Sandwiched between the Champions League semi-final clashes with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid face a pivotal weekend that could have a significance on the destination of the La Liga title.
Los Blancos take on Osasuna at home on Saturday evening and will look to put pressure on Atletico de Madrid before the league leaders face a tricky trip to Valencia on Sunday afternoon. Barcelona, meanwhile, also have a tough task away at Villarreal.
With a huge game on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena, Carlo Ancelotti may rotate a few players and they won’t take any risks on Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness. The likes of Asier Illarramendi, Alvaro Morata and Casemiro may have the opportunity to get some more minutes under their belt.
That said, Real should have enough quality to see off an Osasuna team lying just three points above the drop zone. And the bookies seem to agree with that, with the hosts at 1/20 to pick up the three points. A draw is available at 11/1, while the visitors from Pamplona are complete outsiders at 25/1 to win.
Madrid are unlikely to go too gung-ho looking for goals. It will be more a case of building a lead and closing out the job and conserving energy levels for Tuesday. For that reason, fans probably shouldn’t expect too many goals, and odds of 5/4 of there being under 1.5 goals in the opening 45 minutes look a decent shout for those interested in placing a wager on it.
