Sergio Ramos will return but Dani Carvajal misses out due to suspension when Real Madrid take on Osasuna at El Sadar on Saturday.
Real Madrid will be hoping to continue their fine unbeaten run when they lock horns with Osasuna at El Sadar on Saturday night. And, Zinedine Zidane has a fresh injury concern to contend with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Luka Jovic was a late omission from the travelling squad after sustaining a muscle injury in his left leg during training. The Serb’s absence, though, does not hurt much seeing as Karim Benzema is fit and available. The other absentees for Real Madrid are Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo Goes.
Carvajal misses out due to a suspension, which was accrued due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Rodrygo, on the other hand, is a long-term absentee due to a hamstring complaint. In some good news, though, Sergio Ramos is back and travelling with the Real Madrid squad to face Osasuna.
Ramos should return to the starting lineup straightaway, partnering Raphael Varane at the heart of the Real Madrid defence, with Nacho moving out to the right-back slot in the absence of Carvajal. On the opposite flank, Ferland Mendy is a certainty, owing to Marcelo’s recent struggles while in goal, there is no looking past Thibaut Courtois.
Up ahead in midfield, the near week-long gap between Real Madrid’s previous fixture and the game against Osasuna means the first-choice partnership of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos will likely remain unchanged, with Federico Valverde once again being a backup option on the bench.
As for attack, the big talking point during Zidane’s pre-match press conference was once again the possible inclusion of Eden Hazard. Speaking on the topic, the Real Madrid boss said, “He’ll be with us and he’s training consistently. I don’t if he’s ready to play 90 minutes, we’ll see how we can use him tomorrow and the games coming up.”
“Little by little. This doesn’t change much. The weather is what it is and the players are used to playing. Eden is the same, he was playing in London. That’s not the criteria for me. We’ll see how we play tomorrow, but as always I’m not going to tell you, you’ll see tomorrow.”
With Zidane choosing to be extra careful with Hazard’s fitness, it is likely that the Belgian will once again make an appearance off the bench, this time receiving some more minutes than he did last time out. The front trio should, therefore, remain unchanged following solid displays by Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio versus Celta Vigo, with Benzema leading the line for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid Predicted XI: Courtois; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Benzema, Asensio