Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Las Palmas | La Liga GW 20

Real Madrid have been far from convincing in 2025. After their sloppy win over Valencia, they clung on to a 1-0 lead against Mallorca until the dying minutes of the game where they were lucky to put it to bed.

They then lost against Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup before giving up a 2-0 lead over Celta Vigo to unnecessarily force extra time and scrape through.

Now, they face another gruelling challenge as they take on Las Palmas in La Liga. Considering that the Canary Islands-based side defeated Barcelona at Montjuic not so long ago, they are a serious threat.

Diego Martinez’s side have played with a distinct style and coordinated press all season and both tools place them well to unravel Real Madrid’s weaknesses. Carlo Ancelotti’s men, thus, face a steep challenge on Sunday.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Las Palmas.

One protagonist down

2025 began for Real Madrid with a league win over Valencia at Mestalla. It was far from smooth sailing for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but they did eventually make it past the finish line, albeit at a cost.

The 79th minute of the game, after all, saw Vinicius Jr. getting involved in a physical altercation with the Valencia goalkeeper with the ball nowhere in sight, forcing the referee to send him off. In fact, the player’s reaction after being sent off made the club fear a long suspension.

Luckily for Real Madrid, the Brazilian winger is only suspended for two games and will be back in time to face Espanyol. Tomorrow’s game, however, is one he must watch from the sidelines.

With their best player suspended, Real Madrid must thus alternative solutions in the final third to keep themselves afloat, especially considering that they have looked uncharacteristically poor in recent games.

For starters, the spotlight will thus shine brighter on Kylian Mbappe who will be looking to step up and prove his worth after slowly getting back into his groove. With goals in back-to-back games, he will be raring for a man-of-the-match display.

Another option for Carlo Ancelotti to consider is deploying Endrick who made the difference for the team in their recent Copa del Rey clash. Knowing the Italian manager, however, he is likely to prefer Rodrygo or Brahim Diaz.

The light at the end of the tunnel

It has been a long road for David Alaba since his ACL injury last year. Over twelve months have passed since the Austrian star went down in Real Madrid’s game against Villarreal and he can now finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Alaba thereafter went under the blade for his recovery and was slated to return towards the end of last year. However, he missed deadline after deadline as his knee took forever to recover and he held on with patience.

The player is now back in Real Madrid’s squad and has travelled with the team for their last two matches. Tomorrow night’s clash against Villarreal may finally be the night he makes his debut for the season.

Ahead of the game, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Alaba is ready to play a few minutes. He will not start tomorrow but is likely to come on as a substitute in the second half provided the game is going to plan.

The defender’s return comes as a massive boost for Carlo Ancelotti who has been reeling under an acute shortage of central defenders so far this season. Once the Austrian is back to complete match-fitness, he will be Rudiger’s de-facto partner at the back.

A midfield dilemma

Vinicius Jr. is not the only regular starter who will be unavailable for the critical game against Las Palmas.

Eduardo Camavinga suffered an unfortunate injury in Real Madrid’s recent win over Celta Vigo and will thus be unavailable for selection on the night.

Also out of the squad is Luka Modric who misses the game owing to an accumulation of yellow cards in the league.

With Modric and Camavinga both out Ancelotti has big decisions over whom to start in midfield against the Canary Island-based side.

He will likely opt to deploy Aurelien Tchouameni in the defensive midfield given the squad situation, thus opening the door for Raul Asencio to start alongside Antonio Rudiger.

Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham will join the Frenchman in the middle of the park, and Ancelotti will have to decide whether he prefers to go with another midfielder or a third forward.

In case he opts for another central midfielder, the manager must have to choose between Dani Ceballos or Arda Guler. After all, the latter was impressive in his cameo in the cup.