Real Madrid Schedule 2015-16: La Liga Fixtures Released

Rafael Benitez’s first league game in charge of Real Madrid will be against newly promoted Sporting Gijon at El Molinon on the weekend commencing August 22.  

Here's the full fixture list for Los Blancos' 2015-16 season, per LaLiga.com:

August 23	R. Sporting - Real Madrid
August 30	Real Madrid - Real Betis
September 13	RCD Espanyol - Real Madrid
September 20	Real Madrid - Granada CF
September 23	Athletic Club - Real Madrid
September 27	Real Madrid - Malaga CF
October 4	Atletico Madrid - Real Madrid
October 18	Real Madrid - Levante UD
October 25	RC Celta - Real Madrid
October 28	Real Madrid - UD Las Palmas
November 1	Sevilla FC - Real Madrid
November 8	Real Madrid - FC Barcelona
November 22	SD Eibar - Real Madrid
November 29	Real Madrid - Getafe CF
December 6	Villarreal CF - Real Madrid
December 13	Real Madrid - Rayo Vallecano
December 20	Real Madrid - Real Sociedad
January 3	Valencia CF - Real Madrid
January 10	Real Madrid - RC Deportivo
January 17	Real Madrid - R. Sporting
January 24	Real Betis - Real Madrid
January 31	Real Madrid - RCD Espanyol
February 7	Granada CF - Real Madrid
February 14	Real Madrid - Athletic Club
February 21	Malaga CF - Real Madrid
February 28	Real Madrid - Atletico Madrid
March 2	Levante UD - Real Madrid
March 6	Real Madrid - RC Celta
March 13	UD Las Palmas - Real Madrid
March 20	Real Madrid - Sevilla FC
April 3	FC Barcelona - Real Madrid
April 10	Real Madrid - SD Eibar
April 17	Getafe CF - Real Madrid
April 20	Real Madrid - Villarreal CF
April 24	Rayo Vallecano - Real Madrid
May 1	Real Sociedad - Real Madrid
May 8	Real Madrid - Valencia CF
May 15	RC Deportivo - Real Madrid

After finishing the 2014-15 season in disappointing style, Real now face the unenviable challenge of trying to knock great rivals Barcelona out of their stride. The two Clasico matches between these eternal enemies will be played on November 8 and April 3 at the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou, respectively.

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As noted here by Bleacher Report’s Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, currently, it’s the Catalonians who have the edge in this unique dynamic:

Real were beaten twice by city rivals Atletico Madrid in the league last season. These two will meet on October 4 at the Vicente Calderon and at the Bernabeu on February 28, as Los Blancos bid to wrest back some initiative in the capital derby.

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Whether or not Real can reach the same level as the Blaugrana remains to be seen. All of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale had their problems at the point of the Real attack last season, while Barca’s own formidable attacking triumvirate fired them to treble success.

But any Madridistas hoping their team will go toe-to-toe with Barcelona in an attacking sense are likely to be disappointed, as Benitez is a man who preaches functionality rather than fluidity. It’s a blueprint that has worked well for the former Liverpool boss, however, as we can see here, courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ:

At the Santiago Bernabeu, trophies themselves are not usually enough to keep the pressure off of a manager. But if Benitez can end Real’s worrying scarcity of league titles—they’ve been Spanish champions just once in the past seven years—then the Los Blancos hierarchy will surely see it as a job well done.

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He will be able to tap into the talent of Ronaldo to aid this cause. As we can see here, courtesy of Squawka Football, the Portuguese star was magnificent in front of goal last season:

With that in mind, perhaps a bit of cohesion instilled by Benitez will take this team a long way in 2015-16. It may mean some attacking impetus is sacrificed, but a sterner foundation will allow the mercurial talents of players such as Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema to flourish.

You do worry Benitez may take some time to implement these traits, however. If he does get off to a sluggish start at the Bernabeu, then he could quickly find himself under massive pressure; it makes those opening weeks of the season so crucial to his overall chances of success in this notoriously demanding role.