Real Madrid face mid-table Leganes on Monday evening, looking to maintain an impressive run of results against Madrilean opposition.
Los Blancos are unbeaten in their last 17 La Liga games against neighbouring sides, but their opponents have also lost just one of their last six derbies in the competition, winning half of those.
Leganes
© ReutersHaving finished 17th last season, Leganes have looked a lot more comfortable this time around and find themselves just outside the top half with seven games left to play.
Mauricio Pellegrino's side have collected seven points from the last nine on offer, beating Getafe and Real Valladolid before drawing 1-1 with Alaves last weekend, putting them within six points of a Europa League qualifying spot.
Los Pepineros do still have something to aim for in the remaining month of the season, then, though finishing in the top half would be a decent achievement in its own right for a side without any real standout names in their squad.
Pellegrino has managed to get his side's campaign back on track with their recent three-match unbeaten run, following on from back-to-back losses without scoring against Atletico Madrid and Girona this time last month.
The former Southampton manager, who replaced Asier Garitano last summer, is winless in his four La Liga games against Real Madrid to date, losing three of those.
With their Copa del Rey campaign being ended by Madrid over two legs in January, Leganes can focus solely on improving their league position. After this visit from neighbours Real Madrid, they only have one more side currently sitting above them - Athletic Bilbao - to face.
This is arguably the perfect time for Los Pepineros to take on Zinedine Zidane's men, too, with their opponents having little to play for on the face of it. In a season of many positives, seeing off Madrid for the second time this season would set them up nicely for the run-in.
Recent form in La Liga: WLLWWD
Real Madrid
© ReutersMadrid's comeback win over Eibar on home soil last week, hitting back through a couple of Karim Benzema goals in the final half-hour after falling behind to Marc Cardona's first-half strike, makes it three wins and one defeat since Zidane returned last month.
Los Blancos have now only dropped points in one of four matches since a disastrous end to Santiago Solari's spell - a 2-1 loss at Valencia nearly two weeks ago - but this positive run of form has ultimately come too late to mean anything.
Atletico Madrid saw off Celta Vigo 2-0 on Saturday to open up a five-point gap on Real, who have this game in hand to play on Monday, but even finishing second would make this a hugely underwhelming campaign.
With no silverware heading to the Bernabeu for the first time since 2014-15, Zidane's rebuilding project has already started with a deal being agreed for Porto defender Eder Militao. According to reports in the Spanish press, a further £400m is to be spent over the next few months.
Zidane has seven more matches to work out which players he wants to keep as part of his long-term project, having already experimented with some different options over the past month, such as fielding his son Luca Zidane against bottom side Huesca.
One positive for Los Blancos had been their away form, winning five in a row on their travels and avoiding defeat in seven, but those runs came to an end with their loss at Valencia.
Madrid have conceded a league-high 54% of their goals in the first half of matches this season (20/37), which is another mental aspect Zidane has to work on, often seeing his side giving themselves too much work to do.
As a three-in-a-row winner of the Champions League, and with plenty of money to spend, Zidane will be confident that 2019-20 works out a lot differently to 2018-19. His only aim for now is to get wins on the board and hope that the momentum carries into next season.
Recent form in La Liga: LWWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWWLW
Team News
© ReutersDani Carvajal has not featured for Madrid since the start of March but he is now back available for selection, giving Zidane an alternative option to Alvaro Odriozola at right-back.
Zidane has shown faith in Benzema since returning to the club, and that has paid off as the striker has played a direct part in six goals during Madrid's last four games, while also netting twice in Solari's final game at the helm.
The Frenchman has scored nine headed goals in all competitions this season, more than any other La Liga player.
Thibaut Courtois has yet to play under Zidane because of an injury issue, meanwhile, and Keylor Navas is expected to get the nod in goal once again on Monday.
A calf injury will rule out Sergio Ramos for the next couple of weeks, giving Nacho a chance to shine.
As for the hosts, they will be without Oscar Rodriguez as he is ineligible to play against his parent club, so Javier Eraso is in contention for a start.
A knock sustained by Kenneth Omeruo has given Rodrigo Tarin a run of matches and it is likely that he will be used from the off once again here.
Pellegrino has been given a boost in terms of his attacking options, with Guido Carrillo back from suspension and Youssef En-Nesyri recovering from injury.
Leganes possible starting lineup:
Cuellar; Tarin, Siovas, Bustinza; Nyom, Perez, Vesga, Silva; Eraso; Braithwaite, Carrillo
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Navas; Odriozola, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Bale, Benzema, Asensio
Head To Head
Real Madrid have won each of their last five La Liga matches against Leganes, scoring an average of 3.2 goals per game.
Los Blancos won the reverse league fixture 4-1 in September to maintain their winning start to the season, Benzema scoring a brace in that one.
Leganes did win the most recent encounter between the sides, prevailing 1-0 in the second leg of January's Copa del Rey last-16 tie, but that came after a 3-0 loss in the first leg.
We say: Leganes 0-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid are now just counting down the days until the summer, with little left to play for on the face of it. Second place is still up for grabs, but if they are to overtake Atletico then they cannot afford to drop points against another of their city rivals in Leganes. We are predicting a routine away win on Monday.
