CM Fede Valverde
Fede Valverde and Luka Modric started as a double pivot of ball-carrying midfielders against Mallorca, and it was the latter of the two who distinguished himself more in the attack. That was by design, of course, but Valverde honestly had trouble with Takefusa Kubo, even nearly giving up the ball when trying to do a Marcelo-esque roulette near his own penalty box.
Valverde has been one of La Liga’s best players in 2019-2020 and is arguably Europe’s biggest breakout star at any position, but he has looked slightly under his standard during La Liga’s return. With Modric out, Valverde will need to carry even more of the load to help set up attacks, so hopefully he is game for it.
CB Sergio Ramos
With Marcelo in the lineup for Ferland Mendy, Sergio Ramos may need to tone down his attacking forays to help Marcelo out defensively. Mendy gives Ramos so much leeway to get forward, but on the road against Espanyol, the captain should be more cautious.
That said, he shouldn’t be boring or completely change his style. After all, he finished off Eden Hazard’s counterattack assist against Eibar when Marcelo was in the lineup. Still, in that same game, Marcelo began to fade a little and Real showed vulnerabilities defensively against substitute right winger Pedro Leon, so that could be a warning for Ramos and Real on Sunday.