Will Cristiano Ronaldo be back with a bang and other Real Madrid key questions

Real Madrid can set a new world record at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night by scoring in their 74th consecutive game, breaking the mark set by Pele’s Santos between November 1961 and August 1963.

Zinedine Zidane’s men were last held scoreless in a Champions League semi-final clash against Manchester City in April 2016, a tie they eventually won 1-0 on aggregate en route to lifting the trophy.

Remarkably, since then they have scored in every single game they have played, equalling Santos’s record in Sunday’s 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad to take their running total to 73 fixtures, during which time they have scored exactly 200 goals at an extremely impressive average of 2.74 per game.

And as if their goalscoring powers needed any more of a boost, their opportunity to set the new record just happens to coincide with the return to action of a certain someone…

RONALDO BACK WITH A BANG?

Wednesday’s meeting will also be notable for Cristiano Ronaldo finally making his long-awaited return to La Liga after serving a five-game ban incurred during the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup in August.

Fortunately for the Portuguese star, he hasn’t been completely starved of action with the suspension only applying to domestic games, so he has been able to keep his shooting boots in practise on the international stage and in the Champions League as well as a friendly against Fiorentina – and he took full advantage by blasting six goals in the four games he’s been able to contest.

So Ronaldo should be feeling rested rather than rusty as he makes his first La Liga appearance of the season, and Real Betis’s defenders should brace themselves to feel the wrath of a player who will not want to leave his league goals column blank for much longer – and who might just fancy netting the goal which sets a new world record.

WILL BETIS TURN UP?

Visiting Real Betis face their second major examination of the season, having already faced a trip to Barcelona on the opening day. And it’s fair to say they fluffed their lines on that occasion, failing to register a single shot on target as they delivered a meek performance in a 2-0 defeat.

In fairness, that was Betis’s first game under new manager Quique Setien, who was also bedding in a number of new signings, and they have improved a lot since then.

And although all the talk is about whether Madrid will score again and Ronaldo’s return, there’s plenty of interest at the other end of the pitch where dangerous Betis striker Sergio Leon is joined by in-form veteran Joaquin and speedy former Barcelona winger Cristian Tello.

The visitors will fancy their chances of ruining Madrid’s record-breaking script, but they will have to give a much better account of themselves than they managed at Camp Nou a month ago.