Zinedine Zidane will be without Raphael Varane for the fixture but will be glad with Gareth Bale returning to training despite receiving a knock over the weekend.
Real Madrid have the opportunity of extending their lead atop the La Liga Santander table to four points over fierce rivals FC Barcelona as they host Las Palmas UD on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, Raphael Varane is set to miss the fixture as he nurses his hamstring.
In the absence of Varane, Zidane might opt to play Nacho at the back instead of Pepe, as has been the case on a few occasions already. Some positive news for the manager would be that Gareth Bale, who received a slight knock against Villarreal, returned to training and is likely to make it to the matchday squad, if not start, at the very least.
More positive news is the fact that aside from Raphael Varane and Danilo, there are no injury concerns for Zidane to deal with, which means he can go in with the combination he likes.
The impact duo of Alvaro Morata and Isco, who provided clutch contributions after coming on over the weekend, may be handed a start against Las Palmas as a reward for their performance. Elsewhere, Jese Rodriguez is set to feature against his former side, Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane was hopeful he is able to find his feet again after a disappointing spell at PSG.
Zidane said in his pre-match conference,“ I hope he does well, but starting on Thursday. I like him a lot as a player and a person. He’s got a lot of quality and a lot of potential. It didn’t go how he wanted at PSG and he’s not been able to show his talent. I hope he gets back to the level he was playing at before.”
Real Madrid survived a scare against Villarreal over the weekend and if they are not careful, Zidane may see his side give up their top spot to Barcelona, who also play on Wednesday. Only a win would guarantee Los Blancos place at the top and if Barcelona slip up, Zidane’s men could very well open up a small gap at the top.
