Real Madrid vs Alaves Prediction: Ancelotti’s men to win with ease

The title has been secured but the home side still have plenty to play for as they have to keep the squad fit for the Champions League Final at Wembley later in the month.

On Tuesday night (20:30) on Premier Sports 1, they continue their La Liga campaign with a home match, one in which our Spanish Football expert thinks they will win rather comfortably. Check out why and his best bets below in his Real Madrid vs Alaves predictions column for us at Betfred Insights...

Real Madrid celebrated their league title win on the streets of the Spanish capital on Sunday and they can do likewise in their own stadium on Tuesday night with Deportivo Alavés visiting the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu.

If there was any doubt about Real Madrid being the best team in Spain with by far the strongest squad, the last few weeks have surely removed those. While Carlo Ancelotti’s regulars have been busy competing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, his fringe players have reeled off three straight league wins to nil with eight goals scored in the process.

While naturally there has been a bit of crossover with back-up striker Joselu the unlikely late hero in the second leg against Bayern, in terms of starting elevens, it really has felt like Real Madrid have been fielding their “B team” in the league.

Ancelotti made 11 changes to the team that started in the Champions League last week for Saturday’s trip to Granada in La Liga. Real Madrid took their time to find their groove but when they did, they rattled in four goals in the space of 20 minutes either side of the break in a dazzling display of depth.

Brahim Díaz was the star with two goals and the 24-year-old has been one of many major positives this season for Los Blancos. Brahim and Joselu have chipped in with a combined total of 29 goals from 38 starts in all competitions for Real Madrid this term.

Even Turkish teenager Arda Güler has shone over the past few weeks, grasping his opportunity with goals against Real Sociedad and Granada. It feels like Real Madrid have got very reliable cover for almost every single position, with the possible exception of central defence given their injuries in that area, yet with only 22 goals conceded in La Liga this term, that has never felt like a genuine issue.

It’s eight straight league wins for Ancelotti’s side heading into this one, but they are up against another form team in the shape of Alavés on Tuesday.

Only a few weeks back, the Basque side looked for all the world as though they were heading for an underwhelming conclusion to the season with a run of just one win in nine seeing them slide down the table towards what many considered a more natural position given the limitations in a squad that only clinched promotion via the Segunda División play-offs last term.

Boss Luis García, who had previously been very loyal to his regular starters, rang the changes with key men Samu Omorodion and Luis Rioja among those dropped and the results since have been surprising to say the least.

Alavés have collected ten points from their last four games, recording impressive victories to nil against Atlético Madrid, Celta Vigo and Valencia before a 2-2 draw against high-flying Girona on Friday night. Jon Guridi was the unlikely hero in that game with a brace taking his season tally to three league goals, all of which have come within the space of the last three games.

They are mathematically safe now, which means their only serious objective for the season has been accomplished and they now have a shot at securing a first top half finish in La Liga since the 2016/17 campaign.

Team News:

Carlo Ancelotti’s fringe players made a strong case for getting another go here, given the demolition job they did on Granada, but the Italian will be keen to keep his senior stars ticking over with nearly three weeks still to go until the Champions League Final.

As a result, it’s expected that we’ll see something much closer to the eleven that started against Bayern and those players should be relatively fresh after a weekend rest. There are no new selection issues for the hosts but David Alaba and Aurélien Tchouaméni are still sidelined by injuries.

Alavés don’t really have anything to play for either and are also expected to make many changes from the eleven that drew against Girona. Samu Omorodion, Antonio Blanco, Rubén Duarte, Andoni Gorosabel, Álex Sola and Luis Rioja are all strong contenders to come in.

Luis García has a full squad to choose from with the exception of long-term injury absentee

Aleksandar Sedlar. Jesús Owono will continue in goal after making his first start of the season on Friday.

Real Madrid vs Alaves Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Real Madrid vs Alaves market page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Real Madrid head into the game as the red-hot favourites at 2/9. You can also back the Draw at 11/2 while a surprise Alavés away win is on offer at 12/1.

The visitors have been playing well and will take confidence into the game and if you fancy Luis García’s side to compete well, odds of 11/10 for Alavés +2.00 Handicap may appeal while you can back Double Chance - Draw or Alavés at 3/1.

If you see it going the other way and the home team putting on a show to celebrate their title win, you can back Real Madrid -2.00 Handicap at 7/4 while Real Madrid and Over 3.5 Goals is on offer at 8/5. You can also back Real Madrid/Real Madrid at 4/6 in the Half-Time/Full-Time market.

Assuming Ancelotti does recall his main men, the usual suspects stand out in the goalscorer markets with Vinícius Júnior available at 10/11 to score anytime, Jude Bellingham priced at Evens to get on the scoresheet and Rodrgyo a 7/5 shot to score anytime.

From an Alavés perspective, it’s likely that top scorer Samu Omorodion will rotate back in as the lone striker and he’s on offer at 3/1 to score anytime.

Bet 1 - Real Madrid Over 1.5 Goals & Real Madrid Most Corners @ 5/6

Both sides are expected to make extensive changes to their last league elevens, but that surely has to benefit Real Madrid more than Alavés. While their back-up players excelled themselves in Granada, having the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior to come in after a weekend off can only strengthen the side, with the only real doubt about Real Madrid in this game perhaps the fact that they were out celebrating their title win as recently as Sunday.

Assuming there are no major hangovers from that, they should be too strong for a rotated Alavés side. Los Blancos average 2.53 goals per home game in La Liga this term while they’ve won 6.29 corners per game on average at the Bernabéu, giving up just 3.18.

As a result, I’m using the #PickYourPunt builder to back Real Madrid Over 1.5 Goals & Real Madrid Most Corners at 5/6.

Bet 2 - Real Madrid to Win Both Halves @ 7/5

The strength of the Real Madrid squad has been so key to their success this season and this feels like the kind of game where they may be able to demonstrate that quality across the 90 minutes.

With their star players expected to return, we should see Real Madrid start well against an Alavés side that could be slightly disjointed as a result of the rotation.

Los Blancos have tended to excel in the Second Half this season though and with the likes of Brahim Díaz and Joselu hungry to further their claim for some involvement in the Champions League Final, they may end the game well too and I’m backing Real Madrid to Win Both Halves at 7/5.

You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...