There’s little margin for error for Real Madrid, as they make the short trip to Getafe needing three points to stay on the tails of Barcelona in the league title race in Spain.
The Catalans are in action 24 hours earlier at home to Mallorca, so Los Blancos could find themselves seven points behind their great rivals again by kick-off at the Coliseum on Wednesday.
That was the case on Sunday evening, when they left it very late to see off Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabeu. Fede Valverde struck a brilliant late goal to seal victory. It was one of Real Madrid’s most convincing performances in recent weeks overall given the quality of the opposition, and a positive response to their Champions League exit against Arsenal.
Getafe are not a side that normally rolls over, and Pepe Bordalas’ men boast the third-best defensive record in La Liga heading into this match. However, their recent form has been patchy with three wins and five defeats from their last eight games. They’ve been beaten by struggling Las Palmas and Espanyol in their last two fixtures.
This particular derby is rarely a great spectacle, with eight of the last nine meetings ending with two or fewer goals. It is Real Madrid that normally finds a way to come away with maximum points though, and they’ve won all six meetings since a 1-0 defeat on this ground in January 2022.
The home team will have to cope without midfielder Christantus Uche who is suspended after seeing red at the RCDE Stadium on Friday. Allan Nyom is their only injury concern.
Many changes are expected from Real Madrid, with Brahim Diaz, Lucas Vazquez, David Alaba and Fran Garcia among the other players who may rotate in. Kylian Mbappe remains a major injury doubt.
Getafe: Soria, Rico, Duarte, Alderete, Iglesias, Djene, Milla, Arambarri, Coba, Juanmi, Terrats.
Real Madrid: Courtois, F. Garcia, Alaba, Rudiger, L. Vazquez, Tchouameni, Valverde, Rodrygo, Bellingham, Brahim, Endrick.
