Celta Vigo is the new fence in the way of Madrid's 18th win

You cannot start in any other way: Real Madrid tonight aim to win their 18th consecutive game in all competitions, three more than the previous record set by Muñoz and Mourinho. If they achieve it, they will equal the record set by Rijkaard’s Barcelona and move closer to beating it. Only Ludogorets (at home) and Almería (away) come between Madrid and 20 straight victories. It is a challenge for Ancelotti’s men before they travel to Morocco to play in the Club World Cup.

Standing in the way of all that is a Celta side who arrive not in their best form. Since winning at the Camp Nou (0-1), Berizzo’s side drew against Granada, lost at Vallecas and fell to defeat against Eibar at Balaídos. On Wednesday they suffered defeat again, this time in Las Palmas in the Copa del Rey. Nevertheless, they sit eighth in the table, just one point away from a place in Europe. Imagine where they would be if they had more success (luck, coupled with fresh legs) in recent matches.

In principal, Madrid’s starting eleven will have no big changes, but Ancelotti will have questions over how best to rotate his stars and distribute minutes with one eye on the future. Illarramendi will replace the suspended Isco. The club decided against appealing the yellow card that saw the midfielder sent off in last weekend’s match against Malaga. Varane is included in the squad but Jesé has been left out, despite returning to action in midweek. From the waist up, Madrid have their usual luxuries: James (who has been present in 22 competitive matches this season), Bale, Benzema and Cristiano.

For Cristiano, 20 La Liga goals (in 12 games), is the penultimate paragraph. The star is just three goals away from scoring 200 in a Madrid shirt in La Liga. He has played in 177 matches and scored 22 hat-tricks along the way.

Meanwhile, Celta cling to the experiences that they have enjoyed against the big teams so far this season: a 2-2 draw at the Calderón and a 1-0 victory at the Camp Nou. To continue that trait they need to rely on Sergio Álvarez (the best goalkeeper in November), Nolito (who has scored five goals) and Larrivey (who has scored seven). The help of witches and goblins would not go amiss, either.

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1vpoO0f

via IFTTT