Three Key Questions ahead of the UCL Madrid Derby Second Leg

Real Madrid face off against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the UCL semifinals on Wednesday. Alex McVey is here with three key questions that will define the upcoming Madrid Derby.

Can Diego Simeone’s men climb the mountain?

Conceding three goals at the Bernabéu has left Atletico Madrid with a mountain to climb. They must put three goals in the back of Real Madrid’s net while doing something that no team has been able to do this season: keep a clean sheet against Real Madrid.

Indeed, the last goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against Real Madrid was Joe Hart in the 0-0 draw between Manchester City and Madrid in last year’s Champions League semifinals.

Because of the away goals rule in the Champions League, if Madrid score just one goal in the Calderon, Atletico Madrid would have to score five goals to advance. While Real Madrid have been a bit spotty at the back this season, it’s inconceivable that they would allow that many goals past them.

Atletico Madrid’s coach Diego Simeone has stated that while advancing is certainly difficult, it’s not impossible for them to still carry on in the tournament:  “On Wednesday we have a very difficult game, impossible for many, but not for us, nothing is impossible”

Impossible? No. But Los Colchoneros certainly have their work cut out for them in the upcoming Madrid Derby if they want to avoid defeat to their cross-town rivals yet again.

How will Zidane manage rotations?

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane’s rotation policy has allowed him to keep his players fresh for big Champions League matches while allowing him to make wholesale rotations against lower level La Liga teams like Sporting de Gijón, Deportivo de la Coruña, and Granada.

The Atleti match puts forward a puzzling problem for Zidane. On the one hand, the three-goal cushion means that Zidane could risk playing the squad players that have turned up big in the La Liga campaign. Real Madrid has a tough match coming up against Sevilla at the weekend, and that’s one of the matches in which Madrid is most likely to drop points in the La Liga race.

On the other hand, given that this is a knockout match, and given that the ultimate prize at the end of this Madrid derby is a chance for Madrid to win a historic back-to-back Champions League victory, it would be hard to blame Zidane for rolling out a full-strength starting XI.

This will be an intriguing test of Zidane’s claim that there is no A-Squad and B-Squad at Madrid. Zidane will have to figure out how to best balance the need to rotate and the need to protect the league to ensure passage to the Champions League finals.

Who will replace Dani Carvajal?

Dani Carvajal was enjoying one of his best seasons at Madrid, and some were beginning to put him in the conversations for best right-back in the world.

Unfortunately, his season looks like it has come to an abrupt end as he came off with an injury in the first half of the first leg against Atletico Madrid. Carvajal is likely to miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.

One of the big questions heading into the second leg Madrid derby is who will deputize for Carvajal at the right-back position. Although Nacho is perhaps best-known for being a center-back, Nacho was the only defender on the bench when Carvajal went down, so he slotted in and put in a tidy shift. This weekend against Granada, however, Danilo slotted in, picking up an assist.

While Nacho has played full-back for Madrid previously this season, it was usually on the left. That being said, the right-back position may actually be a more inherent fit to Nacho’s abilities, as he is naturally right-footed.

The other option is Danilo. While Danilo has been called on to play both sides of the flanks for Madrid, he is naturally a right-back, and makes the most intuitive sense to replace Carvajal.

The problem with Danilo is that he has put in some sub-par performances for Real Madrid this season. This was perhaps most notable as he blundered his way to an own goal per match in two consecutive matches, helping knock Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey.

While Danilo has been putting in some better shifts with Madrid in recent weeks, there are still questions surrounding his ability to perform in big games.

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Nacho, on the other hand, has been mostly a stalwart. A defensive jack-of-all-trades, Nacho seems to be able to plug-in seamlessly wherever he is needed across the back line.

Although he made a few mistakes against Bayern Munich, Nacho has for the most part been one of Madrid’s most reliable defenders this season.

It will be interesting to see who Zidane chooses to replace Dani Carvajal in the Madrid Derby.

Whoever Zidane chooses, they should be able to keep Madrid afloat, as it would take a complete catastrophe to not see Madrid through to the finals.