Real Madrid travel to Andalusia to face Tony Adams’ relegated Granada CF, who will be looking to salvage some pride and not finish at the bottom of La Liga.
Los Blancos will likely field a second string side and Zidane will probably rest a few big names keeping in mind next week’s UEFA Champions League second leg tie against Atletico Madrid, and also the crucial La Liga fixture against Sevilla at the Bernabeu in a week’s time.
Going into this tie, the defending European Champions will be without the services of Gareth Bale, who is still sidelined. Dani Carvajal picked up an injury against Atletico Madrid in their 3-0 victory at the Bernabeu, so he will be likely be unavailable for this match.
Zidane confirmed in his pre match press conference that Fabio Coentrao would be a part of the squad tonight, having returned from injury. The 44-year-old also provided positive updates about central defenders Pepe and Raphael Varane.
“Pepe is looking good and I think he’ll be back next week, but he won’t make it tomorrow,” he said. “Varane felt something again but it’s nothing serious, we just don’t want to take any risks with a player who’s feeling discomfort.”
As for suspensions, Real Madrid have Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco and Dani Carvajal all 1 yellow card away from receiving a suspension, so it is likely that the Zidane will not call upon the services of the first two unless deemed absolutely necessary over the course of the match.
Casemiro, Benzema and Modric will likely be rested as well. Kiko Casilla might get some rare minutes under his belt but Zidane will be wary of fielding a side that is too weak. No change in formation is expected for tonight’s clash and we can expect to see Madrid set up in their regular 4-3-3.
However, Zidane did mention that his side could start with a certain formation and finish with another, possibly a 4-4-2 which provides more balance, if the match called for it. “We started out in one way and we can finish with another. That’s always been the case,” he said.
He went on to say, “The BBC are international superstars, who are fantastic players, but the fact is we can start in one fashion and finish with more balance if the match calls for it. With wide players, you can attack and defend, but if I make a change it’s not always just to defend, but to attack as well.”
