Las Palmas vs. Real Madrid: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Real Madrid have an opportunity to temporarily close the 15-point gap separating them from La Liga leaders Barcelona when they travel to face Las Palmas on Saturday evening.

Los Blancos make their way to Gran Canaria having won their last three league fixtures in succession, while Las Palmas, 18th, haven't won in their last seven outings and are six points from safety.

The relegation-threatened hosts haven't kept a clean sheet at the Estadio Gran Canaria since beating Malaga 1-0 on February 5, which also happens to be their most recent victory in all competitions.

Only bottom outfit Malaga have lost more games (21) than Las Palmas in La Liga this season (18), while the Canary Islanders have also conceded the second-most and scored the second-fewest goals in Spain's top tier this term.

Read on for a preview of Saturday's clash with La Liga's defending champions, complete with live-stream information and a breakdown of the latest team news.

Date: Saturday, March 31

Time: 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain

Live Stream: Sky Go app (UK), beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), fuboTV (U.S.)

TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), beIN Sports 17 (U.S.)

Team News

Los Blancos are fortunate to take close to a fully fit squad to Gran Canaria in Week 30, but right-back Dani Carvajal will be suspended for the trip.

Marca confirmed his absence for the away visit after he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in the 6-3 win over Girona on March 18, although it conveniently leaves him free to return for a higher-profile clash:

Las Palmas' list of absentees is more extensive. Striker Emmanuel Emenike is still waiting to make his Las Palmas debut after the club discovered a knee injury following his January loan move from Olympiakos.

Nigerian compatriot Oghenekaro Etebo is expected to sit out his second league game in succession after missing Nigeria's 2-0 friendly defeat to Serbia on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, left-back Dani Castellano and central midfielder Gabriel Penalba are back in training and could be in contention, having been absent since early March and mid-February, respectively.

Winger Jairo has featured in five of a possible 12 La Liga fixtures since joining on loan from Mainz in January but has missed Las Palmas' last three matchday squads. Centre-back Pedro Bigas looks likely to sit out Saturday's clash with an ongoing knee issue.

Preview

Real and manager Zinedine Zidane have encountered major scrutiny for their domestic performances this season but can match a campaign best of four successive league victories if they manage to come out on top on Saturday.

Their progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, having beaten Paris Saint-Germain 5-2 on aggregate in the round of 16, has offered hope of ending this term with major silverware nonetheless. 

One who still believes in the manager ahead of their away trip is Marco Asensio, who earned his senior debut under Zidane and indicated disbelief at reports his boss could be sacked, per The Independent:

"

Marco Asensio on Zinedine Zidane: “I want him to continue here and I believe he should. He has won two Champions League titles and La Liga – he is the ideal coach for the club and for this group of players. It is incredible how quickly success can be forgotten about.” pic.twitter.com/bbcQud24uF

— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) March 22, 2018"

As poor as Real's domestic campaign has been by their usual standards, it's more difficult to be a Las Palmas supporter right now, with the club facing relegation after recording back-to-back 11th-place finishes in La Liga.

The mood around their camp wasn't recently helped by manager Paco Jemez, who was recently critical of his own squad, per La Liga journalist Robbie Dunne:

A win over the reigning league champions is difficult to envision at the best of times, never mind coming off the back of a seven-match winless run featuring four draws and three defeats.

Los Blancos aren't infallible themselves, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five outings, but one might expect Saturday's visitors are capable of taking maximum points without stepping out of second gear.