Real Madrid travel to Getafe in La Liga on Saturday night, and Los Blancos will be desperate to get back to winning ways.
Real Madrid dropped points for the first time this season in their last outing against Osasuna. And the draw saw them lose their place at the top of the table to bitter rivals Barcelona.
The Catalan giants are now atop the standings, owing to their superior goal deference. So Real Madrid will be determined to reclaim their position on the summit of La Liga with a win over Getafe.
Real Madrid managed to bounce back from their 1-1 draw against Osasuna with a 2-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week. It will be interesting to see if they can build on it and put together another winning run now.
Meanwhile, Getafe are 14th in La Liga right now, with just two wins from seven matches. They come into this contest on the back of a 3-2 defeat at home to Real Valladolid, and it will be interesting to see whether the hosts can step up and produce a surprise result in front of their own fans.
Team News & Tactics
Getafe
🎙 Quique S.F.: "El @realmadrid es un equipo muy equilibrado"
— Getafe C.F. (@GetafeCF) October 6, 2022
Quique Sanchez Flores will have a fully-fit squad to choose from, and Getafe will hope to grind out a morale-boosting result against the defending La Liga champions. Quique Sanchez Flores is expected to field his side in a 3-5-2 formation.
David Soria is set to start in goal. Gaston Alvarez, Domingos Duarte and Djene Dakonam will be the centre-backs forming the central defensive unit.
Damian Suarez and Fabrizio Angileri should be deployed as the wing-backs, and they will be expected to outnumber the Real Madrid midfield and provide extra cover to the centre-backs.
Mauro Arambarri, Jaime Seoane and Carles Alena will be stationed at the heart of the Getafe midfield. Finally, Enes Unal and former Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral will lead the line for the home side this weekend.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Soria; Alvarez, Duarte, Dakonam; Suarez, Seoane, Arambarri, Alena, Angileri; Unal, Mayoral
Real Madrid
Real Madrid will be without their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois because of a back injury. Meanwhile, midfielder Dani Ceballos and striker Karim Benzema will miss out as well against Getafe this weekend.
📋✅ Our squad for #GetafeRealMadrid! pic.twitter.com/VBQzdlo5ht
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 7, 2022
Carlo Ancelotti is set to continue with his usual 4-3-3 system here. Andriy Lunin is expected to start in place of the injured Courtois. In the back four, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy will be deployed as the full-backs, and Antonio Rudiger will partner David Alaba at the heart of the Real Madrid defence.
The midfield trifecta pretty much picks itself, with Toni Kroos and the Luka Modric supported by summer signing Aurelien Tchouameni. While the fit-again Modric and Kroos will be in charge of adding creative spark to the side and controlling the tempo of the game, Tchouameni will be expected to win the ball back and cut down the opposition attacks.
As for the front three, Federico Valverde is expected to feature on the right-hand side. Vinicius Junior will reprise his role on the left flank, Rodrygo Goes set to lead the line for Real Madrid against Getafe.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Lunin; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Tchouameni, Modric; Valverde, Rodrygo, Vinicius
Key Stats
- Real Madrid are undefeated in 34 of their last 37 away matches in La Liga.
- Real Madrid have kept a clean sheet in eight of their last nine matches against Getafe in all competitions.
- Real Madrid are undefeated in 17 of their last 18 matches against Getafe in all competitions.
- Real Madrid have scored at least two goals in eight of their last ten matches on the road in La Liga.
- Getafe have scored at least two goals in their last three matches in La Liga.
Player to Watch
Vinicius Junior
The Brazilian international has been outstanding for Real Madrid this season. Even though Los Blancos were not at their best in their last two outings, Vinicius Junior managed to score in both games and is our player to watch out for.
The Real Madrid attacker will look to trouble the Getafe defence with his pace, flair and movement. Vinicius has scored in six of his last eight appearances across all competitions and will fancy his chances of getting on the scoresheet once again.
Prediction
Getafe 1-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid will be full of motivation heading into this contest after their disappointing draw against Osasuna. Furthermore, the away side have an exceptional record against Saturday’s opposition. And they have lost just one of the last 18 matches against Getafe.
So Real Madrid are the firm favourites here, and they should be able to grind out all three points. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, despite Karim Benzema’s absence.
