Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Alaves | La Liga GW7 | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s third game on the trot at the Santiago Bernabeu is set to kick off later tonight as part of Matchday 7 of La Liga.

Having won their last four games across all competitions, Los Blancos are going strong and slowly but steadily improving their performances.

Tonight, they lock horns against Luis Garcia’s Deportivo Alaves at home in a game that is far from a write-off.

Alaves currently sit seventh in La Liga with ten points to their name, just four points behind Real Madrid. They have won three games so far this season, drawing one and losing two in the process.

When the two teams met at the Santiago Bernabeu last season, Real Madrid swept Alaves away with a 5-0 scoreline with goals from Vinicius Jr., Arda Guler, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde.

In fact, the Merengues have failed to beat the Basque side only once since 2000.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Deportivo Alaves.

Critical rotations

The schedule for the 2024-25 season was always known to be one of the most gruelling ones in history. It is only now, however, that it is gaining steam.

After a relatively straightforward curtain-raising stretch, the calendar now sees Real Madrid play a game every three days and it is certainly taking a toll on players’ fitness.

There is thus pressure on Carlo Ancelotti to rotate the squad to some capacity every now and then. Tonight’s clash against Alaves appears perfectly nestled to be one such night when the manager shuffles his cards.

Later this week, Real Madrid take on Atletico Madrid in the derby. The game will be at the Civitas Metropolitano and a rematch of the only league game Los Blancos lost last season.

The priority, thus, is the weekend’s clash and tonight could be the night Ancelotti makes big changes.

For starters, the likes of Arda Guler and Luka Modric could start alongside Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield, giving Federico Valverde some much-needed rest.

Ancelotti set to rotate his troops? (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The question, however, is whether the manager will deploy four or three midfielders on the night, especially given the shortage of resources.

Vinicius Jr. is expected to return to the lineup after not starting last weekend, opening the door to Kylian Mbappe getting a day off. A lot will, however, depend on Endrick’s fitness and preparedness to start.

The double injury-scare

Two players’ situations particularly bother Ancelotti and co. ahead of Tuesday’s clash – Jude Bellingham and Dani Carvajal.

The former is experiencing discomfort in his shoulder carrying forward last season’s injury. He displayed visible pain in his arm during the team’s last game and a decision is yet to be made whether he will participate against Alaves.

Bellingham is pushing to start on the night and is willing to play through the pain for the team. The final decision lies with the manager who must factor in not only the Englishman’s long-term fitness but also the upcoming derby.

Carvajal, meanwhile, asked to be substituted after scoring the equaliser at the weekend.

His injury does not appear to be serious as confirmed by the manager in his pre-match press conference but he will not be available for selection later today. The spotlight, thus, falls on Lucas Vazquez who will step in as a deputy.

A historic record

Real Madrid’s win over Espanyol marked a special occasion for it was the night the men in white completed a ‘perfect cycle’.

Given that the last game Real Madrid lost in La Liga was against Atletico Madrid last season, they have now gone 38 games unbeaten in the competition in what is a stupendous achievement.

Tomorrow, they have the chance to extend their record beyond the perfect cycle of 38 games and enter a second cycle unbeaten, thus even closing the gap on the historic record currently held by Barcelona.

The longest unbeaten streak in La Liga is currently held by the Catalans who went 43 games without a defeat under Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde.

Should Los Blancos continue their unbeaten run in the upcoming games, they will have an opportunity to equal the Blaugranas’ record in El Clasico. Tonight is the first of four steps that will take them to the Clasico with the record intact.