Real Madrid vs Alaves Prediction and Betting Tips: Faltering Los Blancos Host Relegation-Threatened El Glorioso At The Bernabeu

Real Madrid ‌have some soul-searching to do.

Their La Liga challenge has faltered, with a 2-1 loss to Mallorca and a 1-1 draw to Girona since the international break leaving them trailing Barcelona by nine points with seven matches remaining.

A dramatic defeat to Bayern Munich ⁠in the Champions ⁠League quarterfinals has subsequently left the 15-time European champions staring at the prospect of a second successive campaign without silverware.

In fact, when Real Madrid host Alaves in La Liga on Tuesday, it will be a month since they last won in any competition.

Alaves head into the midweek action in Spain just one place and one point outside the relegation zone, despite their four-game unbeaten run. 

They drew a thrilling Basque derby 3-3 away to Real Sociedad in their last outing.

*Odds sourced from SportyBet and are correct at the time of publishing. Always gamble responsibly.

Now that their Champions League dreams are over, Arbeloa has no reason to rest players. Real Madrid can focus purely on trying to win all of their remaining fixtures in La Liga.

Even that may not be enough to overhaul Barca, but they’ll be eager to finish as strongly as possible.

They did play well in Munich, creating three big chances and 2.25 xG. All of their attacking stars are available here, with Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe having recovered from recent injuries. 

The individual quality that Real Madrid possess should ultimately prove too much for this Alaves defence.

Alaves have gone 13 games without a clean sheet. They’ve conceded twice or more in six of their last seven matches. Five of those fixtures served up at least three goals in total.

Eight of the previous nine Real Madrid games in all competitions have also produced over 2.5 goals. 

Backing a repeat and a home win could be the way to go in this clash in the Spanish capital.

One of the biggest positives for Real Madrid in 2026 has been Fede Valverde’s return to form. He struggled to produce his best football under Xabi Alonso, but back in a midfield role, the Uruguayan is thriving under Alvaro Arbeloa.

With eight goals in his last nine appearances for club and country, Valverde will be full of confidence. He had only netted twice prior to that this term, but the 27-year-old was frequently used at right-back.

Now that Trent Alexander-Arnold has established himself in that role, Valverde can operate higher up the pitch. He scored Real Madrid’s only goal in their last league encounter against Girona.

The midfielder averages 1.6 shots per game in the Spanish top flight. He’s among the best when shooting from the edge of the penalty area. 

Given his current form, Valverde offers value as an anytime goalscorer pick.

Real Madrid: (4-4-2)

Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Militao, Rudiger, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni, Guler, Bellingham; Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Alaves: (5-3-2)

Sivera; Perez, Otto, Tenaglia, Parada, Yusi; Ibanez, Blanco, Guridi; Martinez, Boye

Andrey Lunin will continue to deputise in goal as first-choice keeper as Thibaut Courtois remains unavailable with the thigh injury that has forced him to miss the last five games.

Rodrygo will be on the sidelines for quite a while longer due to the ACL injury he sustained at the beginning of March.

Raul Asencio will miss the game due to gastroenteritis. However, key midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni will return after missing the defeat to Bayern through suspension.

Midfielder Carlos Benavidez has been ruled out with an injury, while left wing-back Abde Rebbach will miss out due to suspension after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season.

Alaves have no other reported injuries.

Lucas Boye may earn himself a start after coming off the bench to score in the last two games.