After a 3-0 battering of their quarter-final opponents Juventus in the Champions League, it is expected that Real Madrid will not goof up in the second leg as they look to set foot in the Semi-Final stage quite comfortably. It is essential for the Galacticos to make it to the top in Europe’s biggest club competition, which they have won in the last couple of seasons in a row, after every hope of holding on to their La Liga title has been decimated by their arch rival Barcelona‘s unbelievable 38 games unbeaten run in the current term.
With the Blaugrana leading them by 13 points after the last game week in the domestic competition and Real Madrid once again succumbing to a lacklustre draw against Atletico Madrid, who are placed in the second spot in the league table, the Champions League has turned out to be their only option to make a strong statement as a dominant superpower in European football. They have done that clinically so far, the last evidence cited in a brilliant 3-0 win against the Serie A champions.
Zinedine Zidane has been shrewd with his team formation and tactics so far in the competition and it is expected that he will go in with a rather possession-hungry setup to contain Juventus in the second leg, who have an arduous task of making it past a fully stacked Real Madrid midfield and backline.
The French mastermind is expected to go in with a 4-4-2 lineup, with an ample number of bodies in the midfield and backline to keep possession of the ball and make it hard for the Juventus attackers to chase the game on the back fo a heavy defeat in Turin.
This is how Los Blancos might line up.
Defence
The goal will be guarded by none other than the in-form Keylor Navas, who will be willing to keep a clean sheet in the second leg as well. With no Nacho available due to a thigh injury and captain Sergio Ramos due to a yellow card in the first leg, Zidane might have no choice but to use Casemiro as a central defender alongside Raphael Varane in the heart of the defence.
Dani Carvajal and Marcelo will be expected to start on the right and left side of the backline respectively.
Midfield
Marco Asensio, Mateo Kovacic and Toni Kroos might be lining up in the midfield for the Galacticos with Luka Modric starting from the bench. Zidane might be lured to start with Lucas Vazquez in the right side of the midfield ahead of Isco after his brilliant display in both the domestic as well as European fronts in the recent matches.
Attack
In a two-man attack, it is unlikely that Karim Benzema will get the nod ahead of Gareth Bale alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and might have to start on the bench in this needle clash.
