Real Madrid visit nearby Leganes in La Liga on Wednesday in a match that sees Los Blancos make up the game in hand still pending since their participation in the Club World Cup in December.

During their trip to Abu Dhabi, Zinedine Zidane's side missed one round of the competition and, having featured in the Champions League against PSG last week, they will play the oustanding fixture at Butarque on Wednesday.

Real are 17 points adrift of league leaders Barcelona, but a win or even a draw in this match will see the defending champions move above Valencia and up to third place in the table.

The fixture is also an opportunity for some revenge after Leganes surprisingly knocked Zidane's side out of the Copa del Rey in January, when Madrid won 1-0 away but lost the return 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu to exit on away goals.

REAL MADRID INJURIES

Defender Jesus Vallejo is still sidelined with a muscle problem and midfielder Toni Kroos is also out after picking up a knee injury against PSG that could make him doubtful for the trip to Paris in the Champions League on March 6th.

REAL MADRID SUSPENSIONS

Dani Carvajal was suspended for the Champions League clash against PSG, but he returned at Betis on Sunday and Zidane has no players banned for the game away to Leganes.

REAL MADRID POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP

With Marcelo out, Theo Hernandez will start at left-back for Real Madrid against Leganes, while Zidane could opt to start Kiko Casilla in goal in order to give Keylor Navas a rest. In midfield, Isco is in line for a start after featuring mainly from the bench in recent weeks. The absence of both Modric and Kroos means Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez could both feature again on the wings.

In attack, Karim Benzema should return to the line-up after coming on and scoring at Betis on Sunday, while Zidane hinted he may rest Cristiano Ronaldo when he addressed the media on Tuesday. If the Portuguese sits out, Gareth Bale is likely to start in his place.

LEGANES TEAM NEWS

Leganes are down in 13th place in La Liga, 11 points clear of the relegation zone ahead of their game against Real Madrid on Wednesday. After kocking out Los Blancos, the capital club saw their Copa del Rey run end at the hands of Sevilla in the semi-finals and have since lost their last two games in the Primera Division: 1-0 at home to Eibar and 3-0 at Girona. Winger Alexander Szymanowski is sidelined, while central midfielder Darko Brasanac is doubtful.

TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME

Leganes versus Real Madrid kicks off at the unusual time of 18:45 local time on Wednesday in order to avoid a clash with the Champions League fixtures on the same night. Viewers in the United Kingdom (UK) can watch live on Sky Sports Football from 17:40 GMT.

In the United States (US), the match is live on beIN Sports and kicks off at 12:45 ET.

BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Despite knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, Leganes have lost their only two league games against Los Blancos (both last season).
  • Real Madrid have failed to keep a single clean sheet in their last eight La Liga games, their worst run since August 2013 (eight).
  • Real are the first team in La Liga history to reach 6,000 goals in the competition (6,002 currently).
  • Leganes are one of the two La Liga teams Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score against, alongside Girona.
  • Gabriel Pires is Leganes' top scorer in La Liga this season (with five). He was the scorer of Leganes’ first goal in the competition against Real Madrid (on April 5, 2017)