Real Madrid: 4 takeaways from official squad vs. Sevilla
Real Madrid will face Sevilla on Saturday afternoon at the Santiago Bernabeu, and here are four takeaways from Zinedine Zidane’s official 19-man squad for the matchup.
After defeating Sevilla 1-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in September, Real Madrid will undoubtedly expect nothing less than the full three points in front of their home fans on Saturday. Sevilla are currently tied on points with third-place Atletico Madrid, while Real are tied on points with La Liga leaders FC Barcelona. Every game counts in another heated title race
Los Blancos have announced their official 19-man squad for Saturday’s game, and here are four takeaways from the list of men Zinedine Zidane has selected to lead the team to victory.
1. Sergio Ramos is out
Although Sergio Ramos practiced on Friday and seemed to be in a position to make a miraculous recovery from an ankle injury in the Spanish Supercup final, Real Madrid are wisely playing it safe with their captain.
Ramos would have been a key asset against his former club, as his leadership, passing, and clutch goal-scoring could have came in handy against Sevilla. However, Real need Ramos healthy for the long term, and if doctors believe Ramos isn’t 100 percent, then Zidane made the right call to bench him. Ramos’ injury was initially expected to keep him out for two weeks.
Eder Militao will start again for Ramos, and given how he and Raphael Varane have looked as a tandem this season, Real Madrid fans should expect another clean sheet against Sevilla.
2. Four midfielders in, no James
James Rodriguez had an outside shot at being in the squad for Saturday’s game against Sevilla, and he played quite well against Julen Lopetegui’s side in their first fixture this season. But James is out of the squad, as Zidane is rolling with just four midfielders as he reverts back to the team’s classic 4-3-3 setup.
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Isco, Luka Modric, Casemiro, and Toni Kroos are the four midfielders in the squad, as Fede Valverde is suspended for one game after his game-saving red card challenge on Alvaro Morata in the Supercup final.
Modric’s minutes are adding up and he may need rest, so it will be interesting to see who Zidane chooses between him and Isco. Both have been playing at a high level lately, especially in the 3-0 win over Valencia.
3. Karim Benzema is healthy
Karim Benzema missed both Supercup games with a hamstring injury, but he returned to practice on Thursday and Friday. Thus, Benzema is included in the 19-man squad and should start against Sevilla.
He could hold the key to victory, as his headed goal was the difference between three points and one in Real’s first matchup with Sevilla.
It will be interesting to see if Benzema shows any ill-effects from his hamstring issue, though some fans believe Real Madrid merely wanted to hold out their all-important striker from the Supercup games to give him rest. If Benzema is well-rested, he’ll be a huge danger to Sevilla’s back four.
4. No Bale or Mariano, yes to Vazquez and Brahim
Brahim Diaz and Mariano Diaz will likely leave on loans this January, though it isn’t out of the question for Mariano to sign a permanent deal elsewhere either. Benfica reportedly have interest, for example.
In the meantime, minutes are still hard to come by for either player. But Brahim is once again on the bench for this weekend’s big matchup. Joining him is Lucas Vazquez, who could make an appearance off the bench and is now 100 percent after missing several weeks following a freak gym injury.
Mariano has rarely been in the squad for La Liga games, so his absence is par for the course. He received meager minutes in the Spanish Supercup as a substitute in both games, working hard but never getting much of a chance to make an impact.
As for Gareth Bale, he seemed to be healthy after practicing all week, but the Wales international is a surprising exclusion from the final squad against Sevilla. He missed both Supercup games with an upper respiratory tract infection.