Eden Hazard and Alvaro Rodriguez should start for Real Madrid against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday.
A dead rubber will be upon us Saturday evening when Sevilla and Real Madrid clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. And Carlo Ancelotti might field a second-string starting lineup in his team’s latest fixture.
Several regulars are missing from the travelling squad, with Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio, and Dani Carvajal missing. And Benzema, Vinicius, and Asensio are dealing with minor fitness issues that have restricted them to the sidelines.
Ancelotti discussed the trio during his pre-match press conference before speaking more about Vinicius and Rodrygo. He said, “We’re without Vini Jr., Benzema and Asensio, everyone else is fine. We’ll put out a team and try to win the game, despite being without our usual forwards. It will be a competitive lineup because we have great players. We’re going to play hard and with great quality.”
The Italian tactician then added, “He [Vinicius] won’t travel because he can’t play. If he had any chance of being fit, he would have travelled and tried to play. But his knee is still bothering him. It’s not whether we play home or away. He can’t play, that’s it. I hope he can be back for the final game.”
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On Rodrygo, Ancelotti said, “With the young guys making progress, all they need is that consistency and to do a great job whenever they are called on. The same goes for him [Rodrygo] as it does for the others. It’s an issue of consistency to gain a bigger role in the squad.”
With Benzema, Vinicius, and Asensio unavailable, Eden Hazard might have the rare opportunity to impress. And the Belgian attacker should join Rodrygo and Alvaro Rodriguez in the final third. While Hazard and Rodrygo will be the two wide attackers, Alvaro will spearhead the Real Madrid attack against Sevilla.
As for the midfield unit, Ancelotti might make a few chances. The Italian tactician will recall Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni to the starting lineup. The duo should join Eduardo Camavinga in the middle of the park. So Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Federico Valverde should be backup options on the bench.
Meanwhile, the defensive unit should see a few shuffles, with Antonio Rudiger being the only player to retain his spot. The German international will form the central defensive partnership with Eder Militao. And Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy should be the two full-backs, with Thibaut Courtois taking his spot between the stocks.
Predicted Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Vazqez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Ceballos; Rodrygo, Alvaro, Hazard
Real Madrid win