R Vallecano v R Madrid preview

Real Madrid will be without main man Cristiano Ronaldo for the trip to Rayo Vallecano as they look to continue their impressive form in the battle for a first La Liga title for four years.

The 47-goal Portuguese forward is unavailable for Saturday’s game with a thigh problem and now faces a race to be fit for his side’s Champions League semi-final first leg at Manchester City on Tuesday and the three other remaining league matches.

Zinedine Zidane’s third-placed side are on an eight-game winning run in the league and he believes they will have to take maximum points until the end of the season to have a chance of overtaking rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who are both one point ahead, and being crowned champions.

“Playing Cristiano would be a great risk,” Zidane was quoted as saying by Marca. “He wants to play, but he has to stay home, and even if the final was tomorrow he wouldn’t play.

“Having …

continue reading in source www.skysports.com