Real Madrid vs Almeria

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu plays host to a lopsided La Liga encounter between second-placed Real Madrid and relegation-battling Almeria.

Real Madrid’s faint hopes of defending the league crown suffered a knockout blow in midweek La Liga action as newly-promoted Girona humbled Carlo Ancelotti’s side 4-2, leaving them 11 points adrift of Barcelona with only seven games left. The impending home return should help ‘Los Blancos’ recover ahead of their Champions League semi-final tie against Manchester City, considering they’ve only lost one of their 15 top-flight outings at the Bernabeu this season (W10, D4). Irrespective of their recent form woes, Ancelotti’s men have been too hot to handle in the front third, netting 2+ goals in their last four home league matches. That should solidify Madrid’s bid to maintain a 100% win ratio in top-flight home meetings with Almeria (6/6), with this marking their first H2H in the capital since 2015.

In the meantime, visiting Almeria scored on either side of halftime to topple Getafe 2-1 on the road last time out and arrest a two-game losing league run, steering two points away from the relegation zone. Yet that exact scoreline condemned them to defeat in the reverse H2H, extending their losing league run against Madrid to six games. Interestingly, that triumph at Getafe marked their first La Liga triumph on hostile turf this season, following a woeful run of 14 winless travels (D4, L10). Moreover, that was their first top-flight away victory over sides Comunidad de Madrid after going winless in their first 22 such match-ups (D5, L17). High scoring has been a common theme on Almeria’s recent domestic trips, as their last five away league matches saw over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring.