Madrid’s “Real” has repeated the perfect start of the previous season with four wins in La Liga, including a confident 2-1 victory over “Getafe,” in which Joselu scored his first goal since returning to the club. The hosts still needed a precise strike from Jude Bellingham in injury time to secure a win at the recently renovated Santiago Bernabeu, leading to further debates about the absence of a contract with the main striker this summer, especially considering that Vinicius Junior is sidelined due to injury. On this front, there is good news for Carlo Ancelotti’s team: Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy have returned to training after extended breaks, as “Real” prepares for seven official matches in 21 days. Today, Mendy, Ceballos, Militao, Vinicius Junior, Guler, and Courtois, who has a knee injury, will not be able to take the field.
Never since the 2017/18 season have the guests scored more goals in their first four championship matches than this season – seven, but five of them were scored in the last game against “Granada” (5:3). Before the most high-scoring match in La Liga since October 2022, they drew their first three matches, which may be evidence that the Basques are one of the most challenging teams in Spain to beat. Away matches usually provide less spectacle, but two wins in their last nine away matches in La Liga may not have been to their advantage, although one of these wins came against “Barcelona” in the previous tournament. Nevertheless, the first win here in the championship since January 2019 would be ideal preparation for the meeting with Milan’s “Inter” in the UEFA Champions League in the middle of the week. In the team’s infirmary, we have Elustondo and Merquelanz, who has a knee injury.
