Granada vs. Real Madrid: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Take the points while you can, the gentle run finishes here.
For Real Madrid, that's what Sunday's trip to Granada represents. When Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafa Benitez as manager in early January, the five fixtures immediately ahead of him looked rather accommodating. First it was Deportivo La Coruna, then it was Sporting Gijon, then Real Betis, then Espanyol and now Granada.
Predictably, the run has proved as gentle as it appeared; Zidane's Madrid have taken 10 points from a possible 12. On Sunday, they'll look to make it 13 from 15 before the real tests start coming across the next two months: Athletic Bilbao, Roma (twice), away to a tough Malaga side, the Madrid derby, Sevilla, a potential UEFA Champions League quarter-final and the Clasico.
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Sunday's outing is merely one to get through unscathed. And yet might it be tricker than it looks on the surface?
Few sides in La Liga are as curious as Granada. On their day, the Andalusians can be a real handful, and Jose Ramon Sandoval's men are capable of making anyone scrap. Earlier in the season, they took it to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the league, despite their poor recent record overall, they've actually won three of their last five at home, two of them over top-six opposition in Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla.
But Granada's flip side can be nasty. In the table, they're 19th; in the goals-against column, only Rayo Vallecano are worse. And when Granada are bad, they're bad. Sometimes it's as if they've got a split personality, their identity one of contradictions: Talented but raw, potent but fragile, equal parts exciting and shambolic.
The question with Granada is always the same one, then: Which version of them will you get?
On Sunday, Zidane and Madrid will be confident regardless, but this is an away game and Madrid's road record is becoming a sore spot. In their last trip away from the Bernabeu, they dropped points to Real Betis. Before that, they dropped points to Valencia at Mestalla, and before that, they lost to Villarreal at El Madrigal. In fact, Madrid have won only one of their last five on the road in La Liga, the contrast with their home form immense.
In 12 games at the Bernabeu, Madrid have won 10 and scored 45 goals; in 10 games away, they've won just four and scored only 19. It needs to change.
"We've got the belief," said Zidane on Saturday. Sandoval's men have something else, though: desperation. "It's a great challenge," said the Granada boss. "Real Madrid are playing for glory, us for our lives."
Match Details
Date: Sunday, February 7
Time: 7:30 p.m. GMT / 2:30 p.m. ET/ 8:30 p.m. local
Venue: Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes, Granada
TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), beIN Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
Form Lines
| L: 0-1 vs. Villarreal | W: 6-0 vs. Espanyol |
| W: 3-2 vs. Getafe | D: 1-1 vs. Real Betis |
| L: 1-5 vs. Eibar | W: 5-1 vs. Sporting Gijon |
| L: 0-3 vs. Valencia | W: 5-0 vs. Deportivo La Coruna |
| L: 0-4 vs. Barcelona | D: 2-2 vs. Valencia |
| L: 0-4 vs. Valencia | W: 3-1 vs. Real Sociedad |
Team News
For Real Madrid, Pepe and Gareth Bale remain the only unavailable players to Zidane, the pair having trained away from the main group this week, per the club's official website.
Thus, we could see an unchanged lineup from the one that dispatched of Espanyol 6-0 at the Bernabeu last weekend, which would mean Dani Carvajal continuing in the right-back slot, James Rodriguez occupying Bale's position on the right and Isco continuing to play his connector role on the left side of midfield.
For Granada, a host of new winter signings are available to Sandoval in midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, defender Ricardo Costa, winger Isaac Cuenca and striker David Barral. However, Sandoval might opt for a more low-key occasion than a clash against Real Madrid to introduce the new faces, meaning we could see the tight and familiar 4-2-3-1 that worked effectively for Granada both at the Bernabeu earlier in the season and last weekend against Villarreal.
In that system, Ruben Perez and Fran Rico will likely form the holding midfield pairing, while Ruben Rochina will fill the playmaker role as the No. 10 and will look to feed the energetic trio of Isaac Success, Adalberto Penaranda and Youssef El Arabi.
Predicted Lineups
In the Spotlight
Signing for Watford from Granada and then being immediately loaned back to Granada is a little like being poached by the IT team in your office but immediately sent back to accounting. It's all under the same roof, you see, as Watford and Granada (and Udinese for that matter) are owned by the Pozzo family, and this is exactly what they've done with Adalberto Penaranda.
On the final day of the transfer window, the clubs announced the switch of the young forward, who has signed a four-and-a-half year deal at Watford. The thing is, though, Granada are lucky to be able to keep him until the end of the season; taking him to the bright lights of the Premier League makes absolute sense.
The kid can play.
At just 18, Penaranda is not only the youngest-ever player to represent Granada, he's also the youngest-ever player to score a brace in La Liga—a title he took from a certain Lionel Messi.
Packing bundles of pace, balance, strong dribbling ability and an eye for goal, the Venezuelan teenager has been one of the revelations of the season. In addition to his pair of goals against Levante, Penaranda has also scored against Las Palmas and Sevilla, his goal against the Andalusians coming after he blew by three defenders.
Against a Madrid outfit that will dominate possession, Penaranda will be a dangerous weapon on the break for Granada. And a goal or a starring performance against Zidane's men would confirm his ascent.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Granada: 11-1
Draw: 5-1
Real Madrid: 1-4
