By Karl Matchett
The cucumber growers usually are not a banana pores and skin
It’s Leganés who come to city on this event, with each they and Los Blancos only a single place and a handful of factors within the desk shy of their seasonal aims – however there any similarities finish. Actual Madrid are second in LaLiga, chasing down Barcelona who’ve a three-point lead with ten video games to go. For Leganés, it’s relegation they search to keep away from, however they lie 18th, the ultimate drop-spot, in a congested battle to keep away from falling to La Segunda.
Los pepineros don’t have an excellent observe document of spoiling the celebration towards Madrid; they’ve by no means received a sport towards them from 9 LaLiga conferences and outcomes this time period have been 0-3 in league play and 2-3 within the Copa, each video games on the Butarque fairly than the Bernabéu and the latter that includes a heavily-rotated Actual aspect.
Current kind
Extra lately, Actual have received seven of their final eight and haven’t misplaced a fixture performed on the Santiago Bernabéu since November. They’ve LaLiga’s greatest house document too this 12 months, 4 factors greater than Barcelona after the identical video games, or the identical factors as Atlético after enjoying two at house fewer. For Leganés, it’s six defeats from the final eight and one away win in LaLiga all season – although, to be truthful, that did come towards Barcelona of all groups. It’s cheap to anticipate that in the event that they survive it will likely be based mostly on house kind – 5 wins from 14 thus far – not journeys to the title challengers, but even a shock draw would go a protracted option to serving to contemplating the 4 groups fifteenth to 18th are separated by only one level.
Crew information
The same old suspects are unavailable for the lengthy haul for Actual, together with Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão, and the shorter-term doubts corresponding to Thibaut Courtois and Ferland Mendy are unlikely to be risked both given the Copa semifinal developing in midweek. Leganés have their very own long-term points with left-backs Borna Barišić and Enric Franquesa each sidelined however are in any other case at full capability.
Key participant
Finally these kind of matches are typically settled by better final-third high quality, even when efficiency ranges aren’t in high gear. However typically which means somebody must be the spark to show a stroll into a hit and Federico Valverde is continuously that somebody for Actual Madrid. He’s received extra duels than 98% of comparable LaLiga gamers, received the ball again within the closing third greater than 84% and has had extra photographs on track than some other central midfielder. A real crew dynamo from deep.
Prediction
Bringing it again to the highest then: an in the end forgettable outcome within the context of the season with a routine Actual Madrid win, 3-0.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
You’ll be able to comply with each sport from LaLiga with FotMob this season — that includes deep stats protection, xG, and participant scores. Obtain the free app right here.