Preview: A beleaguered Xabi Alonso takes his Madrid side to Deportivo Alavés
Alaves play host to a Real Madrid side this weekend who have won just two of their previous eight matches in all competitions.
With Xabi Alonso coming under intense scrutiny following this dismal run of form, a defeat at the Estadio de Mendizorrotza on Sunday evening in LaLiga could spell the end of the Spaniard at the Bernabéu.
Xabi Alonso is on borrowed time at Real Madrid
Following an impressive start to life at Real Madrid, it looked as though Alonso was the right man to lead the club into a new era.
Ten LaLiga wins from his opening 11 matches had Los Blancos top of the league and seemingly cruising.
Since a 1-0 loss to Liverpool at the start of November, however, things have unravelled fairly quickly.
A 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo last weekend was followed by another, this time against Man City in the Champions League.
Two wins from eight. The Real hierarchy have a scattergun approach to firing managers. Remember Vicente Del Bosque being sacked after twice winning the Champions League and LaLiga between 2000-2003?
Defeat against Alavés will likely be the final nail in his coffin, that’s for sure.
Alavés are on a decent run of form
Alavés started the weekend in 11th place in LaLiga after winning five of their 15 league games this season.
The club are currently on a two-game winning streak, defeating Real Sociedad last weekend, just days after securing a passage into the next round of the Copa del Rey.
Carlos Vicente, top scorer this season with six goals, could by a thorn in the side of Real, who have a defence decimated by injuries.
He has scored against Sevilla and Atlético Madrid so far in LaLiga along with registering six goal contributions across just two domestic cup ties.
Team news
The home side will be without the services of midfielder Jon Guridi and defender Nikola Maraš for this clash against Real.
Facundo Garcés is also unavailable, but he is only suspended rather than suffering with any kind of injury.
Alonso, on the other hand, has a severe injury crisis on his hands. Against Man City, he was missing a total of eight defenders.
At the time of writing, 48 hours ahead of the Alavés tie, Kylian Mbappé is a major doubt having been an unused sub in midweek. Dean Huijsen, Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba are also doubts.
Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal are definitely missing.
To make matters even worse, Endrick, Álvaro Carreras and Fran García are all suspended.
It would be impressive if Alonso was able to get a functional starting XI on the pitch this weekend.
Prediction
Surely this dismal run of form has to end soon for Real? Weeks ago, this tie would have been a foregone conclusion, not now, especially with eight players definitely out either via injury or suspension.
If the likes of Mbappé and Huijsen are available, it would be a significant boost for Alonso and Madrid should secure just a second league win since the start of November.
Will it be enough to keep him in the job, however? Time will tell.
Score prediction: Alavés 1-2 Real Madrid.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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