Why are Real Madrid playing on a Monday?
Los Blancos are set to take on Getafe on Monday night in LaLiga.
Real Madrid take on Getafe at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on Monday 2 March at 3pm ET, a kick-off time which has many fans wondering exactly why the 15-time European champions’ home game is taking place on a weekday.
Los Blancos are, given their stature around the world, usually given the prime-time slot for worldwide broadcasting on a weekend, which is locally around 9pm. However, in Spain, every game is scheduled at different times across the weekend to allow for maximum TV audiences, with the match day beginning on Friday evening with one game, before four games are played per day across the weekend and the remaining fixture on Monday.
This spread due to television exposure means that, given prominence and profile is used to determine kick-off times, some clubs inevitably end up playing more on Mondays and Fridays (see Rayo Vallecano), the non-prime-time TV slots, while teams such as Barcelona and Madrid are given evening slots on a weekend. Match-going fans appear not to be taken into consideration when decisions like these are made.
To make things fair, every club must play on Monday night at some point during the season, and this time it’s Real Madrid’s turn.
Why is Kylian Mbappé not playing for Real Madrid against Getafe?
One player who is not going to be on the pitch at the Bernabéu for Madrid, at least with his boots on, is Kylian Mbappé. The French forward has been ruled out with a persistent knee issue that has quickly become a concern for both the club and the player.
With the World Cup on the horizon, questions will be raised as to when he should return, but they appear to be for another day; for now, the only thing that is certain is that he will not take on Getafe in LaLiga on Monday.
🗓 Madridistas, here’s our March calendar!@visitdubai pic.twitter.com/vqkNAI1ewm
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) February 28, 2026
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