Santi Solari's side can close to within eight points of Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a much-needed victory

Real Madrid can maintain their slim hopes of winning the Primera Division this season if they can overcome Alaves on Sunday.

Barcelona’s Saturday draw with Valencia has left the door slightly ajar for Santi Solari’s side, who face their Clasico rivals over two legs in the Copa del Rey semi-finals over the coming fortnight.

Alaves, though, are enjoying a terrific season and are in the mix to finish in the Champions League places themselves this term, even if their form has dipped of late.

Editors' Picks
Arsenal and Emery have an identity crisis as Ozil snubbed again
Unstoppable and untouchable – Rashford is Man Utd’s King yet again as dream run goes on
Are you watching Arsenal fans? Kroenke's LA Rams on brink of Super Bowl glory
'Never heard of him'! Newcastle's record signing Almiron will shut up ignorant critics
Game Real Madrid vs Alaves
Date Sunday, February 3
Time 7:45pm GMT / 2:45pm ET
Stream (US only)
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US),
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel Online stream
beIN Sports / beIN Sports en Espanol
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be streamed on Eleven Sports 1.

UK TV channel Online stream
N/A Eleven Sports 1
Squads & Team News
Position Real Madrid players
Goalkeepers Courtois, Luca, Altube
Defenders Carvajal, Varane, Marcelo, Nacho, Reguilon, Sanchez, Odriozola
Midfielders Modric, Casemiro, Jaume, Ceballos, Valverde, Brahim, Isco, Asensio, Llorente
Forwards Vazquez, Vinicius Jr, Cristo, Bale, Mariano
Luca Zidane and Jesus Vallejo are the only players injured for Santi Solari heading into this encounter, although suspension hits Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane, costing the defence two of its regulars.

Sergio Ramos, Luka Modric and Nacho are all one booking away from missing the midweek Clasico, so will have to tread carefully.

Gareth Bale plays his first match at the Bernabeu since December 12.

Real Madrid starting XI: Courtois; Odriozola, Nacho, Ramos, Reguilon; Modric, Casemiro, Ceballos; Bale, Benzema, Vinicius

Position Alaves players
Goalkeepers Pacheco, Dominguez
Defenders Navarro, Maripan, Laguardia, Duarte, Marin, Vigaray
Midfielders Jony, Manu Garcia, Pina, Wakaso, Perera, Twumasi, Burgui, Blanco
Forwards Baston, Calleri, Rolan, Guidetti
Alaves head into this encounter bereft of Rodrigo Ely, Darko Brasanac and Antonio Sivera.

Ruben Sobrino, meanwhile, is no longer part of their ranks, having been sold to Valencia.

They are expected to mirror their opponents’ 4-3-3 formation.

Possible Alaves starting XI: Pacheco; Vigaray, Maripán, Laguardia, Duarte; Wakaso, Tomás Pina, Manu García, Burgui; Calleri, Jony

Betting & Match Odds
Real Madrid are hot favourites with Bet365 to take the win, priced at 1/5. Alaves are a 14/1 outshot, while a draw is available at 11/2.

Click here to see all of bet 365's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .

Match Preview
Real Madrid celebrate 2019

Real Madrid hope that the return of Gareth Bale to their squad for Sunday’s fixture against Alaves can provide them with fresh impetus as they continue to hunt down Barcelona at the summit of the Primera Division.

They were given some hope on Saturday night as the Catalans fell 2-0 down at home against Valencia and, while Lionel Messi was able to salvage the situation to secure a 2-2 draw, Ernesto Valverde’s side showed they are susceptible to slip-ups.

If Madrid are to stage a remarkable recovery, then they will have to win on Sunday, though the return of Bale, the man head coach Santi Solari sees as Cristiano Ronaldo’s replacement, is a huge boost.

“He looks connected, switched on, and we want him to perform like he knows how to, like he did at the Club World Cup, at Roma ... he's so important for us,” the coach said on the eve of this encounter.

Los Blancos have now won their last four matches but have habitually thrown in the odd poor performance under Solari, which has seen them cede further ground to their Catalan rivals after they made a poor start to the season under Julen Lopetegui.

Serene progress was made into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, where they will meet Barca on Wednesday in the first leg, with a 7-3 aggregate success over Girona. Karim Benzema, an oft-criticised figure around the Bernabeu, especially caught the eye and has now scored five times in three games.

“I'm sorry for those who have discovered Benzema last week,” the coach said. “But hey, they still have time to enjoy him!”


Alaves will certainly not relish the prospect of having to stop the in-form Frenchman and his increasingly confident cohorts.

They come into the match winless in their last four games, dealing a blow to their hopes of qualifying for Europe, while they are almost entirely reliant upon their defensive strength, having scored only 22 goals in 21 league outings – a record only marginally better than the bottom two clubs.

Madrid will seek to take full advantage.