Real Madrid host Real Oviedo at the Bernabéu on Thursday night, hoping to turn the narrative away from off-field events—at least briefly.
Sunday night's listless 2–0 defeat to Barcelona confirmed that Madrid will end another season without a major trophy. Behind-the-scenes turmoil has dominated the headlines in recent weeks.
The meeting with already-relegated Oviedo is Madrid's first of three remaining opportunities to end the La Liga campaign with some pride and—at the very least—avoid giving their critics further ammunition.
Match Preview
After another week of disappointment and disharmony in Madrid, a home game against La Liga's 20th-placed club represents the ideal chance for some reprieve.
Real Oviedo are already relegated and are now playing to not finish last in the division—though the odds of that happening are incredibly slim. The Asturians have not won in their last four and have tasted victory just twice on the road all season.
Anything other than a comfortable victory—despite the off-field noise and injury problems—will be seen as further embarrassment for Real Madrid.
Head-to-Head Record
In 84 meetings between the two teams, Oviedo have just 14 wins to Madrid's 54. At the Bernabéu, the visitors have recorded only three victories. The last meeting between the sides ended 3-0 to Los Blancos back in August.
Key Stats
Oviedo's busy backline: Real Oviedo goalkeeper Aarón Escandell leads La Liga's save charts with 4.1 per match. No team has conceded more away from home in Spain's top division than Oviedo (37).
Mbappé has eyes on the prize: Mbappé leads La Liga's top scorer's race with 24 goals—two ahead of Vedat Muriqi. The Frenchman netted twice in the reverse fixture back at the start of the season.
Prediction
Real Madrid 2–0 Real Oviedo
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup
Arbeloa has a substantial absentees list to deal with in the remaining games of the season, with his team balancing made harder by locker room turmoil.
Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo, Éder Militão and Arda Güler are all confirmed out for the rest of the season, while Dani Ceballos is not expected to feature again in 2025-26 after falling out with the manager. Dean Huijsen is a doubt after pulling out of the Clásico warmup with a virus, while Federico Valverde continues his recovery from that head injury.
Arbeloa revealed on Wednesday that club captain Dani Carvajal should be available to feature against Oviedo. The right back has been out of action with a toe injury. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé has returned to training and could play some part at the Bernabéu on Thursday night.
Real Madrid predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Asencio, F. García; Pitarch, Tchouaméni; Díaz, Bellingham, Vinicius Jr; Gonzalo.
Real Oviedo Predicted Lineup
Leander Dendoncker and Eric Bailly are both doubts for the visitors, while Javi López and Kwasi Sibo are both suspended.
Though they are rank outsiders for the clash, manager Guillermo Almada will go into this game with the goal of taking advantage of Madrid's turbulent season to give their fans some cheer before the end of the season.
Real Oviedo predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Escandell; Vidal, Costas, Calvo, Alhassane; Colombatto, Fonseca; Fernández, Reina, Chiara; Viñas.
Match Details
Date: Thursday, May 14
Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain
Kick-off: Time TBD