Dani Carvajal picked up a fifth yellow card and will miss Real Madrid’s next match against Osasuna at a minimum. Who must step up?
There is some doubt as to whether or not Real Madrid’s match against Osasuna in Pamplona will go ahead on Saturday night as scheduled due to the snow from Storm Dora.
Regardless of when the match happens, Los Blancos will not have star right back Dani Carvajal available. He was yellow-carded in the 2-0 win over Celta Vigo this past weekend, as he did not exit the pitch appropriately when substituted. And why was he subbed off? To avoid the booking in the first place!
Osasuna may be in 19th place and may have lost to Los Blancos twice in 2019-2020, but underestimating a trip to Pamplona is a risk Real cannot afford to take. As the recent 1-1 draw with 18th-placed Elche showed us, Los Merengues are actually at especially high risk of dropping points against teams lower in the table. Their struggles when it comes to scoring against low blocks have been well-documented in 2020-2021, and losing Carvajal’s crosses and transition defense won’t make things any easier either.
Let’s take a look at three players who must step up for Real Madrid on Matchday 18 at El Sadar.