Real Madrid: 5 key players to watch against Celta Vigo on Matchday 28

Real Madrid are fresh off one of their most impressive performances of the 2020-2021 season, as they trounced Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. On Saturday, they will travel to the Balaidos to face Celta Vigo in La Liga, having beaten them 2-0 earlier this year.

Let’s take a look at five key players to watch for this contest, using MARCA’s predicted lineups for Matchday 28 as our guide.

Real Madrid LB Ferland Mendy

After a fantastic month of February, Ferland Mendy has fallen back down to earth in recent matches for Madrid. He didn’t make much of an impact in El Derbi or in the weekend win over Elche, and he wasn’t one of the standouts in the 3-1 win over Atalanta either.

On Saturday afternoon, the Real Madrid left back will need to do plenty of work against Celta Vigo star man Iago Aspas, who has nine goals and eight assists this season. His injury in the middle of the first match doomed Vigo and helped Real close out with a clean sheet, so a fully healthy Aspas could be dangerous for Los Blancos this coming weekend.

Madridistas will keep a close eye on how Mendy fares offensively, too, since that has been the main drop-off in the recent fixtures since his incredible February.