Real Madrid are coming off a pair of disappointing performances in the last week — first, a showing in El Clasico against Barcelona that saw them largely outplayed despite finishing with a 1-1 draw. Then, giving up a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund that prevented them from winning their Champions League group. Now with Deportivo La Coruña coming to the Bernabeu, it’s time for Los Merengues to regroup and find their footing again.
Real Madrid vs. Deportivo La Coruña 2016: Time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Real Madrid are reeling from a disappointing result, and they will want to pick up a win to bounce back.
Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Of course, it’s not as though Real are at risk of losing their grip on the top of La Liga table — they have a six-point lead on second-place Barcelona, with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid seven and nine points back, respectively. While that’s some solid room for error, Real Madrid would much prefer to extend their lead by pounding on Deportivo like the relegation battlers they are, collecting an emphatic win and getting momentum back on their side once more.
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. - English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), Canal+ Partidazo (Spain)
Online: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
Three big things to know
- With Deportivo scraping just one point above the relegation zone, and with Real Madrid coming off that exhausting and frustrating Champions League battle at midweek, this would likely be a good chance for Madrid to rotate their squad quite a bit and give some tired legs a rest. Expect them to lean heavily on their bench, possibly including a first La Liga appearance for Enzo Zidane, the son of manager Zinedine Zidane.
- Deportivo have struggled for much of the season, but they are coming off a huge 5-1 win over Real Sociedad on Monday. With Real Madrid reeling a bit, this might be just the time for Deportivo to steal a huge upset at the league leaders’ expense.
- A big part of Deportivo’s win that day was a strong performance from Ryan Babel, something of a surprise after the ex-Liverpool winger had a tremendously mediocre start to the season. His goal was his second in as many matches, and he seems to be turning a bit of a corner in his performances this season. If Babel can become a consistent threat for Deportivo from wide areas, their attack will become a lot more dynamic and dangerous than it was before.
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