Real Madrid vs Leganes 31/10/19

31 October 2019

Real Madrid welcome dead-last Leganes to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, desperately trying to bounce back after a shock 1-0 away loss to the newcomers Mallorca.

Sitting sixth in the La Liga (LL) table, the hosts have won three straight league home matches following a 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid in the opening home fixture. Far more comfortable at home, Los Blancos have netted ten of a total of 16 LL goals on home turf, scoring 2+ match goals in all three of their home wins this season. But, a potential worry for Zinedine Zidane is that Real have failed to preserve a blank sheet in three of four LL home outings so far, allowing over 1.5 goals twice along the way. Again huge pre-match favorites, Los Merengues will be looking to post their fourth LL home triumph over Leganes in as many top-flight head-to-head meetings, with each of their previous wins seeing them bag at least two goals and concede one or less.

On the other hand, the visitors enter this round rock bottom but encouraged by a narrow 1-0 home win over Mallorca last time out. It was Leganes’ first league victory in the ongoing campaign, and their first LL clean sheet since a 3-0 away win over Sevilla back in May. Luis Cembranos’ men have brought their tally to five LL goals scored, matching league’s lowest goalscoring record. Indeed, for Los Pepineros, goals have been at a premium so far, as they’ve drawn a blank in five of ten LL games, scoring one goal precisely in the remaining five (W1, D2, L7). Also, Leganes’ fans have been largely denied for entertainment, as seven of their league fixtures have featured under 2.5 goals.