Almeria vs Real Madrid
La Liga, KO: 18:30 Aug 19, 2023, Anexo Estadio de los Juegos del Mediterraneo
Real Madrid will be targeting a second straight victory of the new La Liga season when they make the trip to Almeria on Saturday. This fixture has been one-sided in recent years and Los Blancos will be confident of extending their superb record against Almeria.
Almeria made a poor start to the season as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano in their opening La Liga fixture. They dominated the possession and created several chances but ultimately lacked the cutting edge in attack.
Vicente Moreno’s men barely escaped the drop last season and had to wait until their final game to confirm their topflight status. They lost five of their opening seven matches last term and appear to be heading in a similar direction this term.
Almeria are generally unconvincing at home and began their campaign last term with a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid. They have also struggled to get goals in recent times, failing to score in their last three La Liga matches.
Jude Bellingham marked an impressive debut with a goal as real Madrid began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao. The English midfielder doubled Madrid’s lead after Rodrygo had opened the scoring midway through the first half.
Real Madrid appeared fired up in Bilbao as they appear determined to reclaim the La Liga title from Barcelona after finishing 10 points off the pace last season. However, they have suffered some early injuries with Eder Militao and Thibault Courtois suffering ACL problems (although Kepa Arizzabalaga has been brought in to replace the Belgian goalkeeper).
Los Blancos will be keen to improve on their record away from home, having been slightly erratic on their travels last season. However, Carlo Ancelotti’s men ended the campaign with three wins and a draw in their final four La Liga matches.
How the bookies view it
Los Blancos are the overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 2/5 by bet365 to claim the win. An unlikely win for Almeria is priced at 15/2 by William Hill while a draw is valued at 19/5 by William Hill.
Recent Head to Head
Real Madrid have a dominant record against Almeria claiming 11 wins and two draws from 14 previous meetings. Los Blancos did the double last season, winning 2-1 in Almeria before running out 4-2 winners in the reverse fixture in April.
Players to watch
Vinicius Junior failed to get on the score sheet last time out but is expected to shoulder much of the attacking responsibility at Real Madrid following the departure of Karim Benzema. The forward is priced at odds of 13/10 by bet365 to score anytime on Saturday.
With Almeria struggling for goals at the moment, Real Madrid will be targeting a shutout on Saturday. Antonio Rudiger is expected to partner David Alaba in central defence and can lead Los Blancos to a clean sheet at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Almeria’s goalscoring problems and with Real Madrid earning a win to nil last weekend, a repeat could be considered at 7/5 with BetVictor. Having scored two or more goals in the last seven meetings with Almeria, Los Blancos could be backed in the -1 handicap market at 21/20 with Betfred.
Real Madrid have scored in both halves in five of their last six matches against Almeria and a repeat is priced at 11/10 with BoyleSports.
This La Liga match between Almeria and Real Madrid will be played on Aug 19, 2023 and kick off at 18:30. Check below for our tipsters best Almeria vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
