Shorthanded Real Madrid Welcome Granada

• Game: Real Madrid CF vs Granada CF
• Location: Estadio de Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain
• Date/Time: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

Real Madrid vs Granada Betting Preview

Head to Head

Granada has been a soccer betting pick to avoid when playing Real Madrid. The Andalusian club has lost 13 consecutive La Liga meetings vs Real Madrid and have conceded four goals in both of the last two meetings. In November, four different Real Madrid players got on the scoresheet as they cruised to a 4-1 win over 10-man Granada.

Real Shorthanded up Front

Real Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao. Real seemed to miss Karim Benzema and couldn’t get anything going offensively. Marco Asensio started in Benzema’s place, and it looks like that could be the case on Sunday as well as the latter is nursing a hamstring injury.

Left back Ferland Mendy is also out for a Madrid side that could be running on fumes. Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr. and Casemiro all started for Los Blancos on Thursday right after returning from international duty with Brazil.

Vini Jr. is out for Sunday’s match with a yellow card suspension, which will further weaken Madrid’s attack. Vini Jr. and Benzema are not easily replaced as the dynamic duo has accounted for 29 of Real Madrid’s 47 goals. Forgotten man Isco may have a part to play this weekend but he missed a big chance when he came on as a substitute vs Bilbao.

Real have a four-point lead at the top of the La Liga table but have struggled a bit lately. They have just two wins from their last five La Liga matches, including a draw with Elche at home and a loss to Getafe. Until Benzema and Vinicius Jr. are back in business for Los Blancos, they may be one of the soccer picks to avoid.

Granada Hoping to Avoid Relegation Battle

Granada may be winless in their last four La Liga matches but they have pulled off some sneaky good results. The Andalusian side has defeated Sevilla and Atletico Madrid and pulled off a pair of draws vs Barcelona.

Most recently, Granada lost 2-0 at home to Osasuna and 4-2 to Getafe on the road. Conceding six goals in their last two matches vs bottom-half sides certainly isn’t a good sign, but Granada have some leeway between themselves and the relegation zone.

Another not-so-great sign is the reliance on a 39-year old striker as their leading scorer. Jorge Molina has scored nearly 70 La Liga goals in his career and has seven this season. Luis Suarez, not to be confused with Atletico Madrid’s Luis Suarez, has also added six goals for the Nazaries.

In a bid to stay in La Liga, Granada were active in the January transfer market. They signed promising young Uruguayan forward Matias Arezo, winger Myrto Uzuni from Ferencvaros, Serbian midfielder Njegos Petrovic, Dani Raba from Villarreal and Alex Collado on loan from Barcelona.

As far as outgoings, midfielder Darwin Machis looks to be on his way to Charlotte FC in the MLS, whose transfer window is still open.

Prediction

I don’t see how Real Madrid beats Granada handily without their best two attackers available. Granted, Benzema may still be available but it doesn’t look terribly likely. Regardless, Real will only be on two days’ rest.

Granada, while they’ve been terribly inconsistent, have played well in big games and are capable of keeping this close.

Bet on them to cover the two-goal spread in the sportsbook and make Real work for the win here.

Pick: Granada +2 (-135)