Madrid, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Real Madrid will attempt to regroup from two defeats in three La Liga games when the club welcomes Granada to the Bernabeu on Sunday.
The Merengues dropped out of first place in the Spanish top flight following a narrow loss to Athletic Bilbao, and while they responded with a 2-0 win over Levante, they slipped four points back of first-place Barcelona with a 2-1 loss to the Catalans at Camp Nou last time out.
Throw in a 4-3 home loss to Schalke in Champions League action and it's safe to say that Real Madrid has hit a rough patch.
Gareth Bale has been made the scapegoat by media outlets and club supporters, but the Welshman has netted the only goals that have resulted in a Real Madrid win since the beginning of March, both of which came in the defeat of Levante.
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to find the back of the net with six goals in the club's last seven games, but if the defense can't match his blistering scoring pace, Madrid will continue its descent in the table.
Fortunately, Carlo Ancelotti's men will line up against a Granada side that enters the weekend second from bottom in the table with just 23 points from 28 matches.
It is, however, an equally important contest for Granada as the club will be seeking just its third La Liga win since Sept. 20.
Barcelona will be hoping to match Real Madrid's result when it heads to the Estadio Municipal de Balaidos to face Celta Vigo on Sunday, while third-place Valencia will aim to close the gap on the Galacticos with maximum points against Villarreal at the Mestalla.
Rounding out Sunday's slate, Deportivo will hope to pull further away from the relegation zone with maximum points at Getafe.
Atletico Madrid has slipped from its familiar position inside the top three, but the reigning champions will aim to advance from fourth place when they travel to the Estadio Nuevo Arcangel to face last-place Cordoba on Saturday.
Sevilla is closing in on Champions League football for next season as the club enters the weekend in fifth place. A win over Athletic Bilbao at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday would see the club move to within a point of fourth-place Atletico Madrid, though Diego Simeone's side returns to action later in the day.
Also on Saturday, Almeria plays host to Levante at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos and Malaga welcomes Real Sociedad to La Rosaleda.
Monday's lone contest will see Elche head to the Estadi Cornella-El Prat to take on Espanyol while Friday's game saw Rayo Vallecano rally for a 2-1 win at Eibar.
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