Real Madrid will be without a handful of key players on Wednesday night as they travel to face Real Zaragoza in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. Who is missing and why did manager Zinedine Zidane elect to leave them out of the squad?
The Madrid Derby is on the horizon and it appears to be what Zidane is preparing for above all else this week. A trip north to face Segunda Division Zaragoza should not be a difficult task for Real Madrid and that is exactly what Zizou is banking on.
24 hours before kickoff, the Madrid squad list was missing some significant names that have played a huge role thus far this season. As expected, Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio remain on the mend, leaving Los Blancos with limited options on the left and right flanks.
To make matters worse, Isco and Gareth Bale – who have both been tasked with playing on either wing this season – were absent from the 19-man squad list. Bale was likely omitted after twisting his ankle in the 3-1 win over Unionistas de Salamanca last week and missed the La Liga match over the weekend against Real Valladolid because of it.
Meanwhile, Isco may have been left out of the traveling squad in order to rest up for El Derbí. The crafty midfielder played 73 minutes in the close win at Valladolid and came on as a sub a week ago in the Copa.
The same can be said of central defensive midfielder Casemiro as he will get a much-needed match off before a huge test on Saturday in the Santiago Bernabéu. The Brazilian brick wall ranks second on the team in terms of minutes played in La Liga only behind striker Karim Benzema.
📝 Our 19-man squad for tomorrow's #RMCopa match against @RealZaragoza! #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/VuImSlxgmY
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 28, 2020
The most surprising absentee from the squad is center back Eder Militao. Eder was impressive in his last outing against Salamanca and many would’ve liked to have seen him start in this match again in order to give either Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane more time to prepare for Atletico.
While it is still possible to rest one of the two with Dani Carvajal back in the lineup and Nacho Fernandez as an option, it still comes as a shock seeing Militao left in the capital.
It might be wrong to say, but this is a match Real Madrid could win with its youth academy. So, I don’t have a problem with Zidane leaving some key forwards and Eder Militao at home here.
The match against Atleti is far more important than the Copa for now.