5 players Real Madrid can’t lose to injury in 2020

Real Madrid DM Casemiro

There may not be a more important player to Real Madrid’s success right now than Casemiro, who is third in La Liga in both tackles per game and interceptions per game, according to WhoScored.com.

The superstar defensive midfielder would be in the running as La Liga’s Player of the Year if more respect were given to No. 6’s, because he’s been as valuable to Los Blancos as Lionel Messi has been to Barcelona.

That may seem like it’s a stretch, but look at how Real have the league’s best defense. Casemiro does so much to cover for the fullbacks, especially Dani Carvajal, who has needed to be aggressive in 2019-2020 to support the attack. And when Gareth Bale is on the pitch, Carvajal’s movement forward to support the flank must double.

Furthermore, Casemiro can help the attack. He’s a good free-kick taker from range with his powerful shooting and can score headed goals in the air. Casemiro’s brace in a 2-1 win over Sevilla was one of the individual highlights of the season.

Casemiro has no backup defensive midfielder. It is him and only him running the show. He was overworked, and losing him for any period of time could be disastrous. It’s why Real are prioritizing signing Eduardo Camavinga in the 2020 summer transfer window for at least 50 million euros. Until then, Casemiro means absolutely everything to Real Madrid. He has no peer.