s physical condition, which certainly constitutes a major headache for the Italian manager.

Almeria’s reality, on the other hand,is far more complicated. The Andalusian side are second from bottom and they seriously compromised their future at Liga BBVA next season after last Friday’s home defeat against their relegation battle rivals - Osasuna. Almeria are on a negative run of matches, with five defeats over the last seven clashes and next Saturday’s match at Bernabéu is certainly not the easiest one for the team’s return to victories.

For next Saturday’s match, Almeria’s manager, Francisco Rodríguez will not be able to count on Sebastián Dubarbier and on Hans Martínez, who are still recovering from long term injuries and will certainly miss the rest of the season.

When both teams measured forces last November at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, Real Madrid trashed Almeria 5-0 on a match that put an abrupt end to three consecutive wins from the team from Andalusia. Next Saturday, and judging by both teams’ recent performances, there is a high risk of history repeating itself and of Almeria leaving Santiago Bernabéu with nothing more than yet another heavy defeat in their bags.

Real Madrid

Stats: W-24 L-4 D-4

Recent Form: WLLWW

Almería

Stats: W-8 L-18 D-6

Recent Form: LWDLL

Possible Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-3-3) - Diego López - Carvajal - Pepe - Sergio Ramos - Nacho - Modric - Xabi Alonso - Illarramendi - Isco - Bale - Benzema

Almería (4-2-3-1) – Esteban, Rafita, Trujillo, Marcelo Silva, Mané, Tébar, Corona, Suzo, Soriano, Vidal, O. Díaz.

Prediction: Real Madrid 3 Almería 0