Copa del Rey: Real Madrid’s predicted XI against Zaragoza
Real Madrid went top of the league after winning against Real Valladolid on Sunday, but the team won’t have much time to think about that as they must now prepare for their next Copa del Rey match against Real Zaragoza on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos are on a hot streak at the moment and another win against Zaragoza will help them keep up hopes as they take on Atletico Madrid during the weekend.
Goalkeeper
It’s always safe to assume that Alphonse Areola will be the man between the sticks in the cup matches.
He has impressed so far this season and deserves the opportunities he’s receiving in the Copa del Rey while Thibaut Courtois gets some time to rest.
Defenders
With Dani Carvajal back from suspension, he should be starting this game after missing the La Liga match against Real Valladolid while Nacho Fernandez is expected to start his third game in a row, but this time in his more natural center-back position.
Nacho will likely play alongside Eder Militao who has been very impressive every time he has been called upon so far this season. As for the left-back position, it is expected that Marcelo will be the one starting there after it seems he may have lost his starting spot to Ferland Mendy in recent weeks.
Must Read. Brahim Diaz deserves more playing time. light
Midfielders
Zinedine Zidane may have a slight selection headache when is comes to who he picks in his midfield on the night. Judging by his dependence on Carlos Casemiro, the Brazilian will probably be in the lineup once again.
In front of him, we may see Federico Valverde make it back to the lineup after making a short substitution appearance over the weekend with James Rodriguez starting as well.
The Colombian has been having an extremely testing season so far and will need these opportunities to show that he can still contribute to the team whenever required.
Forwards
We will probably see a fully changed forward line to the one we witnessed against Real Valladolid. On the left side, Vinicius Junior will be expected to start after not even making it to the squad list during the weekend while Brahim Diaz could be given the chance on the right after he impressed off the bench against Unionistas de Salamanca.
It’s a bit of a gamble to predict Brahim starting ahead of someone like Lucas Vazquez but when it comes to Zidane, we have seen that anything is possible. As for the center-forward position, this is an extremely good opportunity to give Luka Jovic more minutes as he has still been struggling to find the back of the net after only scoring once so far this season.