The Real Champs
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Real Madrid: Expectations for each player in the second leg at Liverpool

By Kevin Parvizi

Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois (Photo by ANP Sport via Getty Images)
Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois (Photo by ANP Sport via Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid, Luka Modric
Real Madrid, Luka Modric (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /

CM Luka Modric

We have seen the Luka Modric and Toni Kroos double-pivot before, as both men controlled a match against Inter Milan in this capacity during the Champions League group stages. Modric is having one hell of a season, and while he is being worked into the ground this season due to his sheer importance to Los Blancos, hopefully he can be spared a little bit of running in this midfield role on Wednesday with the more defensive Casemiro next to him.

The experienced Croatian put on a clinic against Atalanta in the second leg in a deeper-lying role with Casemiro out, and I would expect to see more of the same from him against Liverpool.

CM Casemiro

I would have enlisted a double-pivot of Kroos and Modric, but with Fede Valverde’s status in a bit of doubt following a physically rough Clasico in heavy rain, I’ll go on the safe side and select Casemiro for this role.

Casemiro will already get rest against Getafe next weekend after picking up two yellow cards in mere minutes at the end of El Clasico, so he should be ready to leave it all on the field against Liverpool. Having seen what he did against the Reds last time out with a whopping eight tackles, per WhoScored.com, don’t be surprised if a lot of ball recoveries show up on the stat sheet next to Casemiro’s name.

AM Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos is coming off two more brilliant performances. He scored a free-kick goal in the win over Barcelona, and he was even better with two goals created in the 3-1 win over Liverpool last week. Kroos is probably the best midfielder in the world right now, having strengthened his case with his performance against Liverpool in the first leg.

We can expect more of the same from Kroos. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool don’t seem to have a clue to stop him, and even if they were to hypothetically come up with a good gameplan, they don’t have the personnel to execute it. There is only one team that can stifle Kroos, and that team is Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.

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