Real Madrid will take on Sevilla FC tonight as the side form the Spanish capital looks to move into a second-place tie with Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Here are three things to watch for in the match.
The rotated squad’s intensity level
Manager Zinedine Zidane has unsurprisingly left several usual starters in Madrid for this match against 8th place Sevilla. Raphael Varane, Keylor Navas, Isco, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric – too name a few – were all not included in the 18-man squad to make the short trip south.
With Gareth Bale also left out due to suspension, this is the perfect time for depth players to show their worth and get a good run out against a solid opponent. Zizou included his son, Luca, and three Castilla youth players in this squad.
📝 Our 18-man squad for tonight's match against @SevillaFC_ENG! (Kick-off 21:30 CEST). 👇#RMMovistar | #RMLiga pic.twitter.com/0bm7dZ3rAt
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 9, 2018
An interesting statistic I saw was that Zidane has yet to play a Castilla player in La Liga this season. If he does not feature a youth player in a league match some time in the final three matches of the season, this will be the first time in 10-years a Castilla player has not gotten some kind of playing time.
Expect to see players like Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio, Marcos Llorente, and Lucas Vazquez be tasked with carrying the team to victory here today. While Casemiro or Sergio Ramos are the most veteran players in the squad, the other four will have to drive the attack.
Jesús Vallejo and Theo Hernandez, who are expected to be two of the starting defenders, need to help out goalkeeper Kiko Casilla who has only played in nine league matches thus far this season.
Keep an eye on the intensity level of this younger players.