Real Madrid vs Deportivo Match Preview: Classic Encounter, Head-to-Heads, Team News and More

Real Madrid and Deportivo kick-off their Primera Division campaigns this Sunday with both clubs aiming for very different things this season.

Zidane's men are surely expected to record a comfortable win over Depor at the Bernabeu, with the away side not beating Madrid since they triumphed 1-0 at Abanca Riazor in 2008.

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Madird themselves are hoping for another superb season after completing the league and Champions League double last term, and look in fine fettle following their 5-1 dismantling of Barcelona over the two legs of the Spanish Super Cup.

Deportivo, however will have hopes of surviving for another season after a 16th place finish last season, Pepe Mel will be hoping his side can show the battle and determination required to avoid another relegation battle. Here's everything you need to know ahead of this season opener at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Classic Encounter

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Deportivo La Coruna 2-8 Real Madrid (La Liga, September 2014)

Carlo Ancelotti's side absolutely destroyed Deportivo at the Riazor with an emphatic 8-2 victory to bounce back to winning ways following two successive defeats, with their new look multi-million pound side being too strong for their Spanish counter parts.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid ahead with a trademark header after 29 minutes before new signing James Rodriguez, fresh off his impressive World Cup displays, doubled their lead with a superb strike from distance seven minutes later.

Ronaldo then added his second and Real's third in the 41st minute seizing on a mistake from home keeper German Lux to make it 3-0 at the interval. Slight hopes of a comeback arose when Haris Medujanin scored from the spot in the 50th minute after a Sergio Ramos handball, but those hopes were erased 16 minutes later when Gareth Bale thundered his shot in off the post. 

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Bale got his second in the 74th minute when he lobbed the onrushing Lux following substitute Isco's superb through ball to make it 5-1. Not to be outshone, Ronaldo completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute before Verdu Nicholas pulled back a consolation with six minutes to go.

However, there was still time for substitute Javier Hernandez to have an impact on the game when his quick fire double took the scoreline to 8-2 and end a very comprehensive days work for Ancelotti and his men.

Head to Head Record

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Real Madrid have a fairly dominant record over Deportivo when it comes to league meetings - with 17 wins, seven losses and only one draw.

Goals seem to flow between the two sides, with 32 goals in the past six games. Madrid did the double over Depor in their title-winning campaign last term with a close fought 3-2 at the Bernabeu, before a more comprehensive 6-2 win away from home.

As previously mentioned, Mel's side haven't beaten the Galaticos since 2008 and you would have to go back to 2004 for the last time they won at the Bernabeu with a 1-0 win thanks to a solitary strike from Albert Luque. 

Team News

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Talisman Cristiano Ronaldo is unavailable for Los Blancos thanks to his five-match ban for his sending off in the Spanish Super Cup and subsequent push of a referee. New signings Theo Hernandez and Dani Ceballos both came off the bench on Wednesday in the second leg and are expected to feature in the Madrid squad.

New Deportivo signings Guilherme and Fabian Schar are both expected to start for Pepe Mel's side, but Carles Gil, Juan Rodriguez and Raul Albentosa are all doubts for the away side due to injury and didn't feature in their team's training session early on Friday morning.

Predicted Madrid Lineup: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Bale, Benzema, Asensio

Predicted Deportivo Lineup: Ruben, Juanfran, Arribas, Schar, Luisinho, Bruno Gama, Borges, Guilherme, Bakkali, Cartabia, Andone

Prediction

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After Real's dominant performance against Barcelona, they showed they have the squad depth to push on all fronts this season and they should have too much quality for Deportivo.

Real Madrid 4-1 Deportivo