![]() We play offensively, leave space at the back, but know how to hurt other teams." Breaking his own records with eight goals early in the season, he has stated that Cultural are "like a poor copy of Real Madrid. Their most in-form player, Alejandro Gallar, already faced Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey with Cornella two seasons ago. They lead the standings of Group 1 after 10 matches and are not only unbeaten in their league but also in the Copa del Rey, where they have played another three matches. Playing on the Segunda Division B (the Spanish Third Division), Cultural Leonesa do look in good shape. The most likely lineup, with Casilla Danilo, Pepe, Raphael Varane, Nacho, Kovacic, James Rodriguez, Asensio Vazquez, Morata and Mariano should be more than enough to get a result against a hardworking but limited team. Even Mariano will have his opportunity to play on the starting XI on Wednesday, which shows that Zidane believes his squad should win this match outright even with half of the starters out. Alvaro Morata and Lucas Vazquez will have a rare chance to start, their status on the bench of the Santiago Bernabeu having become a main topic in every news conference Zidane gives. In Leon, he'll resort to a more traditional 4-3-3 with plenty of fresh faces on the pitch. Not only does the front three struggle to track back, but the offensive midfielder tends to forget his defensive obligations.Īgain, Zidane's selection for the match in Leon won't have much impact on his future decisions for the next La Liga or Champions League matches. However, at times the side looks even more unbalanced with this formation than with his preferred 4-3-3. Zidane obviously believes the absence of Casemiro demands the use of two players in the defensive midfield line so that they'll compensate for the impressive work rate of the Brazilian. The Frenchman seems determined to play with an extremely offensive 4-2-1-3, with Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo up front, an offensive midfielder such as Isco or Marco Asensio roaming freely behind them, and Kroos and Kovacic in front of the defence. The way Zidane approaches this match should not generate too many surprises, nor will it change his mind regarding team selection or the formation he has chosen to make up for the temporary loss of Casemiro or Luka Modric. In an optimal opportunity to give some bench players more playing time, Kiko Casilla and Nacho Fernandez will start, and Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao has made the list for the first time since he was injured with Monaco in April. His 16-man selection does not include several other starters either, such as Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Marcelo and Keylor Navas. ![]() Having defended his best striker in the post-match news conference, coach Zinedine Zidane has indeed decided to leave him out of the trip to Leon. It's obvious that the Portuguese star is struggling to find his best form, and perhaps some rest might help. ![]() However, a handful of defensive lapses almost cost them the match, and Cristiano Ronaldo's dismal performance also worried most Madridistas. The team looked comfortable moving the ball around and generated plenty of scoring chances in a bright performance by a midfield line with Toni Kroos, Isco Alarcon and Mateo Kovacic. Sunday's win brought plenty of topics for discussion, both positive and negative, among media and supporters. Their trip to Leon, where they will meet the fascinating Cultural Leonesa, marks their comeback to the Copa del Rey after last season's ridiculous exit due to an administrative mistake when they lined up a non-eligible player, Denis Cheryshev. With only two days to rest after a hard-fought victory against Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid play again on Wednesday evening. Ronaldo out as Zinedine Zidane puts faith in Real Madrid subs vs. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
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