Real Madrid Predicted XI vs Barcelona: Back to Basics?

Real Madrid aim to turn their fortunes around in El Clasico as they prepare to take on Barcelona.

After two losses against Cadiz in La Liga and Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid prepare to take on Barcelona in El Clasico on Saturday evening as they aim to turn their fortunes around against a side that haven’t been at their best recently but will be coming into this game with more confidence than Los Merengues.

Goalkeeper – 

It’s fair to look at the past couple games and say that he has conceded four goals in two games but Thibaut Courtois has still been in very good form overall and will be starting this game. There is no need to change the goalkeeper at this point and Zinedine Zidane won’t be giving Andriy Lunin his debut in a match this big.

Defenders – 

Against Shakhtar Donetsk, Zidane tried changing his right-back but that shouldn’t and won’t happen again. With Nacho Fernandez rested, he’ll be back at the right side of the defense with Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola still recovering from injuries.

Raphael Varane will be aiming to put a poor performance behind him as he takes his place in the center alongside (hopefully!) Sergio Ramos who will be expected to return from a knee injury that saw him miss training since the Cadiz game and of course miss the Champions League game in midweek.

On the left, Ferland Mendy will take his place as left-back again with Marcelo expecting to be back on the bench after two poor performances during the week.

Midfielders – 

It gets a little interesting here to see what Zidane may have in mind but if last season and the games this week are anything to go by, we will expect Carlos Casemiro to be starting as our defensive midfielder with Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos taking their places in the center of the pitch.

Luka Modric was great in the second half against Shakhtar but due to his age and fatigue, I think we may see him come on as a substitute if required during the match. It would have been great to have someone like Martin Odegaard for a game like this as he has the capabilities of changing the game around, but the Norwegian is dealing with an injury.

Vinicius Junior has done more than enough to merit a starting place in El Clasico.

Forwards – 

This part of the pitch should be straight-forward although Zidane tends to come up with surprises once in a while. On the right flank, Marco Asensio will expect to start for the second consecutive match and will need to improve on his midweek performance while Vinicius Junior has done more than enough to merit a starting place in the team.

The Brazilian came on as a substitute during the Champions League match and automatically scored a goal while spending the rest of the match running at defenders and finding spaces. This will be required against Barcelona as well. Up front, Karim Benzema will start after being rested for the first half against Shakhtar with Luka Jovic back on the bench.

Full Starting Lineup:

Thibaut Courtois, Nacho Fernandez, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Ferland Mendy, Carlos Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos, Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema