Real Madrid were so impressive in the early stages of 2022 – they put five straight wins on the board in all competitions but the capital giants have now only been victorious in one of their last five, which was an unconvincing 1-0 home success over Granada in La Liga on February 6. The Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain four days ago lowered the optimism additionally.Los Blancos are eager to return to winning ways on Saturday evening when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to survival-fighting Alaves.Alaves occupy 18th position, four points from the safety of 17th position heading into the next set of fixtures. The giants from the Spanish capital are four points clear of second-placed Sevilla at the top of the table.There is a lot of pressure on the home side to start winning as soon as possible – their draws with Elche and Villarreal in two of their last three in the league allowed Sevilla to close the gap.Two can play the ‘Haaland’ gameCarlo Ancelotti’s side have three league games coming – against Alaves, Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad – and potential nine points during that run could help them immensely. Stubborn Sevilla, who are the only other team in the title race this term, refuse to go away.The good news for the Royal Club come in the form of their home performances this season – this season, at Bernabeu in the league, they picked up 28 points from 12 matches, which is the second-best record in the league. Additionally, their tonight’s rivals Alaves hold the second-worst away record in Spain’s top flight – just five points collected from 11 games. Alaves are also the lowest scorers in the league, managing just 19 goals this season. The last round surprising 2-1 victory over Valencia did boost the mood a bit among El Glorioso.When goals dry up – all eyes turn to Karim BenzemaAs far as recent head-to-head clashes go, Alaves have conceded eight times in their last two league games against Real Madrid, including a 4-1 loss in the reverse match back in August. Last season, Alaves shocked the Madridians with an incredible 2-1 victory at Bernabeu.Real Madrid have no injury or suspension concerns heading into this weekend’s contest – aside from Mariano Diaz. Even so, Ancelotti is expected to make a couple of changes to the side that started against the Parisians in the Champions League.Rodrygo is in line to replace Marco Asensio on the right of the front three while Federico Valverde could come in for Luka Modric in the middle of the pitch. Karim Benzema should again lead the attack as Ancelotti insisted that the Frenchman did not aggravate his hamstring during the loss in Paris.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Alaves, on the other end – it would not be a surprise to see Mendilibar select the same line-up that took to the field against Valencia. The guests are again without the services of Ximo Navarro, Joselu is undisputed upfront, while Luis Rioja and Jason are likely to retain their spots on the flanks.LA LIGA – Round 25FridayElche – Rayo Vallecano 2-1 (0-0)/Carillo 77, Milla 84 – Fran Garcia 52/Saturday16.00: (4.00) Granada (3.45) Villareal (1.95)18.15: (3.50) Osasuna (3.20) Atl.Madrid (2.20)20.30: (3.20) Cadiz (2.75) Getafe (2.65)23.00: (1.23) Real Madrid (7.00) Alaves (14.0)Sunday16.00: (3.50) Espanyol (3.10) Sevilla (2.25)18.15: (3.80) Valencia (3.45) Barcelona (2.00)20.30: (1.60) Betis (3.90) Mallorca (5.80)23.00: (2.60) Ath.Bilbao (2.95) Sociedad (3.00)Monday23.00: (1.65) Celta (3.80) Levante (5.50)***odds are subject to change
