Match Preview

Real Madrid face off against Real Valladolid on Wednesday for the first home match of the season at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Real won their first match of the season last weekend against Real Betis. Sergio Ramos scored a late penalty to deliver Los Blancos a 3-2 win.

Valladolid have yet to win a match of their own. The club has drawn twice and lost once in the three matches played so far. They’ll be looking for their first three points of the relatively new season on the road.

Real have fared pretty well against Valladolid in recent history in home fixtures. They’re unbeaten in their last 11 La Liga matches against Valladolid. In that span, Real have won nine home matches and drawn twice.

Los Blancos will look to continue that streak heading into midweek action and for the first home match of the season.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid will be without Toni Kroos for this match due to injury. Fortunately, Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio have returned from their own injuries that caused them to miss the first two matches of the season.

Valladolid will be without defenders Kiko Olivas, Javi Moyano and Joaquín Fernandez. They will also be missing goalkeeper Jordi Masip and midfielder Rubén Alcaraz.

There are no suspensions for either club in Wednesday’s match.

Potential XIs

Real Madrid

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Valverde; Ødegaard, Vinicius, Benzema

With Kroos missing this midweek match Fede Valverde is the most likely choice to start in his place.

Even though Hazard and Asensio are back from injury it’s hard to say whether they are fully fit to start already. It could be more likely they are subbed off the bench instead in their first full simulation of the season.

Zidane has shown he is not afraid to go with a surprise starting attack. Against Betis, he went with Martin Ødegaard at the 10 and paired Luka Jovic and Karim Benzema up top.

We’ll have to see what his thoughts hold or if he goes with a perhaps less surprising start of both Ødegaard and Vinicius alongside Benzema. We could even see an Isco start.

Real Valladolid

Roberto; Pérez, Bruno, Sánchez, Nacho; Michel, Fede; Plano, Orellana, Rubio; Guardiola

Prediction

Real Madrid—Real Valladolid 3-1

Real should be the favorites in this midweek match. After two tough matches to start the season against Sociedad and Betis, this is a bit less challenging.

That doesn’t mean it’s a guaranteed win, of course, but given Real’s fairly impressive streak against Valladolid this should be a match where Real get the three points they seek.

Valladolid haven’t been impressive offensively to start the season after only scoring 2 goals in 3 matches played. In that span they’ve also given up four goals.

Real need to clean things up in their own way. They’ve given up some questionable goals to start and the defense doesn’t look nearly as comfortable as it did after the restart last season. It’s to be expected after over a month off from play, but it is a noticeable area where they can and must improve moving forward.

This is an important match as Real would like to get another three points after defeating a tough Betis side. It’s also their first opportunity to get the first home win of the season and the much-coveted three points.