Actual Madrid ended 2025 with three back-to-back wins, none of which have been significantly convincing. But, that has been the story of the Merengues in a nutshell to this point this season..
As they step into 2026, they stare a formidable opposition of their first sport again – Actual Betis.
Commercial
Los Verdiblancos are at present sixth within the league standings with 17 video games performed and have received and drawn seven video games apiece. They’ve scored 29 targets and conceded 19 to this point this season.
Heading into Sunday’s sport, furthermore, Actual Betis haven’t misplaced a single certainly one of their eight away video games in La Liga – a staggering document that Xabi Alonso’s males should be cautious of.
Madrid Common brings you three speaking factors forward of Actual Madrid vs Actual Betis.
New 12 months, new begin
2025 was not Actual Madrid’s finest 12 months in any sense of the phrase with the group going with none main title, ending second to Barcelona in all home competitions, and coming nowhere near the UEFA Champions League.
Commercial
Added to that was the disaster of Vinicius Jr.’s poor kind, the group’s decline beneath Carlo Ancelotti within the first half, and the variation to Xabi Alonso within the latter half of the season.
All in all, Los Blancos have been left unstable for the larger a part of the 12 months, and that’s exactly what they have to look to show round moving into 2026.
The issue with Actual Madrid has by no means been in regards to the high quality however the consistency, and the lads in white should start discovering solutions to how they will shine as a unit beginning tomorrow night.
Taking up Actual Betis within the state of affairs they’re in will probably be simpler mentioned than accomplished, however as they step into a brand new 12 months, it’s excessive time the gamers flip a brand new leaf and look to kick begin on a recent thoughts.
Commercial
There may be, in spite of everything, so much at stake together with their pleasure, the supervisor’s job, and probably the way forward for a number of stars whose shares are falling with each passing day.
An attacking disaster
How will Alonso exchange Kylian Mbappe? (Photograph by Denis Doyle/Getty Photos)
There may be, after all, no place to begin the dialogue about Actual Madrid’s first sport of 2026 aside from Kylian Mbappe’s damage, one which guidelines out his participation towards Actual Betis.
The participant is for the Spanish Tremendous Cup, however he won’t function tomorrow and the supervisor has a critical choice to make as to how he plans to interchange him.
Commercial
Mbappe has been Actual Madrid’s saviour to an excellent extent this season, taking over accountability within the closing third and scoring greater than half of the group’s targets. With him out, the supervisor doesn’t have too many choices contemplating Endrick’s current departure.
The primary possibility on Alonso’s thoughts will probably be to usher in a like-for-like substitute in Gonzalo Garcia, and thus restore the firepower with a pure centre-forward. The draw back, nonetheless, is that the participant is prone to be rusty after not that includes recurrently.
A second possibility will probably be to begin the duo of Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes with a further midfielder coming into the dynamics for higher ball retention and chance-creation. The query in that setup, nonetheless, will linger on the clack of a medical finisher.
The third possibility, albeit unconventional, can be to begin Jude Bellingham as a false 9, an experiment that sounds good on paper however will probably be a dangerous wager given how it’s a novel idea for the group.
Commercial
Momentum for the Tremendous Cup
Actual Madrid’s sport towards Los Verdiblancos on Sunday is a vital one from a league standpoint, particularly when one considers how Barcelona are already 4 factors away from them within the standings.
Past that superficial level, nonetheless, there’s one other main goal for which Actual Madrid should win on Sunday – the upcoming Spanish Tremendous Cup.
As all the time, the Spanish Tremendous Cup presents Actual Madrid with their first probability of profitable a home title this season – one which the dressing room wants for his or her morale and the supervisor requires to salvage his job.
Enroute to the title, nonetheless, Actual Madrid should get the higher of Atletico Madrid within the semifinal and presumably Barcelona within the closing – one thing that will probably be troublesome with out momentum on their facet.
Commercial
Provided that tomorrow’s conflict is Actual Madrid’s closing sport earlier than travelling to Saudi Arabia, they have to ship a convincing efficiency and take three factors towards the guests on the Santiago Bernabeu.