Match Today: Real Madrid vs UD Almeria 14-08-2022 La Liga

Real Madrid will travel to the Mediterranean Games stadium on Sunday as they prepare to face the newly promoted Almeria club in their first match of the La Liga 2022/23 season. Real Madrid qualified to win the La Liga title last season, led by the brilliance of Karim Benzema. Having finished far from rival Barcelona, ​​Los Blancos will now aim to start defending their title with a win. Carlo Ancelotti led his side to the European Super Cup earlier this week as they beat Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt for the trophy and he will look to build on that win. Almeria returned to the First Division for the first time since 2015 after winning La Liga 2, beating runners-up Real Valladolid on goal difference. Omar Sadek was the Andalusian's best performer last season, scoring 18 goals. Manager Robbie has done a good job of building a cohesive unit, but facing the champions in the opening week of play could prove a steep mountain for La Liga newcomers.

The last time Real Madrid and Almeria faced each other was in 2015 when Los Blancos won 3-0. Another similar result could emerge on Sunday as the two teams prepare to battle for three points. With the match against the defending champions approaching, Almeria will have to dispense with defenders Juango Nieto and Ivan Martos. Regardless, coach Robbie doesn't have any other major concerns to contend with as he prepares his team for one of the season's biggest challenges, which comes early in the first round. The host team could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Real Madrid on Sunday night, and Fernando Martinez is likely to get a nod between the sticks ahead of Fernando Pacheco. Another new player, Alejandro Pozo, should play at right-back, while Sergio Akemi should appear at the other end.

Rodrigo Ile and Sardjan Babic, who is also a new signing, are likely to form the central defense duo of the newly promoted team. They will have the unenviable task of keeping Karim Benzema calm. Moving into the center of the park, prospective 21-year-old Samo Costa will form a double central midfield alongside captain Cesar de la Hoz. Robbie could use other options such as former Manchester United player Martin Swidersky and Arnau Puigmal, if needed, to bolster his midfield. Lucas Robertoni should occupy the No. 10 role, although he will likely play deeper to help other midfielders.

Real Madrid will be without Rodrygo Goes, who has been left out due to muscle discomfort, while veteran right-back Dani Carvajal has not been selected by Carlo Ancelotti in the squad as the club wants to give him enough time to recover. Injury to his ankle. The coach stressed that he will rotate his forces more regularly this season than last season, and we can see some changes made to the squad that started in the midweek match in the European Super Cup. Thibaut Courtois will remain a permanent player in goal for the current Spanish and European champions, as usual. Casemiro was one of Real Madrid's standout players against Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the week, and he should make an appearance from the start again. This means that Aurelien Chuamini is likely to make his La Liga debut from the bench. Luka Modric and Toni Kroos should retain their positions in the squad, and Eduardo Camavinga is also likely to be among the substitutes.

Real Madrid have won their last two La Liga away games against Almeria, scoring nine goals in the process. Almeria won only one of the 12 matches he played against Real Madrid in the Spanish League. They have allowed more goals to be scored against Los Blancos than any other team in the competition (38). Real Madrid have won only one of their last four La Liga matches, and drawn the previous two. Almeria has failed to win its last five La Liga matches, scoring at least two goals in each of those matches. Real Madrid star Karim Benzema participated in nine goals in seven matches against Almeria in the Spanish League. He also scored the first goal for Real Madrid in four of the last nine seasons (2014, 2015, 2020 and 2021).