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Madrid, Dec 11 (IANS) Real Madrid will set the ball rolling on match-day 15 of the Spanish La Liga when they travel to face managerless Almeria Friday. The game has been brought forward to allow Madrid to prepare for the World Club Championship in Morocco and should be a formality for a side which has won its last 19 matches, reports Xinhua.
Almeria have not won at home all season and are currently without a coach after sacking Francisco Rodriguez Tuesday in the wake of a 2-5 thrashing in Eibar. Real Madrid, in contrast, can set a new record for consecutive wins if they take all three points in the Mediterranean Games stadium, although coach Carlo Ancelotti has to deal with a series of injuries to midfielders, with Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and Sami Khedira all ruled out.
Asier Illaramendi will step into the holding role, while up front Cristiano Ronaldo will look to add to the 21 league goals he has already netted this campaign.
A win for Real Madrid would immediately put the pressure on title rivals FC Barcelona, who have to travel to Getafe Saturday, despite having had a tough Champions League tie at home to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique made several changes to his side against PSG in a 3-1 win, playing with a three-man defence and it will be interesting to see if he maintains that tactic in a ground where Barcelona have suffered some poor results in recent seasons. Ivan Rakitic could step back into central midfield, while the attacking trident of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi looks certain to continue after all three hit the net against PSG.
Meanwhile third-placed Atletico Madrid have to wait until Sunday before they enter the pitch and Diego Simeone's side will not only be under scrutiny against an in-form side, but so will the behaviour of their fans after the incidents which led to the death of a Deportivo la Coruna supporter a fortnight ago. Should Atletico avoid defeat in this game, it would also mean they had gone an entire calendar year without losing a league game in their stadium.
Saturday sees Valencia entertain Rayo Vallecano. Valencia recently beat Rayo in the Cup, but both sides had rotated their squads, although striker Paco Alcacez is suspended for this game after being sent off last weekend.
Cordoba, who won their first game of the season a week ago, will try to make it two in a row against an improved Levante, while Malaga entertain Celta Vigo, who have not scored in their last four matches.
Sunday kicks off with Espanyol, who are tough to beat at home, taking on Granada, who are yet to live up to the expectations created by the arrival of Joaquin Caparros as coach.
Sevilla take on Eibar, who will once again set their stall out to be tough to beat, before the weekend comes to an end with the Basque derby as David Moyes' Real Sociedad entertain traditional rivals, Athletic Club Bilbao.
Both sides have injuries in defence, although Athletic are boosted by their Champions League win over BATE Borisov in midweek, which saw them qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.
