Real Madrid: 3 players who could decide the match against Granada

Real Madrid will face Granada on Sunday afternoon on La Liga’s Matchday 14. The international fixtures have already finished, and our full attention turns to this match against a Granada side that is near the relegation zone not long after being involved in European competition.

That could make Granada dangerous. Everyone who faces Real Madrid brings their best, and the home side have every reason to want to dig deep to put on a show against a team that is still seen as the league favorites right now.

Let’s take a look at three players on Los Blancos who can help decide the match in the favor of the visitors and avoid another upset in the 2021-2022 league campaign.

GK Thibaut Courtois

We begin with the man between the sticks, Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian goalkeeper is arguably the best in the world at his position. Jan Oblak’s and Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s recent struggles have left Courtois and breakout star Bono to fight it out amongst themselves for the honor of being the best keeper in La Liga.

Courtois has been let down by the structure in front of him in some matches this season, but he’s still managed to shine. Madridistas value Courtois like nobody else. They have seen the ex-Atletico Madrid man save this team time after time. And even though he always plays well, Courtois is a strong critic of the team as a whole if they do end up falling short of obtaining the full three points.

Granada only have one real attacking threat in their side, and that is the “other” Luis Suarez, who can be a real danger to Real Madrid in transition. But if Courtois plays as well as he had all year long, it will be almost impossible for Granada to break up a clean sheet. Courtois is the strongest reason why Real could cruise to victory, even if Granada make life bitter for them with an Osasuna-esque defensive performance.