La Liga: Alaves Plan to Spoil Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid Homecoming

Alaves vs Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti will make his return to Real Madrid looking to guide them to their first three La Liga points of the 2021/22 season when they visit Alaves this Saturday at the Mendizorroza.

Real Madrid brought in Carlo Ancelotti when Zinedine Zidane left the club during the summer in hopes of reliving their glory days under the Italian manager back then from 2013 to 2015.

At that period, Ancelotti had the luxury of mentoring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale who were all in their primes. However, this time around, he’ll inherit an aging roster filled with question marks.

After coaching for Everton in the Premier League last term, Ancelotti faces a unique challenge of trying to guide his squad back to the promise land after failing to defend their domestic trophy last season, and he’ll be dealing with numerous critics on a daily basis.

Ancelotti intends to get himself re-acclimated in Spain with this winnable fixture against Alaves. But based on the La Liga 2021 news recently, Los Blancos might be in for an unpleasant surprise if they don’t get their act together.

Talking Points

Alaves can cause headaches for Los Blancos

El Glorioso have had a solid pre-season and they’ll hope to carry their momentum ahead in their home opener.

Javi Calleja’s men have enjoyed a three-game winning streak and they’ll aim to go higher than their 16^th-placed finish last term.

They will be led once again by the duo of Joselu and Lucas Perez since they’ve combined for 15 goals and seven assists last term and Javi Calleja is hopeful that they’ll be on target this weekend.

Joselu was Alaves' top scorer in La Liga last season with 11 goals scored — Joselu celebrates scoring his goal with Alaves teammate Lucas Perez

Manchester United youngster Facundo Pellistri is an intriguing prospect for them and he’s back for a season-long loan after last season’s six-month deal.

He performed well for the Red Devils in their pre-season games by notching one goal and one assist, which should give Alaves fans something to be excited about.

Real Madrid are still reeling with the losses of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos, so Alaves should really consider adapting an offencive approach to take advantage of their visitors.

Real Madrid have major lineup doubts

The 2020 La Liga champions are facing the prospect of missing five of their key players in this upcoming fixture against Alaves.

Dani Carvajal (hamstring), Alvaro Odriozola (thigh), Ferland Mendy (tibia), Toni Kroos (groin), and Karim Benzema (COVID-19) are all on the mend, which leaves Carlo Ancelotti with limited options.

The oft-injured Eden Hazard will hope to feature in the starting XI, but his spot is not yet guaranteed following the knock he picked up playing for Belgium against Portugal during Euro 2020.

New addition David Alaba is also optimistic that he’ll make his Real Madrid debut soon, but it remains to be seen whether he’s ready to go after contracting the coronavirus last week.

If these news are any indication, Real Madrid supporters have to brace for a rocky ride this season. However, they should remain the second favourites to win the trophy behind Atletico Madrid.

History

Real Madrid are expected to win this contest because of their dominance against Alaves historically.

Here in La Liga, Los Blancos have won 26 times, while El Glorioso have only won and drawn twice.

One of those rare wins came last November 2020 when Lucas Perez and Joselu pounced to a two-goal lead before Casemiro halved their deficit at the 86^th minute.

The opening matchday hasn’t been too kind for Alaves since they’ve managed to win only once in their last seven tries.

In stark contrast, Real Madrid have never lost in 12 consecutive curtain-raisers, winning eight and drawing four times, while keeping a clean sheet in eight of them.

Betting Tip

	Alaves vs Real Madrid	Real Madrid Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 1.71
	August 15, 04:00 (GMT+8)

Despite their injury woes, Real Madrid are installed as the heavy favourites to win by the SBOTOP La Liga 2021 odds.

Real Madrid are priced at 1.44 to win, whereas Alaves are the underdogs at 6.40 and chances for a draw are at 4.60 in the 1X2 market.

Upsets are likely to occur on the opening matchday, and Alaves are going to pull out all the stops in order to make it happen this weekend.

However, we expect Real Madrid to win on the road even without being complete since they are the stronger and deeper team overall.

The Bernabeu giants should be able to grab the three points this weekend, but they’ll have to earn it the hard way against a gritty and hungry Alaves team.