Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine against Mallorca
RW Marco Asensio
Marco Asensio could get his first start of the season after making two substitute appearances against Valencia and Real Sociedad in the past two games. The Real Madrid attacking midfielder and forward had a dream return against Valencia, scoring with his first touch and later assisting cooly for Karim Benzema’s wonderful third.
Zinedine Zidane sees Asensio as his starting right winger for the remainder of the season – and rightfully so. The job isn’t guaranteed, but Asensio can lock it down by having a great performance against Mallorca. You wouldn’t put it past him scoring a second goal of the 2019-2020 season against Mallorca’s vulnerable defense either.
CM Toni Kroos
Without Casemiro on the pitch, Real Madrid will need to be more careful with possession in the midfield and be wary of Mallorca countering their own counterattacks. Having arguably the most accurate passer in Europe will help Los Blancos immensely, and Kroos has been as precise as ever after the restart.
Kroos had a quiet game against Real Sociedad, but he was still effective in both offense and defense. Before that match, he was wonderful against Valencia and also scored one of the goals of the season the previous match vs. Eibar.
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Expect Kroos to add to his tally of five assists in La Liga this year and continue his sharp passing, as he’s completing 93.3 percent of his attempts in the league thus far.