Tuesday 21:00.
Real Madrid vs Getafe Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Real Madrid:
Courtois; Nacho, Varane, Mariano, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Blanco; Vinicius, Benzema, Asensio
Getafe:
Yanez; Suarez, Cabaco, Chakla, Nyom; Hernandez, Maksimovic, Arambarri, Alena, Cucurella; Mata
Real Madrid are sharing the second place with Barcelona as both teams have 43 points. The first placed Atletico Madrid have 50 points, but play with Celta Vigo tonight. That means the difference could be even bigger when Real start this match. On top of that, Atleti will have a match in hand. The first place looks far away at the moment. That is why coach Zinedine Zidane is under big pressure, as well as the players. According to some sources, the French coach will be changed at the end of the season. The actual form isn't at desired level, Real have one win and one defeat in the last two rounds of La Liga. First they lost 2:1 to Levante, while on Saturday beat Huesca with the same result. Raphael Varane scored a brace to secure a victory after coming from behind. Huesca found the back of the net just three minutes into the second period when Javi Galan fired home from outside the box. The hosts also struck the crossbar twice. Real equalized soon after when Raphael Varane bundled home a ball that spun high into the air after Karim Benzema had cracked a free-kick off Alvaro Fernandez’s crossbar. Benzema then missed a golden opportunity to score a second, but struck his powerful effort straight at Fernandez’s chest on the line. Nevertheless, Los Blancos netted a second goal six minutes from the end when Varane finished from close range after a Casemiro header from a free-kick had been saved. The atmosphere in the squad is much better now, though Zidane has lot of injury issues. He has only 11 first-team players available for this match, two of which are goalkeepers. Real named just six players on their bench against Huesca, with the side also suffering further injury doubts after that tie in Alvaro Odriozola, who was replaced in the 67th minute. He suffered from some hamstring problems, whilst the side could also be without Eder Militao due to discomfort in the adductor. Both players will undergo tests before the encounter on Tuesday night, but the chances of them featuring at this moment in time are slim as they are both seen as serious doubts. Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramons, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Isco are all currently sidelined. Toni Kroos will also miss the game due to a suspension. Diego Altube can make that number 13, the ace is the side’s third-choice goalkeeper, he’s been on the bench all season and won’t feature unless Courtois or Lunin are injured.
Getafe are sharing the 12th place with two other teams - Valencia and Cadiz. All three sides have 24 points and they next few rounds will determine their ambitions. So, few good results and Getafe could fight for European spots, while a mini-series of bad results could see them involved into the relegation battle. They are currently four points ahead of 18th-placed Valladolid, and they have only won six of their 21 league matches this season. According to me, this is not enough for a team looking to secure Europa League spot. The actual form is poor, Getafe have two defeats and just one draw on the last three matches in La Liga. They lost 5:1 in Bilbao, played a goalless draw with Alaves and lost 3:0 to Sevilla during the weekend. It was a tense and nervous match in which Getafe were reduced to 10 men after a horror tackle by defender Djene Dakonam on the Argentine international Ocampos. Sevilla and Getafe coaches - Julen Lopetegui and Jose Bordalas - clashed on the sidelines in reaction to the foul and were both sent off, while the incident led to nine minutes of added time being played. Sevilla had been the better side before Djene's red card and were utterly dominant with an extra player, while they could have scored even more goals. It is clear Getafe attack is not working, they failed to score a single goal on the last two matches. Getafe are the lowest scorers in Primera Division this season with just 17 goals. Angel is their main threat with five of those 17 goals. But Real are not a desirable opponents in that situation. Getafe have failed to beat them in La Liga for 13 years. Real and Getafe last met in a friendly just before the start of La Liga’s season in September, when Real trashed their opponents 6:0. Both mutual games last season ended with Real victories. I will also mention that Getafe are by far the dirtiest team in Primera Division with 71 yellow cards in 21 games. Red cards are also on the menu. As I already wrote, Djene Dakonam picked up a red card on Saturday and now must serve suspension. Erick Cabaco is expecting to deputize. Head coach Bordalas could also be banned. Arambarri could replace David Timor in the middle of the park.
Real Madrid vs Getafe Prediction:
Real Madrid are huge favorites against Getafe. However, coach Zinedine Zidane has big injury and suspension worries ahead of this match. He has just 12 first-team players available due to injuries and suspensions. Two of them are goalkeepers, so the number of players is 10. The rest of the squad will be youngsters, so I expect Getafe at least to score. They played Over 2.5 on the last three mtches on rod, so I expect the series to continue. This should be an efficient match with at least three goals.
Real Madrid vs Getafe Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 2.10 with Pinnacle