Real Madrid are aiming for a 14th La Liga victory of the season at home to Las Palmas on Sunday, with the Canaries side hoping to cause a shock at the Santiago Bernabeu. Carlo Ancelotti’s men are second in the Spanish top flight and just one point behind their bitter rivals and leaders Atletico Madrid, while Diego Martinez’s side are 14th with 22 points from 19 games so far.
This will be Los Blancos’ first league game in four matches after beating Valencia in early 2025 ahead of the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana. Deportiva Minera and Celta Vigo have been tipped to qualify for the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, but a 5-2 demolition by Barcelona in Saudi Arabia will hurt for a while. Title holders in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, Real have a tough task ahead of them to retain one or both.
Las Palmas have avoided defeat four times in nine away matches so far and have even won three of them as well as a draw against the hosts this weekend in August. Pio Pio drew at Santiago Bernabeu in 2017 in a thrilling 3-3 draw, but 2025 hasn’t been kind so far with a Copa del Rey exit to Elche as well as a narrow defeat 2-1 at home against Getafe in La Liga last week.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the game and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Sunday January 19 | Time: 10:15 a.m. ET
- Location: Santiago Bernabéu – Madrid, Spain
- Watch: ESPN Sports | Flow: Fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Actual -650; Shoot +750; Las Palmas +1400
This season so far
Real are second in the standings, five points better than Barcelona in third but one point less than Atletico Madrid who are at the top. That gap to Diego Simeone’s men could be four points on Sunday and Los Blancos will be aiming for a ninth win in 10 La Liga home games so far, which is the second-best record in the top flight. Real have never lost to Las Palmas at home and the Canaries have been improving under Diego Martinez since his arrival as head coach in October. With eight wins, one draw and four defeats out of 13, Los Amarillos are 14th in the standings and six points clear of relegation with 22 points from 19 matches in total. Martinez has also seen his team score 24 times in 19 matches, which is better than Osasuna, Real Betis, Sevilla, Valencia and Real Sociedad.
Team News
Real: Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric are suspended while Fran Garcia will have to take a late fitness test. Eduardo Camavinga is out for at least three weeks although Thibaut Courtois is back in goal with Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy also likely to be reinstated in the XI. David Alaba could make the squad for the first time since his serious injury, but Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are both out for the long term.
Possible Real XI: Courteous; Vázquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappé, Brahim.
The Palm Trees: Daley Sinkgraven and Viti are injured while Marvin Park and Jose Campana are highly doubtful. Adnan Januzaj could start after scoring against Getafe, but Martinez could also opt for consistency and not make direct changes. Jaime Mata and Marc Cardona are likely to be on the bench with Fabio Silva up front and looking to add to his five goals and two assists in 14 La Liga matches.
Possibilities of Las Palmas XI: Cillessen; Herzog, Suarez, McKenna, Marmol; Essugo, K Rodriguez; Sandro, Munoz, Moleiro; F Silva.
Prediction
This one should be quite simple for Real who should win by a goal or two at home despite Las Palmas’ ability to score against most opponents. Take: Real 2, Las Palmas 0.
