Real Madrid lock horns with Real Betis in an away fixture of La Liga at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in Sevilla on Sunday.
The Spanish giants are 5 points behind table-toppers Barcelona and and 4 points behind Ateltico Madrid. Zinedine Zidane's men will look to keep up with the title race at the top of the La Liga points table.
Real Madrid will be without the services of Gareth Bale on Sunday, as he suffered a calf injury during their last match against Sporting Gijon. Reports suggest the Welshman has been sideline for a minimum of three weeks. Bale has found the back of the net 13 times in 17 appearances this season, and was in red-hot form until he was injured.
Real Betis interim coach Juan Merino feels the absence of the talented Welsh international will not be a problem for the visitors, as they have other players who can be as good and fill his shoes.
Betis have been struggling for quite some time now. They have not registered a victory in their last five matches. Following a draw against Villarreal, they have now lost four matches on the trot. They will look to avoid the looming fifth successive defeat as they take on Real Madrid at the former's home ground.
"We have worked really hard, we're doing a pretty good job and things have turned around from when I joined the team. The Villarreal draw gave us confidence in the fact that, if we get it right, victory is more likely than defeat," Merino told mediapersons before their clash against Real Madrid. "Above all, we have to try to unsettle Real, to make sure their players don't have a good day, pay attention to the transitions. We have to play an outstanding game in order to win."
Zidane is confident his side will yield positive results at the Estadio Benito Villamarin on Sunday when they face Real Betis. So far, Zidane has had a good start as the manager of Real Madrid. The 10-time Champions League winning side netted five goals twice in their last couple of fixtures under the watchful guidance of Zidane.
"When I took over this team I knew what I had. It's a fantastic start. Scoring five goals twice is not easy. I know what we can do and what we are going to do in the future. We are only at the beginning, I have high hopes for this team. We want to win games and a trophy at the end of the season," Zidane told reporters ahead of Sunday's fixture.
Probable lineups:
Real Betis: Adan; Piccini, Pezzella, Gonzalez, Vargas; Petros, N'Diaye; Kadir, Fabian, Cejudo; Castro.
Real Madrid: Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Rodriguez, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Where to Watch Live
The La Liga encounter between Real Betis and Real Madrid is scheduled for a 4 pm CET (8:30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) start, with live TV coverage in India on Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD. Viewers in India can also watch the match via live streaming online on Sony Liv.
Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports HD 2 will broadcast the La Liga match live in the UK. The live streaming option will be available on Now TV and SkyGo.
Audience in Spain can catch the match live on Canal+ Liga and Movistar Futbol.
Bein Sports and Bein Sports Connect will broadcast the La Liga match between Real Betis and Real Madrid live in the Australia, USA, Canada, the Middle East and North Africa.
