Real Madrid take on Real Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu to try and collect their first three points of the year.
It’s time for round two of this year’s LaLiga and the first home game of the season when Real Madrid host Real Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid started the season with an unexpected draw away to Mallorca where Rodrygo scored 0-1 after 13 minutes, and Muriqi 1-1 early in the second half. In summary, it was a rather awkward match where Real Madrid were ineffective in the first half and then Mallorca let themselves work into the match in the second half.
In today’s match, I hope we will see the team come out with new energy, determination, and a will not to waste more points. It will be exciting to see if all three strikers start from the left wing again or if Ancelotti chooses to shift the offensive tactics a bit. I also hope we make offensive substitutions earlier than the 87th minute, in case it looks convulsive. Guler and Brahim are really strong players that we can bring in and that can change the game.
Of course, it is only the beginning of the season, but rivals Barcelona have won two straight victories, even if it has not been purely 100% efforts from the Catalan side.
Before round 2 we received word that Jude Bellingham has picked up an injury that will keep him out of action for a month. This means that Bellingham will not be allowed to accompany Kylian Mbappe in his first home game in the meringue white shirt. Neither did compatriot Ferland Mendy, who drew a red card in the final minutes of the opening match.
In their absence, it will be Luka Modric and Fran Garcia who take their place in the starting eleven.
Today’s opponentReal Valladolid, started the season back in the top flight with a 1-0 win against Espanyol after a goal from Raul Moro. The team finished second in a tight battle for the top in LaLiga2 last year, where they missed out on first place in the last round.
A newly promoted team will not be any problem for Real Madrid, who want to take revenge from last weekend’s miscalculation, but like that match and like other matches against weaker opposition, we will probably see a match picture where the opponents back home and defend with 10 men in their own half and it is not always something Real Madrid has easy to fight. Especially now without Toni Kroos in midfield. That being said, there are no excuses for not getting a win today.
The last time the teams met, the match ended 6-0 to Real Madrid with Karim Benzema scoring a hat-trick after 36 minutes – we hope to see similar numbers today and that Kylian Mbappe can come close to the same performance as Benzema.
Probable starting XI:
Courtois
Carvajal – Rudiger – Militao – Garcia
Valverde – Tchouameni – Modric
Rodrygo – Mbappe – Vinicius
Kick-off 17:00 – TV4 Football/play.
“Hala Madrid!…and nothing else”
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Simon Johansson2024-08-25 12:56:00
