3 things Real Madrid must do to avoid dropping points to Granada

Forcing Granada into mistakes

Real Madrid are not a pressing team and should not play as a pressing team. That is not the style of the players there, and that is something Carlo Ancelotti figured out quite early in the campaign when he experimented with a pressing system that was woefully disorganized.

But, as we saw against Shakhtar Donetsk, Real Madrid can create clear-cut scoring chances by being proactive and engaging pressing triggers at the right moments. This is what every team must do. And Vinicius was indeed wise to press Shakhtar at the right moment, creating a sure-fire goal for Karim Benzema that helped buoy the Whites to a win. If Real can replicate this against Granada, that makes it so much easier to avoid having to pass through another low block.

Granada complete just 74.4 percent of their passes in league play, making them the third-least accurate team on the ball. Only Osasuna and Cadiz are worse.

Therefore, Los Blancos have the opportunity to press and bother Granada into mistakes that can lead to goals. Ancelotti has done a great job of getting Real Madrid to play in transition, and this matches the strengths of the likes of Vinicius and Fede Valverde. Rodrygo, too.

Vinicius is the key among individual players this weekend, and he will the most important player to watch both in transition and in creating these kinds of opportunities from pressure. Benzema is adept in this regard as well, defending better than the vast majority of strikers on the planet.