All the team news from Real Madrid’s visit to Lisbon on Tuesday for the Champions League group-stage game.
Borussia Dortmund are currently top of group ‘F’ in the Champions League, two points ahead of the Los Blancos. As such, it makes the final two group-stages games a must win for the Spanish giants. The first of the two remaning challenges is a trip to Portugal, against Sporting CP, Cristinao Ronaldo’s boyhood club.
However, manager Zinedine will be without the services of many first-team players for the crucial clash on Tuesday.
Among defenders, Sergio Ramos is travelling to Lisbon, but his match-fitness is still in question. Pepe is nursing his hamstring injury, and has been ruled out of the match. No return date has been reported yet for the 33-year-old centre-back. Fabio Coentrao is also a part of the travelling squad, after recovering from the spate of injuries that kept the defender in and out of the team recently.
Toni Kroos continues to be sidelined with a foot injury, with reports suggesting the midfielder could be out till the New Year, while the exact timelines for Casemiro’s return remains unknown, as he continues to recuperate from a broken bone in his leg.
Alavaro Morata suffered a hamstring tear while on international duty for Spain in the recent international break. He’s expected to be ruled out for at least a month, until mid-December. Karim Benzema was subbed on towards the ending stages of the game against Atletico Madrid, but the decision to start the Frenchman on Tuesday or not has not been taken yet by the manager. Zidane will examine him in training before taking the final decision.
The complete Real Madrid squad for the clash against Sporting CP:
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Casilla and Yáñez.
Defenders: Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Coentrão and Danilo.
Midfielders: James, Kovacic, Modric, Asensio and Isco.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Lucas Vázquez and Mariano.