Real Madrid will face Deportivo Alaves on the road this Saturday night, and they’ll have to get a win without several key players. Defenders Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal, and Nacho Fernandez are all out due to injury. Fede Valverde will miss multiple weeks with an adductor issue. Rodrygo Goes is dealing with a long-term absence. And even Zinedine Zidane won’t be available due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The injuries to the back line are the biggest deal, since they are all occurring at the same time. Let’s take a look at three players who must step up in light of a handful of absences on La Liga’s Matchday 20.
RB Lucas Vazquez
Lucas Vazquez is a right winger, but I foresee him getting another start at right back this Saturday. He’s generally acquitted himself well at the position, though he did have an absolute nightmare of a game against Athletic Club in the Spanish Supercup loss. Even so, Zinedine Zidane trusts him, and he’ll probably want Vazquez overlapping with Marco Asensio as the right winger against Alaves standout Ruben Duarte.
Alvaro Odriozola could use the minutes, but he didn’t have a good game against Alcoyano either. Zidane is always in a bind whenever Carvajal is injured, and you only have to look at the statistics to see how much this team struggles without Carvajal. Vazquez is usually the next man up, and he’ll need to avoid making anymore errors at right back.