Will Las Palmas also take the Whites by surprise?
Presumed mandatory task for Real Madrid on matchday 22 of La Liga, but beware: There is a great risk of stumbling when they visit Las Palmas on Saturday afternoon (4:15 pm)! If you want to become champions, you have to win against promoted teams, of course, but that’s easier said than done against Las Palmas. The islanders should not be underestimated, as they are one of the surprise teams of the season
Although UD Las Palmas are one of the positive surprises, the visitors from the capital are still the clear favorites. The odds of the betting providers with a German license clearly show this ahead of the match Las Palmas vs Real Madrid. But a win on Gran Canaria is certainly not a foregone conclusion – especially as only two teams have managed it this season
Nonetheless, anything other than an away win for Real Madrid would be a bitter disappointment in the title race. In this preview of Las Palmas vs Real Madrid, we look at why Real Madrid could stumble, what speaks in favor of Las Palmas, the starting position and form curves of both teams and the last duels, including betting odds, predictions, betting tips and team checks for both clubs
Las Palmas – stats & current form
Real Madrid should not make the mistake of underestimating UD Las Palmas. Not only does Las Palmas have nothing to do with relegation, but their 16-point lead over the relegation zone means they have a more than comfortable second half of the season. Las Palmas are even in 8th place in the table and are surprisingly sniffing at the European places.
With plenty of possession – only FC Barcelona (64%) and Real Madrid (60%) have the ball more often than UD Las Palmas (58%) – calmness in the build-up play, a good passing ratio (84.5%) and a very attentive defense, the newly promoted team is shaking up the league. 17 goals conceded are proof of the good defense, only Real Madrid has conceded fewer
Las Palmas vs. Real Madrid: Duel of the strong defenses
At home in the Estadio de Gran Canaria, the strong goalkeeper Alvaro Valles – who saves 82% of shots, the highest in La Liga – has only conceded seven goals so far. In view of this, it makes sense to bet on under 2.5 goals for Las Palmas v Real Madrid, for example. Both will also score: no is a good bet when two such strong defenses meet.
The Blancos will of course have noticed that Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona also struggled in Gran Canaria. Las Palmas deservedly won 2-1 against Atletico, while the newly promoted side only lost 2-1 to Barcelona after taking the lead with a penalty in stoppage time. Las Palmas have won their last two games against Villarreal (3-0) and at Rayo Vallecano (2-0) without conceding a goal.
So don’t expect a walk in the park on the record champions’ vacation island.
Predicted Las Palmas line-up:
Real Madrid – Statistics & current form
Las Palmas have won their last two games thanks to their good defense – which has been shaky twice recently for Real Madrid. In the turbulent cup derby against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid lost 4-2 after extra time, and the back line did not look any better a few days later.
Real Madrid were 2-0 down against bottom-of-the-table Almeria, but three unfortunate refereeing decisions from Almeria’s point of view, and a favorable one from Real Madrid’s, resulted in a 3-2 win for Real Madrid, which was scored in the 99th minute
Las Palmas vs. Real Madrid: Can Real Madrid’s recently shaky defense hold up again?
Out in the Copa del Rey against their city rivals, near-miss against bottom-of-the-table Almeria at the Bernabeu – it’s been an exciting week for Real Madrid. Their recent form has been worrying, at least when it comes to their performance against the ball. In UD Las Palmas, however, they now face an opponent that is minimalist on the road and struggles to score goals. No team in La Liga’s top 10 scores fewer goals, with 21 goals in 21 games – only four teams score fewer goals.
In view of this, will Real Madrid’s defense, which has been so fragile of late, be able to keep things tight at the back? If you believe that the Blancos have learned the lessons from the two turbulent games recently and will now be better again, you can get odds of 2.20 on Las Palmas vs Real Madrid with the bet that Las Palmas will not score a goal
Predicted Real Madrid line-up:
Las Palmas – Real Madrid head-to-head comparison / H2H result
Las Palmas have won their last two games without conceding a goal and Real Madrid have won each of their last three head-to-head meetings. Will this streak continue? A one-nil win for the visitors brings odds of over 2.40 for Las Palmas vs Real Madrid, but can of course vary depending on the bookmaker.
Las Palmas will of course be hoping to end their unbeaten run: The last win against Real Madrid was over 20 years ago and dates back to October 2001. Since then, there have been eight duels and six Real victories. Real Madrid won the first meeting this season 2-0 at the Bernabeu in September.
Las Palmas – Real Madrid betting tip
The table position, the strong defense and the performances against the top teams Atletico and Barcelona show: Promoted Las Palmas is an opponent to be taken seriously. Playing in Gran Canaria is no piece of cake. In addition, Real Madrid have not covered themselves in glory twice recently, especially the performance against Almeria was worrying, Carlo Ancelotti’s team looked tired, unfocused and overplayed after the many English weeks.
This also presents a great opportunity for Las Palmas. A loss of points by the record champions would therefore not even be a big surprise for us, but we can assume that the big favorites will at least have their problems with the brash and ball-safe islanders. A draw at half-time, few goals, possibly even a deficit for Real – in our view, all of this is within the realms of possibility. But what Real Madrid have also shown this season, especially recently against Almeria, is that they can turn around or win even weak games very late on. Therefore, our prediction for Las Palmas vs Real Madrid is that there will be more goals in the second half than before the break
