Skip to main content

Espanyol Vs Real Madrid: The Starting 11







The upcoming match is against Espanyol away from home in the La liga match day 32. Espanyol are 20th on the leader-board and Real are 1st and with equal points with Barcelona on the league table. This game is one of the most important game to have any chance in the league, Madrid can not take any risks at all and have to win at any cost if they want to remain in contention, more so with football coming back after a break.

Real Madrid had won 2-0 at home in the first leg.

Looking at the 

Injury list:
  1. Nacho
  2. Lucas Vazquez
  3. Reiner Jesus
Suspended:
  1. Mendy
  2. Modric
Just recovered:
  1. Jovic
Practiced:

The  rest of the team is available. 

Skipped Practice:
  • None
Coach Comments:
  • To be updated. 
Other Comments:
  • None.
Squad Updates:




This is a very crucial game for the league title as with no point difference it is still under sight but very tight, it can only get wider if we play well and wait for Barcelona's mistakes. This is one of the slightly easy games after which there will be several tough ones, but know Zidane he will rotate his team to keep them fresh and sharp.

In the goal Courtois will start, should be a no-brainer.

Militao and Varane will start as the center backs, as Ramos needs some rest. Mendy is not available due to suspension so Marcelo will start on the left and will provide better defensive option and Carvajal will start on the right. So Marcelo, Militao, Varane and Carvajal should start. Defence has to be particularly alert, there has been occasional lapses causing goals, more so when Ramos is not their.

All the mid-fielders except Modric, who misses out due suspension are available but all are not sharp on most days. It is a very difficult decision for ZZ to pick the three. There has been lack of any consistency in the last few games but looking at the next game, it is going to be Kroos, Casemiro and Isco in the middle. Valverde and James will be on the bench. With matches coming thick and fast these substitutions will be key to maintaining the fitness.

As forwards have been sharp but their are several options available of ZZ, it is a real headache, whom to start. Vinicius was great but needs rest, so it should also be a tough decision to start him. Ideally it should be HBR, Hazard, Benzema and Rodrygo, and Vinicius, Bale and Asensio should be on the bench.

As now 5 substitutions are available, this is a great time to rotate the squad for ZZ.

The probable substitutions will be: 

Rodrygo > Asensio
Hazard > Vinicius
Isco > James
Kroos > Valverde
Benzema > Mariano/Bale
Militao > Ramos

So the formation would be 4 3 3.

So the final starting 11 will be:







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Athletic Bilbao Vs Real Madrid: The Starting 11

The upcoming match is against Athletic Bilbao away from home in the San Mames in the La Liga match day 37.  The last Real Madrid game was against Granada which was a good display in the all departments but had very controversial referring. The team rating for the match against  Granada  can be found here:  Team Rating Currently Real are a recovering side, with several players unavailable due to injury but they need to win at any cost to have any chance of winning the league.  Earlier the home game was a 3-1 Win. And last season this fixture was a 0-1 win. Looking at the Injury list: Carvajal Lucas Vazquez Ramos Mendy Suspended : None Just recovered: Marcelo Varane Kroos Practiced: The rest of the players are available for selection.  Skipped Practice: None Coach Comments: Zidane: “Marcelo had some discomfort, we didn't want to risk him. Miguel and Marvin played a very good game, we started well from the beginning and we deserve this victory.” Other Comments...

Real Madrid Vs Villareal: The Starting 11

The upcoming match is against Villareal at home in the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium in the La Liga match day 38.  The last Real Madrid game was against Athletic Bilbao which was a okay display in the all departments but had very hard fought win. The team rating for the match against  Athletic  can be found here:  Team Rating Currently Real are a recovering side, with several players unavailable due to injury but they need to win at any cost to have any chance of winning the league.  Earlier the away game was a 1-1 Draw. And last season this fixture was a 2-1 win. Looking at the Injury list: Carvajal Lucas Vazquez Ramos Kroos Suspended : None Just recovered: Marcelo Varane Mendy Practiced: The rest of the players are available for selection.  Skipped Practice: None Coach Comments: Zidane: "We will fight until the end. We will leave everything on the pitch, down to our last drop of blood." Other Comments: Nacho: "The sensations are positive. The team wins and w...

Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo: The Starting 11

The upcoming match is against Celta Vigo at home in the La liga match day 24.  Celta are 17th on the leader-board and Real are top of the league. This is a chance for Real to extend the lead and as the gap at the top is very narrow,  Madrid is not going to take any risks this time. Looking at the  Injury list: Asensio Mariano James Only Asensio is injured. And he has not been practicing with the team. He has started individual workouts now. We hope his recovery is faster and soon he starts playing with the team. Suspended : None, Mendy has 4 yellows and has a risk of suspension. Just recovered: Hazard He has started practicing with the team for two weeks now but still a doubt to play as a starter. Practiced: Asensio is on his recovery process. Mariano and James are not with the team. Others are practicing with the team. Skipped Practice: None Coach Comments: None. Other Comments: This is a crucial game...

Real Betis Vs Real Madrid: The Starting 11

Before going into the next match I will rate the performance of players in the last game vs Barcelona in the El Clasico. Benzema: 5/10, Poor game that has very less involvement, only misses and bad finishes, final third game play was better than previous game but still not up to the mark. Vinicius: 9/10, Became the youngest to score in the El Clasico, had several good plays. The early yellow could have made him a little cautious but played his heart out and recovered 3-4 balls for the team. Isco: 8.5/10, Good game and a few good runs, a great shot at goal which was stopped by the keeper. He was good in distribution as well, could have taken a few more chances but was a bit of communication problem with Marcelo. Kroos: 8/10, Seemed the one to orchestrate the game. Great assist in the first goal and maintained composure throughout the game, even under pressure, coordinated well with attack and defence really well.  Casemiro: 8.5/10, What a game! With an assist or goal he would...

RCD Mallorca Vs Real Madrid: The Starting 11

The upcoming match is against Mallorca and away from home, currently they are 18th on the leader-board in the league and Madrid are at the top. They have won 2 matches in the league and one of them is the last match. First I would like to see the  Injury list : Asensio Lucas Vazquez Modric Bale Suspended : 1.       None  Just recovered: Isco Nacho Marcelo Courtois Kroos Raphael Varane Valverde Mend Practiced: All except the injured lot. Skipped Practice: None Coach Comments: Zidane :  Zidane: "Modric, Bale, Kroos and Lucas are not available." As Mendy, Nacho and Marcelo are all recovered from injury the left back position is going to be a puzzle.  Varane has recovered from injury but might get rested for champions league game mid week. Ramos has also rested with Spain so should start. And Carvajal might get some rest after playing with Spain, and looking at the...