Real Madrid will resume their La Liga campaign next with a matchup against Sporting Gijón at the Bernabeu this weekend. Sporting Gijon, who are strangled in 18th place, will have to play out of their skin to find a way to win against the Los Blancos if they are to uplift their miserable campaign this season.
Los Blancos are in a current run of five consecutive wins in the La Liga, as they lead the league table having collected 30 points, with their major title rivals Barcelona trailing them by four points in the second spot. Zinedine Zidane’s men are the only team in Europe to remain unbeaten in both the domestic league and the Champions League so far which reflects the level at which they have been operating this season.
Gijón are literally the other side of the coin as their performances continue to worsen every passing week. They haven’t won any of their last five La Liga matches, drawing two and losing three and looking like a safe bet for relegation. Real Madrid have won 16 of their last 19 home matches in the La Liga as Sporting have failed to win their last 13 away games.
Team News
There will be the significant absence of Gareth Bale after he has been ruled out for four months with an ankle injury. The other players who will miss out will be Tony Kroos, Casemiro and Alvaro Morata. There would be a return however for defender Sergio Ramos from his knee injury and it will provide a boost to the squad.
Gijón has Dani Ndi out with an injury and Burugi would be unable to play against his parent club due to the terms of his loan.
Possible Lineups
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Navas; Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo; Kovacic, Modric, Isco; Vasquez, Ronaldo, Benzema
Sporting Gijón (4-4-2): Cuellar; Castellano, Amorebieta, Mere, Canella; Carmona, Cases, Alvarez, Lopez; Viguera, Cop
Key Players
Luka Modric will have an important part to play in the game as he will be the one who would provide the creativity in the midfield and will have his name in most of the pre-assists for the game in favour of the hosts as expected. The Croatian will be the man who will dictate the game at the middle.
For Sporting, Duje Cop is the player the team will look forward to get them something in the attack. The 26-year old striker has scored 5 goals in La Liga and knows how to finish if he is presented with a chance, so the Real defenders would need to watch out for him.
Betting Odds
The hosts are overwhelming favourites for the tie with 1/20 and a win for the visitors is priced at 45/1. A draw is rated at 14/1 (Paddypower)
