Real Madrid: the fixtures calendar from hell begins

The fixtures are piling up for Real Madrid, who will hardly have a moment to catch their breath between now and mid-March. With the Copa del Rey Clásico semi-final dates now confirmed, Ancelotti’s men look ahead to a month of non-stop games. Madrid will play 10 games in 32 days. The run begins on Thursday against Valencia at the Bernabéu and ends on 5 March with a visit to Betis. One match every three days in four different competitions: six league games, at least two in the Club World Cup, the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Liverpool and the Copa semi-final against Barça before taking a breather. During the week of 6-12 March, Madrid have just one match on their agenda, a unique situation for the team so far in 2023.

Valencia are the first rivals on the horizon - the rescheduled Week 17 game that was postponed due to the Spanish Super Cup. Then comes a run of six games - with just one at the Bernabéu, Madrid visit Mallorca before travelling to Morocco to take part the Club World Cup. On their return, in seven days the whites will host Elche, visit Osasuna and play the first leg of their Champions League Last 16 tie away at Anfield. While the reigning European champions go into that first leg after playing six games in February, Liverpool will have played half that amount. The match against Klopp’s Reds will be the first of the real big tests during a hellish stretch of the calendar - four or five days later, Madrid have the derby against Atlético and the following week (Thursday 2 March) Barça await in the first leg of the Copa semi-finals. Three very demanding matches in ten days.

Pressure eases off in March

March will be underway when the Clásico first leg takes place (Thursday 2nd) - the calendar eases a little for Madrid in the third month of 2023. but Madrid won’t get a proper rest until after the Betis game at the Villamarín on Sunday 5 March. Ancelotti will have a whole week to prepare for Espanyol’s visit to the Bernabéu (10 or 11 March) before facing one of the season’s most crucial weeks - the Champions League return leg against Liverpool (Wednesday 15) and the League Clásico at the Camp Nou (Sunday 18).

The international break will provide the non-internationals with a short rest before the final run-in to the end of the season begins in which, if all goes well for Madrid, will kickstart another eight weeks in a row with commitments every Wednesday, starting with the second leg of the Copa semi-final against Barça at Camp Nou.

Real Madrid’s fixtures calendar up until the international break