Real Madrid vs Alaves Predicted line-ups and latest news
One of the opening matches of the 36th round of the Spanish La Liga will be a meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu, in which Real Madrid will take on Deportivo Alaves as champions.
Both teams have no tournament objectives as such: the "creamy" have already celebrated their 36th championship and are gradually preparing for the Champions League final, where on 1 June at Wembley will meet Borussia Dortmund.
For Deportivo, the season can also be considered over, the team, despite all expectations, will finish the campaign in the middle: 12 points to the European Cup zone and 13 points to the relegation zone. Therefore, with three rounds to go, the team from Alaves will not be able to get into the top seven, but it also saved itself from returning to the Segunda.
But the royal club should not underestimate the opponent, as Deportivo recently beat Atletico 2:0, which just like that inflicted Real's only defeat of the season. Alaves also took points away from Girona (2:2). The "cream" should also remember the last time the teams met, when the Madrid team literally snatched a 1-0 victory in added time in the second half.
Real are approaching the match with Deportivo with an optimal squad, although it cannot be ruled out that after a busy season Carlo Ancelotti may resort to rotation. The main return from the infirmary of late was the inclusion of Thibaut Courtois in the main squad for the match against Cadiz, where the "cream" ran over the opponent with a score of 4:0, and the Belgian kept the goal intact.
Just how necessary it is to get into a good rhythm was insisted on by Real's head coach at the press conference.
"The aim is to come with the whole team at its best. Players who have recently returned, such as Courtois and Militao, need minutes to get into a rhythm and we will take advantage of those games. Then, a week before the final, we will make the necessary decisions."
But, not directly on all players the Italian specialist can count on. Aurélien Tchouaméni and David Alaba are still in the infirmary. The manager of the team from Alaves Luis Garcia at the Santiago Bernabéu has a springboard for thought, as he has all the players available.
The specialist himself put it this way about the upcoming match against the Spanish champion:
"It's never easy, but we have to play as well as we can and dream of doing something nice. We must not lose our identity. The team is doing well and let's see if we can compete well. We want to make people proud of us."
The Daiysports team have also prepared tentative line-ups for you, following what the personnel situation is for both teams and what the managers' choices were for the previous matches.
Real Madrid's predictable line-up
Courtois - Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Mendy - Kamawinga, Kroos, Valverde - Bellingham - Rodrigo, Vinícius Júnior.
Deportivo Alaves predictable squad
Owono - Javi Lopez, Rafa Martin, Abqar, Tenaguilla - Guevara, Benavides - Simeone, Guridi, Vicente - Kike Garcia.
The starting whistle at the Santiago Bernabeu will sound on 14 May at 21:30 CET.
Yasmine Green
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
