Three things to look for as Real Madrid take on Real Betis

Real Madrid have a quick turnaround for their next La Liga fixture. They take on Real Betis on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. Here are three things to watch for ahead of the midweek match.

The Return of Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has had a pretty slow start to the La Liga season. Four matches in, and he hasn’t scored or assisted a single goal.

Of course, it would have been impossible for him to have done either of those things, because Ronaldo hasn’t even been on the pitch.

Ronaldo has been serving a five-match ban for shoving a referee during his brief but eventful stint in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. The second leg plus the first four La Liga matches have now passed, and Ronaldo is ready to get back to La Liga action.

He was integral to Real Madrid’s win against APOEL, grabbing a brace in the proceedings. He’ll be hungry to try to continue that form on into the league, where madrid are currently four points off the pace of league leaders Barcelona. In Real Madrid’s consecutive draws to Levante and Valencia, the goals were simply not falling, as Real Madrid severely underperformed their expected goals. Bale and Benzema were both wasteful in those matches, something that Ronaldo rarely is.

Even La Liga itself seems to be missing the influence of The Dark Invader. The goals scored across the league at this point in the season are down 20%.

Could Ronaldo’s absence explain why the goals simply don’t seem to be falling in La Liga? Perhaps.

A well-rested Cristiano Ronaldo is a dangerous, dangerous man. Real Betis will have to contend with a Ronaldo who is ready to get back to action and show the world why he’s still Real Madrid’s #1 Star.

How is Keylor Navas’ form?

Real Madrid decided to make a gamble this summer: Instead of going out to look for a new keeper in the form of David de Gea or Gianluigi Donnarumma, Zidane trusted the Costa Rican Ticoman Keylor Navas to guard Madrid’s goal for at least one more season.

Navas had a tough beginning to his campaign last season, and struggled to find form after surgery. But he managed to finish as one of Madrid’s strongest players during the tail end of the campaign.

For the most part this season, Navas has been repaying Zidane’s trust. In Madrid’s first few matches, he looked like vintage Keylor. He’s also been enjoying great form with his National Team.

But, Navas made a pretty bad mistake for Real Sociedad’s lone goal during Madrid’s 1-3 La Liga victory.

Will Keylor Navas be able to maintain the form he showed at the beginning of this season? Let’s hope so. Real Madrid have been unlucky thus far this season, and having a strong keeper at the back can help give us a bit of backup when luck doesn’t seem to go our way.

How will Zidane replace Benzema?

Karim Benzema went down with injury against Levante. Fortunately Zidane has a lot of options at his disposal to replace the injured Frenchman.

Obviously, Cristiano Ronaldo is going to be in the starting lineup. Then, the question remains who do you start alongside him. With a recent goal against Real Sociedad, Gareth Bale is perhaps starting to show some signs of the explosive Bale we once knew. Bale and Ronaldo also connected well during Madrid’s victory over APOEL.

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But if Bale is in the lineup, then it probably means choosing between one of Isco and Asensio. Zidane will probably role out his standard midfield trio of Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro, leaving Isco and Asensio to battle for the remaining spot behind Bale and Ronaldo.

Isco will probably get the nod. Asensio is showing signs that he could be one of the best players in the world one day. But he is still young, and Zidane has used him well as a 60th minute substitute in the past. Asensio should replace one of Bale, Ronaldo, or Isco in the later portions of the match.

Of course, Zidane could go a totally different direction and give us some Borja Mayoral action. The young striker just got a run-out against Real Sociedad, and managed to bag one goal and set up Sociedad’s ugly own-goal.

Whatever Zidane chooses, Real Madrid have the tools they need to dispatch of Real Betis. Let’s hope they can do just that.

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more La Liga coverage.