Madrid is poised to win on Sunday against Real Betis
After being held to a draw in midweek, Real Madrid will attempt to return to winning ways when they play host to Real Betis on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the visitors are searching for their first La Liga win of the season after drawing their opening two league games.
After beating Atalanta 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup, there was perhaps an expectation that Real Madrid would make a flying start to their first La Liga campaign with Kylian Mbappe in their squad.
However, Real Madrid and Mbappe have ultimately experienced a couple of frustrating results, including a 1-1 draw in their league opener against Mallorca at Son Moix.
Los Blancos bounced back with a comprehensive 3-0 win in last weekend's home game against newly promoted Real Valladolid, but they were swiftly stopped in their tracks by Las Palmas in Thursday's meeting in Gran Canaria.
Real Madrid were unable to find a winner after Vinicius Junior dispatched a spot-kick to cancel out Alberto Moleiro's early opener, with Los Blancos having to settle for a 1-1 draw for the second away game in a row.
The result may have extended Real Madrid's unbeaten league run to 35 matches, but they will be disappointed to be in fourth place and four points adrift of early pacesetters Barcelona.
Los Blancos will be looking to return to winning ways in Sunday's home clash, with Mbappe hoping to score his first La Liga goal at the fourth time of asking.
However, claiming three points will be easier said than done, especially as Real Madrid have had to settle for draws in their last three meetings with Betis.
Betis have experienced a busy start to the season having had to balance league action with the Europa Conference League playoff round.
Manuel Pellegrini's side began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Champions League participants Girona before they recorded a 2-0 victory over Ukrainian side Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih in Slovakia.
After playing out a goalless draw with Alaves in their second-leg game, Betis went on to record a dominant 3-0 win in Thursday's return leg against Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih thanks to an Aitor Ruibal effort and an Abde Ezzalzouli brace.
As a result of their 5-0 aggregate win, Betis are now looking forward to making their fourth consecutive appearance in the main draw of a UEFA competition.
Los Verdiblancos will now look to maintain their unbeaten start to the season in Sunday's away fixture, and they may fancy their chances of taking at least a point after seeing four of their last five away league games against Real Madrid finish goalless.
Although they would settle for a point, Betis will be dreaming of claiming their first win at the Santiago Bernabeu since recording a 2-0 win in May 2019.