Real Madrid are enduring one of the most difficult stretches of their season, entering their midweek La Liga fixture against Alaves without a victory in their last four matches — a run that has effectively ended their chances of domestic and European silverware this campaign.
Los Blancos’ recent La Liga results include a 2-1 defeat to Mallorca and a 1-1 draw with Girona, leaving them nine points adrift of Barcelona with seven games remaining, including El Clásico on May 10. Their Champions League quarter-final exit against Bayern Munich came despite a promising performance in the second leg, where they built a 3-2 lead to level the aggregate score before Eduardo Camavinga’s 86th-minute red card shifted momentum decisively in the German side’s favour.
Alaves, managed by Quique Sanchez Flores since the start of March, arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu sitting just one point above the relegation zone, level on the standings with 18th-placed Elche. Despite their precarious league position, the Basque club have shown resilience and attacking intent under their new manager, most notably in a stunning 4-3 comeback victory over Celta Vigo after trailing by three goals. They have, however, also conceded late in a defeat to Valencia and in a draw against Villarreal.
Alaves’ last victory over Real Madrid came in November 2020, when they claimed a shock 2-1 win at the Bernabeu — the same venue where Tuesday’s match takes place. Real Madrid will be looking to extend their head-to-head winning run to nine consecutive matches, having most recently defeated Alaves 2-1 away at Mendizorroza in December.
On the team news front, Real Madrid will be without central defender Raul Asencio, who has been ruled out after being diagnosed with gastroenteritis. Rodrygo continues his long-term absence, having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of March. Goalkeeper Andrey Lunin will again deputise for Thibaut Courtois, who has now missed five matches with a thigh injury. Aurelien Tchouameni is available to return to midfield after serving a suspension for the Bayern Munich second leg, while Alvaro Carreras is in contention to start at left-back.
Alaves have no new injury concerns to report ahead of the trip to Madrid but remain without Carlos Benavidez through injury. Midfielder Abde Rebbach is suspended for the match after accumulating his fifth yellow card of the season in the draw with Real Sociedad.
Expected lineups for Tuesday’s fixture are as follows. Real Madrid: Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Militao, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler, Bellingham; Mbappe, Vinicius Jr. Alaves: Sivera; Perez, Otto, Tenaglia, Parada, Yusi; Ibanez, Blanco, Guridi; Martinez, Boye.
With the La Liga title all but out of reach and European football concluded for the season, Real Madrid’s remaining fixtures serve primarily as an opportunity to restore form and confidence ahead of the summer. Alaves, by contrast, have concrete and immediate motivation — every point in their remaining matches could prove decisive in their fight to avoid relegation from the top flight.
