After a weekend off, Real Madrid are finally getting back to business on Wednesday evening.
Los Blancos are welcoming another tricky opponent to the Santiago Bernabeu in the form of Leganes.
Now that they have reached the top of the mountain, Zinedine Zidane’s troops will definitely be looking to get back to the throne as soon as possible.
And for once, the squad is not really plagued with injuries that much and with the postponement of El Clasico, they had a couple of extra days to get rest, recuperate and then get back fresh and ready to fire on all cylinders.
Still, Zidane could be inclined to give some younger players a chance to shine in this mid-week fixture.
With all of that in mind, here’s what we think Real Madrid’s starting XI might look like against Leganes, with the Frenchman making just one change from the side that beat Galatasary last time out.
Thibaut Courtois is seemingly getting back to his brilliant best and is starting to show his true colours.
His latest display was a truly heroic one as the Belgian goalie was one of the players who single-handedly won Real Madrid the game with his performance. With that being said, there’s no reason for Zidane to drop him now so we’re slotting him ahead of Alphonse Areola between the sticks.
Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…
The backline, however, should not see any major surprises and the usual suspects should all start at the Santiago Bernabeu: Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane manning the centre-back positions and they should be flanked by Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal on the left and the right side respectively.
Toni Kroos and Casemiro could also reprise their roles in midfield but it’s actually Federico Valverde whose appearance might surprise some people.
But considering that he mustered another brilliant display against Galatasaray in the Champions League – and especially seeing how Luka Modric is still fresh from his injury – his inclusion in the starting XI does make a lot of sense.
Finally, up front we have the return of Eden Hazard, who sat the last La Liga game out, and the 18-year-old prodigy, Rodrygo, who should act as a replacement for the still injured Gareth Bale.
The Brazilian youngster was also one of the players who really impressed the last time he was playing so it’s wouldn’t be a stretch to say Zidane will gives him another shot in the team.
Luka Jovic is probably the biggest surprise of them all but seeing how Karim Benzema has virtually not been dropped at all this season, being the second most-used player in the squad, the Serbian just might get a chance and the Frenchman his long-overdue rest.
