Alaves vs. Real Madrid: Los Blancos could miss 6 players in LaLiga opener

Real Madrid will face Deportivo Alaves on Saturday night at the Mendizorroza, and it will be a tough opener for Los Blancos. The weight of expectations will be on the Men in White in the starting XI. Alaves is the kind of opponent Real is supposed to beat, though the home side has often made life difficult for the 34-time champions.

Injuries will further complicate things for Carlo Ancelotti’s club as the manager looks to mark his return to the Real Madrid dugout with the full three points.

According to a report from MARCA’s Pablo Polo, four players are already set to miss this 2021-2022 LaLiga opener at the Mendizorroza. Right backs Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Odriozola will be out. On the opposite side of the defense, Ferland Mendy is still not recovered from his injury at the end of the 2020-2021 season. And finally, all-important orchestrator Toni Kroos is out with pubalgia.

Kroos, Mendy, and Carvajal are three key starters who won’t be playing, and there may be a fourth on the absent list. Although he is not yet ruled out, top goal-scorer and world-class striker Karim Benzema may miss the game. He is recovering from COVID-19 and may not be able to make the turnaround to play on Matchday 1 against Alaves’ stingy defense.

Real Madrid may not have star forwards Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard at full strength against Alaves

The sixth player who could miss this weekend’s fixture against Alaves is none other than Eden Hazard. While he is working hard to recover his fitness and has, by all accounts, had a productive offseason, he is not guaranteed to play on Matchday 1. And it has been a rare occurrence to see him play the full 90 in a Real Madrid kit, which would likely not change on Saturday even if he does suit up.

So to recap: Carvajal, Mendy, Kroos, and Odri are all going to be out against Alaves. Benzema and Hazard are also possible absences, which could make it six missing to start the 2021-2022 season for Ancelotti.

You can tell Don Carlo and Real Madrid will already have their work cut out for them. Real will still expect to win on the road against Alaves without these important players, but you had better believe there will be, as Zinedine Zidane used to love saying, some suffering on Matchday 1.