Real Madrid face Deportivo Alavés on Tuesday looking for their first win in April, a small assignment on paper that has taken on the feel of a must-win night. Madrid have lost 2-1 to Mallorca and drawn 1-1 with Girona since the month began, and their season now hangs on whether they can steady themselves before the run-in turns against them.
Álvaro Arbeloa said Madrid still have “seven games to win,” a blunt reminder that the real madrid schedule no longer leaves room for drift. The warning lands because Madrid were already knocked out by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals and sit nine points behind Barcelona with seven gameweeks left in La Liga.
The recent wobble has sharpened the pressure. In February, Barcelona slipped with a defeat to Girona, and Madrid answered with back-to-back defeats to Osasuna and Getafe while their attention was split by the Champions League playoff against Benfica. Last month, they beat their city rivals 3-2 in the Madrid derby, a result that briefly put some force back into the title chase before the latest setbacks pulled them off course again.
That is what makes Tuesday different. Madrid are not simply trying to add another win; they are trying to stop the season from narrowing into a series of explanations. Another stumble would leave them staring at a trophyless campaign with little left except the math. Tuesday night offers a chance to keep the title race alive, but it also comes against an opponent that has found life at the other end of the table.
Alavés are 17th and fighting relegation, but they arrive unbeaten in their last four matches under Quique Sánchez Flores and have scored ten goals in those four outings. That form gives them a reason to believe they can make Madrid uncomfortable, especially at a moment when the Spanish champions of recent years are suddenly trying to prove the season is not slipping away from them.
