Real Madrid visits an in form Almería

On the back of three successive wins UD Almería will be looking to upset Real Madrid and continue to climb away from the drop zone. The Whites, meanwhile, need to close the points gap on the Liga BBVA leader Barcelona and second place Atlético Madrid.

The big news for the home side is the return of Verza and Suso, while Corona, Marcelo Silva and Christian Fernández will all miss Saturday’s encounter. The Andalusian outfit’s manager, Francisco, is well aware of the danger posed by the opposition "which arrives in its best moment", although stated that his team "is up to the challenge of doing a good job".

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will travel to Almería without Ángel Di María, Raphaël Varane, Marcelo, Coentrão and Sami Khedira, who will miss the rest of the season. Carlo Ancelotti has a few options to replace the German midfielder though: "We can use Casemiro, Illarra or Xabi Alonso as holding midfielders or Isco as an attacking midfielder. I have faith in all of them".