Real Madrid is on a roll, and manager Carlo Ancelotti praised his team’s “complete and serious performance” in their 3-2 UEFA Champions League victory over Napoli on Tuesday. It was Real Madrid’s second straight game with three goals. They returned to the top of La Liga (LL) after matchday eight (W7, L1) thanks to the first of those, a 3-0 victory against Girona last Saturday.
Ancelotti’s club shouldn’t have any new injury concerns, and even veteran Luka Modri should be fresh for their upcoming game against Osasuna, a team they haven’t lost at home to since April 2004 (W13, D3).
Nobody has won an LL match against Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabéu since April of this year (W7, D1), emphasizing the difficulty the visitors will confront.
Osasuna defeated Alavés 2-0 on Sunday, snapping a five-match winless streak in all competitions (D2, L3), and moving into a mid-table position (W3, D1, L4). They occasionally relied on luck, and they benefited from their opponents’ sending off of a man – the sixth player to be expelled in their eight league games this year!
In fact, Los Rojillos had a player sent off in this LL matchup last season, but they valiantly persevered to draw 1-1, indicating they shouldn’t be quickly written off.
Even though they’ve only done it once in their last five efforts (D2, L3), Jagoba Arrasate’s team has scored twice in each of their last four league away games (W3, L1).
Observe these players: Jude Bellingham of Madrid continued his hot streak against Napoli on Tuesday (G1, A1), extending his season total of goals assisted to 11 in nine games (G8, A3). Ante Budimir of Osasuna can’t compare to that (G3, A1), but he has scored in each of his team’s last three away games, with all of those goals coming after the 50th minute.
Hot fact: In LL home games this season, Madrid has collected a league-low five yellow cards.
Predicted Scoreline: 3-1
