Real Madrid vs Alaves LaLiga preview: Prediction, kick-off time, team news, TV channel, live stream, h2h, odds

Real Madrid can take another big step towards LaLiga title glory when they welcome Alaves on Friday night.

Los Blancos may only lead Barcelona by one point as the table currently stands, but Zinedine Zidane's side have a game in hand over the current champions.

And when Real's superior head-to-head record against their Clasico rivals is thrown into the equation, Barca need Real to drop five points from their four remaining games to stand any chance of defending their title.

Real will be confident of restoring their four-point advantage given that struggling Alaves have lost their last five games in a row - but stranger things have happened in LaLiga.

Date, venue and kick-off time

Real Madrid vs Alaves will be held at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Friday, July 10, with kick-off scheduled for 9:00pm BST.

Prediction: Real Madrid 2-0 Alaves

The visitors will be fighting for their top-flight survival - and though Alaves sit six points off the drop zone, they are not safe yet.

Still, Real have shown nerves of steel since the restart - especially penalty specialist Sergio Ramos - and it would be no surprise to see Zidane's captain decide another game from 12 yards.

Team news and predicted lineups

Eden Hazard returns for Real Madrid after missing the last two games. The Belgian attacker picked up a knock in the win away to Espanyol on June 28 and missed the 1-0 victories over Getafe and Athletic Club.

Vinicius Junior should also be involved despite a problem with his coronavirus test, which came up with an error and needs to be repeated ahead of Friday’s game.

Meanwhile, striker Luka Jovic is in isolation due to the possible risk of contracting Covid-19 from a friend, according to reports in Spain.

Defenders Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal are suspended, but Raphael Varane is available again after a neck problem which saw him miss Sunday’s win in Bilbao.

Carvajal has no replacement in the Madrid squad, with Alvaro Odriozola on loan at Bayern Munich, and Marcelo is also set to miss out after training alone on Thursday.

Nacho is still sidelined and Eder Militao will be used in central defence, so Zidane only has Ferland Mendy fit at full-back and may have to play Lucas Vazquez on the right of his back four.

Gareth Bale started his career as a left-back, but Zidane has said in the past that he would not pick the Welshman in that position.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Varane, Militao, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde; Isco; Benzema, Hazard

Alaves predicted XI: Jimenez; Navarro, Magellan, Laguardia, Marin; Vidal, Camarasa, Pina, Rioja; Perez, Joselu

How to watch

TV channel: LaLiga will be available on Premier Sports with LaLigaTV for the rest of the season. To get access to all the games, customers should visit premiersports.com and register.

Live stream: With games due to be shown on TV on Channel 435 on Sky, fans can also live stream the matches online via the Premier Player app.

Pre-match coverage will start at 8:30pm BST.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

The last time these two teams met, Real sealed a 2-1 away win back in November thanks to goals from Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal.

Betting odds and tips

• Real Madrid to win: 1/4

• Alaves to win: 16/1

• Draw: 6/1

Odds courtesy of Betfair Exchange. Click here to find out more.

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