Real Madrid return to action hoping to keep pressure on Barcelona and Atlético Madrid at the top of the table as they travel to face Almeriá. While Xabi Alonso is back and looks to be Carlo Ancelotti's choice to anchor the defensive midfield, the loss of Sami Khedira will put pressure on young Asier Illarramendi to step-up in the German's absence.
Almeriá vs. Real Madrid: Preview and TV schedule
Real Madrid hope to keep pressure on the league leaders at the expense of Almeriá who are in the midst of the relegation battle.
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno
More from our team sites
Almeriá are struggling near the bottom of the league table but three straight victories before the international break have allowed Francisco Rodríguez’s side to move out of the drop zone into 17th. Now they’ll need to continue to capture points as they attempt to move away from the relegation fight. Of course, getting points against Real Madrid could prove quite difficult.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides since May 2011 when Madrid crushed Almeriá 8-1 at the Bernabéu.
Almeriá injuries and suspensions
Out: None
Real Madrid injuries and suspensions
Out: Sami Khedira (knee). In Doubt: Marcelo (knee), Fábio Coentrão (thigh),
Madrid will be without Sami Khedira as he suffered ligament damage in his knee paying for Germany that will keep the midfielder out for the rest of the season. Marcelo and Coentrão face fitness test to determine their availability. Almeriá are in good shape with no reported injuries.
Projected lineups
Almeriá: Esteban, Nélson, Ángel Trujillo, Marco Torsiglieri, Sebastián Dubarbier, Verza, Ramon Azeez, Aleix Vidal, Fernando Soriano, Suso, Rodri.
Real Madrid: Diego López, Sergio Ramos, Raphaël Varane, Pepe, Álvaro Arbeloa, Asier Illarramendi, Xabi Alonso, Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match Date/Time: 8 p.m. local, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, Almería, Spain
TV: beIN Sport, beIN Sport en Español (U.S.), Sky Sports 4 (U.K.), C+ Liga Multi, Canal+ Liga (Spain)
Online: beIN Sport Play (U.S.), beIN Play Sport Canada (Canada), Sky Go (U.K.)
More in Soccer:
See More:
