3 Real Madrid players with a point to prove vs. Real Sociedad
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid is looking to build some momentum ahead of hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this coming week.
After narrowly escaping Rayo Vallecano last weekend, Los Blancos host sixth-place Real Sociedad hoping to maintain at least a six-point lead over second-place Sevilla.
Without the added pressure of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid has additional time to rest and recover between its most recent league games, offering them even more time to prepare for the deciding fixture with PSG.
Considering both Ferland Mendy and Casemiro are suspended for the second-leg in the Santiago Bernabeu, these three players will be incredibly valuable in this game against Real Sociedad.
Federico Valverde
Valverde has not played nearly as many minutes as fans would have expected or liked, but he still is a critical piece of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. His tireless work rate and consistency in the midfield is the perfect option to fill in for Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, or even Casemiro when the time is right.
Considering Modric has played nearly 1,500 minutes in La Liga and has started the last two matches, a day off could be in the cards for Luka.
Though Ancelotti is determined to not rotate his preferred squad, starting Valverde over Modric seems like an easy answer here.
Considering Casemiro is suspended and there is concern over whether or not Kroos will be fit enough to feature Saturday night or in the Champions League, getting Fede Valverde some meaningful minutes against Sociedad is crucial.
Valverde has been getting more and more appearances in the last couple of months and he showed his quality in the 3-0 win over Deportivo Alaves. He has proven in seasons past and present that he is a match-winner.
Having an energetic, offensive-minded midfielder like Valverde will be critical in this match.
Vinicius Jr.
The Brazilian winger’s form has dropped off a bit since the start of the new year and Real Madrid needs Vini to continue to score in bunches.
Outside of his brace against Valencia in the first league game of 2022, Vini Jr. has scored just twice in nine appearances and has two assists. Part of the issue – many fans have argued – his the young player’s workload.
Vinicius ranks fourth on the team in total minutes played in La Liga (1,950) and sits behind goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, and David Alaba.
Though Eden Hazard has not and cannot be trusted to carry the load down the left flank, Vini needs either some time off, or a reduced role in the squad for a bit in order to reset both mentally and physically. He is a tremendous player, but he has looked lethargic as of late.
He did get that wonderful assist to Karim Benzema in the win over Rayo, but if Real Madrid is going to want to continue to dominate the league, Vinicius – and Benzema – need to continue to score because there are not a lot of options behind him.
Casemiro
Since he can’t play against PSG, expect 90 minutes of frantic Carlos Casemiro gameplay.
Carlo Ancelotti can blissfully ignore resting the Brazilian midfielder since he will not be available on Wednesday, leading me to believe Casemiro will do everything he can to help Los Blancos earn all three points here.
When this has happened in the past, Casemiro has little care for conserving energy and will look to push the ball forward on the attack and make some aggressive tackles on defense. Alexander Isak is a threat through the middle for the visitors, so Casemiro’s involvement in stopping him will be vital.
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When Real Madrid defeated Sociedad at the beginning of December, Casemiro put in a great shift where he had an assist and registered three tackles – the second-most on the team.