Real Madrid prepares to take on Leganes later tonight in the second leg of the Copa del Rey as they go into the match with a 3-0 advantage thanks to goals from Sergio Ramos, Lucas Vazquez, and Vinicius Junior.
Santiago Solari still has a lot of injury concerns to worry about but he’ll take some solace in knowing that he has a good enough squad to put in the final touches required on the pitch along with a few youngsters that have been added to the squad list namely Diego Altube, an 18-year-old goalkeeper as well as Jaume, who plays in midfield for Real Madrid Castilla.
Kiko Casilla has not been called up to the squad this time as he’s finalizing his transfer to Leeds United.
📝 This is our 19-man squad for tonight's #RMCopa match against @CDLeganes_en! pic.twitter.com/7vzNZ8yx0C
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 16, 2019
What will be interesting to see tonight is how Solari decides to field his men. The main question in everyone’s minds will be whether Isco will finally get a chance to start, which I believe will happen tonight given the circumstances of the game and the lack of fit players in the squad. Sooner or later, the Spaniard really should start a match and I don’t really see many better opportunities than tonight given the recent circumstances.
Solari will have to keep an eye on the upcoming La Liga match against Sevilla on Saturday. With Courtois, Toni Kroos, Marcos Llorente, Marco Asensio, Mariano Diaz and Karim Benzema all injured, he’ll have to be planning ahead to see who can play today, who will be taking the field on Saturday, and who will be fit enough to do both and give 100%.
Predicted Starting Lineup:
It’s a difficult one to call on who the manager decides to pick today. I initially thought that Cristo may start but it’s looking like Solari won’t want to take any chances and may give Vinicius a chance to start up front then bring on the young forward during the second half depending on how the match is going.
I would like to see Raphael Varane starting the game ahead of Javi Sanchez but I don’t think it will be happening while Odriozola and Reguilon will probably be placed on the flanks with Casemiro taking his place in front of the defenders.
This will also be a good time to see Brahim Diaz make a start on the wing with Vazquez on the opposite side after his return from suspension.
Keylor Navas, Alvaro Odriozola, Nacho Fernandez, Javi Sanchez, Sergio Reguilon, Carlos Casemiro, Dani Ceballos, Isco, Lucas Vazquez, Brahim Diaz, Vinicius Junior