Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back from a 1-1 draw away at RCD Mallorca on opening day in La Liga when Real Valladolid visit Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday. Kylian Mbappe is set for his full home debut in front of Los Blancos’ supporters having only featured in the UEFA Super Cup in Warsaw so far and the draw on the road in Mallorca. Carlo Ancelotti will not be too worried by Real’s slow start but the Italian tactician knows that his team cannot afford to drop too many points with Barcelona starting with a win.
Valladolid actually got off to a winning start with a 1-0 success over RCD Espanyol so find themselves fourth in the early season standings. Although much will change in the coming round of games, only four sides made winning starts to their terms and Paulo Pezzolano’s men were one of those teams. A testing run featuring Barca, Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Mallorca before the end of September will be critical though.
Here are our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday, August 25 | Time: 11 a.m. ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabeu – Madrid, Spain
- TV: ESPN Deportes | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Real -700; Draw +700; Valladolid +1800
Last time out
A first win of the 2024-25 La Liga season will be considered a must for Los Blancos this weekend after drawing with Mallorca last time out. A win over Atalanta which included Mbappe’s first goal has already secured silverware but Ancelotti’s men got a dose of reality when Vedat Muriqi canceled out Rodrygo’s goal on the island. A solitary Raul Moro goal was enough to give Valladolid the win over Espanyol to start with three points.
Team news
Real: David Alaba remains out but will hope to be back after the October international break as the Austria international nears a return to training. Eduardo Camavinga is likely to be out until the end of September after getting injured before the Super Cup win. His absence will be tricky given that he usually fills in for Ferland Mendy at left back who is suspended after his red card in Mallorca. The France international is not expected back before Las Palmas next week.
Possible Real XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Vazquez; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vini Jr.
Valladolid: Pezzolano has a number of new faces including Stipe Biuk, Victor Meseguer, Juanmi Latasa, Raul Moro, Amath Ndiaye, Stanko Juric, Andre Ferreira, Eray Comert and Karl Hein. However, Hein, Comert, Moro and Ndiaye are the main ones to have broken into the starting XI so far this season.
Possible Valladolid XI: Hein; L Perez, Sanchez, Boyomo, Rosa; Ndiaye, K Perez, Comert, Amallah, Moro; Sylla.
Prediction
Real should be able to recover after their false start and register their maiden win here. Rodrygo has laid down an early marker in terms of his intentions of not being overlooked for Mbappe or Vini Jr. while Ancelotti knows that he needs to get the best out of both the French and Brazilian superstars. Expect them to show up here and do an efficient job. Pick: Real 2, Valladolid 0.
