Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine against Deportivo Alaves

Real Madrid will face off against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday night after failing to pick up victories against Valencia and Villarreal in La Liga.

On Wednesday at the San Siro, Real Madrid produced their most complete performance of the 2020-2021 season. For the first time this campaign, Real did not look nervy at the back and were both fluid and creative in the attack. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric bossed the match as a double-pivot, Eden Hazard made his presence felt, Martin Odegaard added his passing quality, and Rodrygo Goes efficiently scored off the bench.

This weekend, Real Madrid will face Deportivo Alaves at home in La Liga. Alaves have struggled this season and are 15th in La Liga, but they are one of those stingy teams that can make life very difficult for a bigger club. It sounds strange to say this, but because of how they will sit back, they may present a bigger challenge than Inter Milan did, assuming Alaves have all 11 men.

We saw Alaves frustrate Barcelona to a 1-1 draw behind the performance from former Real Madrid academy goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco. Alaves also have two legitimate star strikers of La Liga in Joselu and Lucas Perez, who bring plenty of experience with them.

Still, Los Blancos will be the heavy favorites at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and must pick up all three points. Here are five players who need to be at their best this weekend.