Las Palmas vs Real Madrid

Reigning La Liga holders Real Madrid take a trip to Estadio de Gran Canaria to encounter out-of-sorts Las Palmas.

After coming from behind twice to hold Sevilla to a 2-2 draw on the opening weekend, Las Palmas slumped to a 2-1 defeat at newly-promoted Leganes on day two, extending their embarrassing winless streak in La Liga to 16 matches (D6, L10). Chances are they face another season-long fight against relegation following a 16th-place finish in 2023/24. Toppling reigning champions Real Madrid would be a massive boost for the Canarians, yet that’s a feat they’ve managed in only 10% of their 70 historic H2Hs (W7, D15, L48). If it’s any consolation, all those seven wins came on home turf, where Luis Carrion’s men are winless across their last seven home matches (D3, L4). Yet, they’ve battled back from a deficit to take a point in the most recent three, suggesting they won’t go down without a fight.

On the other hand, Real Madrid put a dismal 1-1 day-one draw against Mallorca behind them with a 3-0 home victory against Real Valladolid at the weekend, with Brazilian sensation Endrick scoring on his Santiago Bernabeu debut. The 18-year-old became the youngster foreign player to score for Los Blancos in La Liga, helping his side walk away with an emphatic scoreline despite boasting a narrow 1-0 lead in the 88th minute. Carlo Ancelotti’s men take this trip amidst a formidable league form, having not lost any of their last 34 top-flight outings (W25, D9). It’s a near-certainty they’ll add to that tally this week, considering they’ve won four consecutive league H2Hs since a 3-3 draw in March 2017, including a 2-1 victory in this corresponding fixture last term.