Real Madrid will travel to face Real Valladolid at the Jose Zorrilla on Saturday night, having won their last three La Liga matchups. Los Blancos are coming off back-to-back 2-0 victories over Getafe and Valencia, avenging a 4-1 loss at the Mestalla over the weekend.
Although Real will have one eye on Wednesday’s fixture at Atalanta, they will not overlook Valladolid, who played Los Blancos tough in a narrow, Vinicius Junior-led 1-0 victory earlier this season.
Here are five players who must shine for Real Madrid on Matchday 24.
RB Lucas Vazquez
Dani Carvajal will miss the next several weeks with another injury, having aggravated a muscular issue in the first 30 minutes of the win over Valencia. Lucas Vazquez has been Real’s best option behind Carvajal on the right-hand side, and he’ll need to provide a clear attacking impetus for Real Madrid against this hard-nosed Real Valladolid side.
Only two members of the starting XI have more assists in La Liga this season than Vazquez’s three, so the man with five goal contributions will be crucial out wide. Vazquez is sometimes shaky defensively with his positioning and passing against the press, but nobody can deny that he makes up for it with his sheer willpower and work rate.