Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Betis | La Liga MD18 | OneFootball

Real Madrid ended 2025 with three back-to-back wins, none of which were particularly convincing. Yet, that has been the story of the Merengues in a nutshell so far this season..

As they step into 2026, they stare a formidable opposition in their first game back – Real Betis.

Los Verdiblancos are currently sixth in the league standings with 17 games played and have won and drawn seven games apiece. They have scored 29 goals and conceded 19 so far this season.

Heading into Sunday’s game, moreover, Real Betis have not lost a single one of their eight away games in La Liga – a staggering record that Xabi Alonso’s men must be wary of.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Betis.

New year, new start

2025 was not Real Madrid’s best year in any sense of the word with the team going without any major title, finishing second to Barcelona in all domestic competitions, and coming nowhere close to the UEFA Champions League.

Added to that was the crisis of Vinicius Jr.’s poor form, the team’s decline under Carlo Ancelotti in the first half, and the adaptation to Xabi Alonso in the latter half of the season.

All in all, Los Blancos were left unstable for the greater part of the year, and that is precisely what they must look to turn around stepping into 2026.

The problem with Real Madrid has never been about the quality but the consistency, and the men in white must begin finding answers to how they can shine as a unit starting tomorrow evening.

Taking on Real Betis in the situation they are in will be easier said than done, but as they step into a new year, it is high time the players turn a new leaf and look to kick start on a fresh mind.

There is, after all, a lot at stake including their pride, the manager’s job, and potentially the future of several stars whose stocks are falling with every passing day.

An attacking crisis

How will Alonso replace Kylian Mbappe? (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

There is, of course, no place to start the discussion about Real Madrid’s first game of 2026 other than Kylian Mbappe’s injury, one that rules out his participation against Real Betis.

The player is working hard to return for the Spanish Super Cup, but he will not feature tomorrow and the manager has a serious decision to make as to how he plans to replace him.

Mbappe has been Real Madrid’s saviour to a great extent this season, taking up responsibility in the final third and scoring more than half of the team’s goals. With him out, the manager does not have too many options considering Endrick’s recent departure.

The first option on Alonso’s mind will be to bring in a like-for-like replacement in Gonzalo Garcia, and thus restore the firepower with a natural centre-forward. The downside, however, is that the player is likely to be rusty after not featuring regularly.

A second option will be to start the duo of Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes with an additional midfielder entering the dynamics for better ball retention and chance-creation. The question in that setup, however, will linger on the clack of a clinical finisher.

The third option, albeit unconventional, would be to start Jude Bellingham as a false nine, an experiment that sounds good on paper but will be a risky bet given how it is a novel concept for the team.

Momentum for the Super Cup

Real Madrid’s game against Los Verdiblancos on Sunday is a crucial one from a league standpoint, especially when one considers how Barcelona are already four points clear of them in the standings.

Beyond that superficial point, however, there is another major objective for which Real Madrid must win on Sunday – the upcoming Spanish Super Cup.

As always, the Spanish Super Cup presents Real Madrid with their first chance of winning a domestic title this season – one that the dressing room needs for their morale and the manager requires to salvage his job.

Enroute to the title, however, Real Madrid must get the better of Atletico Madrid in the semifinal and possibly Barcelona in the final – something that will be difficult without momentum on their side.

Given that tomorrow’s clash is Real Madrid’s final game before travelling to Saudi Arabia, they must deliver a convincing performance and take three points against the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu.