Real Madrid round off their victorious La Liga campaign with a trip to relegation-battling Leganes on Sunday night.
Zinedine Zidane’s side clinched their first league title since 2017 on Thursday with a 2-1 win against Villarreal. The win marked the club’s tenth consecutive victory since Spanish football’s return in June, with their imperious form wrestling the title from their stuttering rivals Barcelona.
Leganes had looked certainties for the drop a few weeks ago, but two wins from two have handed them an unlikely lifeline. However, Celta holding the head-to-head advantage over them on away goals means that nothing less than a win on the final day will see them retain their top-flight status, with them currently a point behind the Galician side.
When is Kick Off? Sunday 19 June
What Time is Kick Off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it Played? Estadio Municipal de Butarque
TV Channel/Live Stream? Premier Sports (UK), fuboTV (US)
Referee? Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez
Leganes will be without Ruben Perez through suspension after the midfielder picked up a yellow card in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Athletic Club.
Alexander Szymanowski is also ruled out with a muscular injury, while there will be late fitness tests for Kenneth Omeruo, Kevin Rodrigues, Oscar Rodriguez and Guido Carrillo.
For the visitors, Marcelo is the only absentee, though with the title secured there’s a strong possibility Zidane could look to freshen up his side ahead of their huge Champions League clash with Manchester City next month.
Leganes: Cuellar; Ruibal, Bustinza, Tarin, Siovas, Rosales; Eraso, Amadou, Mesa, Gil; Guerrero.
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Valverde, Casemiro, Modric; Vinicius, Benzema, Asensio.
After picking up just two points from their opening six games since the restart, Leganes looked all but dead and buried. However, an unbeaten run of four games – including three wins – has breathed life back into their survival bid.
Zidane’s men have been in imperious form since football’s return, winning all ten of their league outings and conceding just four goals in the process.
However, all is not lost for Leganes. While Madrid’s home form in the league this season has been exemplary – going unbeaten for the full campaign – their away form does offer a crumb of comfort for the home side, with Los Blancos beaten three time on the road this season, including a shock defeat at the hands of Mallorca. A rotated Real side could offer some hope too.
Here’s a look at each side’s last five outings.
Leganes
Athletic Club 0-2 Leganes (16/7)
Leganes 1-0 Valencia (12/7)
Eibar 0-0 Leganes (09/7)
Espanyol 0-1 Leganes (05/7)
Leganes 0-3 Sevilla (30/6)
Real Madrid
Real Madrid 2-1 Villarreal (16/7)
Granada 1-2 Real Madrid (13/7)
Real Madrid 2-0 Alaves (10/7)
Athletic Club 0-1 Real Madrid (05/7)
Real Madrid 1-0 Getafe (02/7)
The home side have defied the odds in taking the relegation battle down to the last game of the season, though they couldn’t have asked for a tougher assignment.
Real have been faultless since the restart, and though they’ve already achieved their goal of becoming La Liga champions once again, with the Champions League still set to resume, Zidane will expect nothing less than business as usual from his players.
Prediction: Leganes 0-2 Real Madrid
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