This weekend, Real Madrid faced Real Betis, the only other La Liga team with a perfect record, and put their undefeated start to the season on the line before beginning their Champions League defense.
Since both Madrid and Betis have won their first three games of the season, Carlo Ancelotti’s team tops the table on goal differential over Betis, the Copa del Rey champions.
On Saturday, Madrid will play at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time this season while renovations to their famed stadium continue.
Thibaut Courtois, who was a candidate for the UEFA player of the year award that teammate Karim Benzema won last week, anticipates Betis to make their afternoon challenging.”Betis performs admirably. We played them in some challenging games last year.
They have a lot of experience and play fantastic football, so we must press them hard while being cautious “Courtois stated.
“The two will get along well. The Champions League is next, so perhaps we can continue our winning streak with a victory in our first home game. Though difficult, we’ll be prepared.”
Next Tuesday, the record-holding 14-time champions of Europe, Madrid, travel to face Scottish champions Celtic to start their European campaign, while Betis play host to HJK Helsinki in the Europa League.
Following a scoreless tie on the opening weekend, Robert Lewandowski has scored twice in each of Barcelona’s last two games, giving the team a sense of momentum.
Jules Kunde, a defender for France, might take the field against his former team Sevilla on Saturday after receiving final approval to make his Barca debut in the 4-0 victory against Real Valladolid.
After failing to go past the group stage in the previous season’s Champions League, both clubs will be hoping to do better this time around.
The opening match for Barca is against Viktoria Plzen, and Sevilla’s first task is to thwart Erling Haaland and Manchester City . Prior to playing Porto at home, Atletico Madrid, Spain’s fourth representative in the Champions League, travels to Real Sociedad.
