Zinedine Zidane's side were chasing a La Liga record when Villarreal arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night, with Madrid targeting their 17th consecutive victory in the Spanish top flight. The Yellow Submarine spoiled the party, though, ultimately drawing 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu after a first-half penalty from Bruno Soriano had given Fran Escriba’s charges a surprise lead. It was a slightly disappointing performance from Los Blancos, whose attacking strategy as they chased a winner seemed to be limited to sending crosses into the penalty area, but Zidane will still be pleased with the way his team have begun the 2016/17 campaign – Madrid currently sit at the summit of the standings after amassing 13 points from their first five matches.
Las Palmas have also had a positive start, with a return of nine points from a possible 15 lifting them into fifth place. They suffered their first poor result on Wednesday night, however, going down 4-1 at Real Sociedad, and will want to pick up at least a draw on Saturday to keep their momentum going. Los Amarillos were brilliant in the second half of last term – their best spell came between late February and mid-April, when they won six out of seven games – and they will have their eyes set on another mid-table finish this time around.
Zidane will be unable to call upon the services of goalkeeper Keylor Navas and left-backs Marcelo and Fabio Coentrao for Madrid’s trip to Gran Canaria, although holding midfielder Casemiro should be available for selection, which is a boost for Los Blancos given that they were very open at times against Villarreal. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are all likely start in a star-studded front three, although Zidane will have half an eye on Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund and could rotate accordingly.
Las Palmas will have to make do without the suspended Kevin-Prince Boateng, but Pedro Bigas could return after a spell on the sidelines. Escriba usually lines his side up in a 4-3-3 formation, which means they should in theory match up with Madrid across the pitch, and he will need some big performances from virtually every player if his side are to upset the odds in front of their own supporters.
Madrid will not have everything their own way this weekend; despite a heavy loss in midweek, Las Palmas are still a very good side who are capable of causing any team in the division problems on their day. Having said that, it is probably worth backing the visitors to triumph on Saturday, with the odds on a 3-1 away win making that bet look particularly tempting. Sergio Ramos could be a good choice for anytime goalscorer, meanwhile – the central defender has scored twice in five games this season and represents excellent value to find the back of the net once again.
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