When Real Madrid travels to Almeria on Saturday night, they'll be looking to make it two victories in a row to open the 2023-24 La Liga season.

Almeria's season begun with a 2-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano, whereas Carlo Ancelotti's team, who finished second in Spain's top division last season, opened with a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao.
Though they will be hoping to escape another relegation struggle this season, it would not be surprising to see Almeria in and around the bottom three for most of the season. Almeria finished 17th in La Liga last season, with their survival battle stretching to the penultimate day.
La Union's 2023–24 season got off to a sour start as they lost 2-0 against Rayo at home on opening night. Isi Palazon and Randy Nteka scored the game-winning penalties.

Almeria, coached by Vicente Moreno, has strengthened its roster with many new additions this summer. Luis Suarez has joined the club permanently from Marseille, while other notable additions include Ibrahima Kone, Dion Lopy, and Sergio Arribas.

Even though El Bilal Toure left in a huge deal for Napoli, the team still seems capable of handling the demands of La Liga play.

Almeria's season won't be defined by results against teams like Real Madrid, against whom they have lost each of their past seven La Liga matchups, most recently losing 2-1 in the reverse matchup during the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid got off to a flying start in the 2023–24 La Liga season with a 2-0 victory against Athletic at San Mames thanks to goals from Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.

Barcelona, last year's Spanish league winners and Ancelotti's new team's first opponent, started the new season with a goalless draw against Getafe.

Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Fran Garcia all joined Los Blancos permanently this summer, while Joselu and Kepa Arrizabalaga joined on loan from Espanyol and Chelsea, respectively.