A vastly weakened Real Madrid travel to Sevilla to take on Gus Poyet’s Real Betis, as they look to register their first win since the 19th of September in all competitions.
The European Champions have failed to register a win in any competition since their La Liga victory against Espanyol. Since then, they have endured four consecutive draws against Villarreal, Borussia Dortmund, Eibar and Las Palmas. Needless to say, club Legend and manager Zinedine Zidane is feeling the pressure.
Speaking to the club’s official website in his pre-match press conference, he said “I know where I am. I accept the criticism. I am going to keep working. If we manage four draws in a row, then I am to blame and I have to find the solution.”
He went on to say that his side needed to concentrate more and play with a bit more intensity and that the most important thing was that they work hard to get ourselves of this situation.
Real Madrid will be without a number of key players going into this tie. Midfielders like Luka Modric and Casemiro will not feature as they are yet to recover from their injuries.
Colombia captain James Rodriguez will also not feature, only just having returned from injury. The absence of these big names will allow Isco and Mateo Kovacic to get a rare opportunity to impress Zidane and stake their claim for a place in the side alongside Toni Kroos.
Fabio Coentrao, like James, will not feature after only just having returned from injury and captain Sergio Ramos too, will not feature after picking up a knee injury. However, the return of Marcelo at left-back will surely soften the blow. This would mean Danilo would be ousted in favour of the Brazilian and Varane will be handed a start alongside Pepe.
With Ronaldo seeming completely fit during the international break, they will have the infamous ‘BBC’ in full force, though it remains to be seen whether Zidane choses to go with the Frenchman or Alvaro Morata at the center of their attacking trident.
