Alaves vs. Real Madrid: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info

Real Madrid will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2016-17 La Liga season on Saturday when they travel to the Estadio Mendizorrotza to face Alaves.

Los Blancos are a point clear at the top of the table and will be hoping to extend that gap over the weekend.

That will rely on their rivals slipping up elsewhere, of course, but with trips to Atletico Madrid and Barcelona just a matter of weeks away, it's vital Real keep putting points on the board.

Here are the viewing details for the game, and read on for a more in-depth preview:

Date: Saturday, October 29

Time: 3:15 p.m. BST/10:15 a.m. ET

TV: beIN Sports USA

Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect USA

Team News

According to Transfermarkt, Alaves' Ibai Gomez is sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Aleksandar Pantic has been added to the hosts' list of fitness concerns.

Marcos Llorente will also be absent as he is on loan from Real and cannot face his parent club, per Marca's Rafa Ubera (adapted by Patrick Boyland).

Per Real Madrid's official website, Sergio Ramos, Casemiro and Luka Modric all continued their recovery from injury in training on Tuesday, with the latter able to complete an individual physical circuit, but the trio's fitness could still be in doubt. 

TF-Images/Getty Images

Manager Zinedine Zidane rested a number of key players for Real's midweek Copa del Rey match against Cultural Leonesa, though, so Los Blancos should otherwise be fresh for the match.

Predicted Alaves Lineup (4-5-1): Fernando Pacheco; Vigaray, Victor Laguardia, Zouhair Feddal, Raul Garcia; Edgar Mendez, Victor Camarasa, Manu Garcia, Daniel Torres, Aleksandar Katai; Deyverson

Predicted Real Madrid Lineup (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Dani Carvajal, Pepe, Raphael Varane, Marcelo; Mateo Kovacic, Toni Kroos, Isco; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo

Preview

In September, Alaves produced one of the shocks of the season as they upset Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

They have struggled in their six matches since then, however, winning just once. By contrast, after a difficult spell of four consecutive draws, Real have won their last three and in that time scored 13 goals.

Despite that, Los Blancos do have something of an issue up front—the ongoing struggles of Cristiano Ronaldo.

As illustrated by Squawka Football, the Portuguese star has enjoyed an excellent calendar year thus far:

However, in recent weeks, his form in front of goal has been well below his usual standard.

Ronaldo has only scored twice in his last six games and cut a frustrated figure in Real's last league outing, the 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.

As ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan demonstrated, Ronaldo lacked a cutting edge and earned the ire of some of Real's fans as a result:

Zidane has backed the 31-year-old to rediscover his form. Per Sky Sports' Mark Ashenden, the Madrid boss said:

"

I don't understand the jeers but at the same time, I was also jeered and it can happen.

The public demands a lot from the players and the Bernabeu is special. Cristiano knows that and is not concerned by it.

Of course I prefer if he scores two of three goals per game. But I'm not worried because I know it will happen.

He is not making his chances now but he will, soon he will do so and with calmness.

"

It is perhaps fortunate Saturday's game is away from the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ronaldo is no stranger to playing in pressure situations, of course, but he's more accustomed to the jeers of opposing fans than his own—playing away might actually help him relax more in front of goal.

As they showed against Bilbao, Los Blancos have enough firepower to cope even when Ronaldo isn't on top form, and they'll have the added advantage of Llorente being unable to play against them.

David Ramos/Getty Images

The midfielder has been among Alaves' top performers this season, and he has already made 29 tackles and 17 interceptions in eight appearances, according to Squawka.

Without Llorente harrying the opposition, breaking up their play and regaining possession for his side, Alaves will be more vulnerable to Real's attacks.

Los Blancos have not kept a clean sheet since September 18, so Alaves will look to take advantage of the visitors' own defensive struggles, but it's unlikely they'll be able to repeat their heroics from the Camp Nou.