Things have gone from bad to worse for Julen Lopetegui, the new Real Madrid boss, who lost their third successive game – this time at Santiago Bernabeu against minnows Levante. The widely spread rumour of his dismissal can’t be ruled out, and it will be even more relevant if he fails to grab a result against FC Viktoria Plzeň on Tuesday night in their Champions League group stage outing. The Champions of the Czech Republic were humiliated 5-0 by AS Roma whereas the Blancos suffered a 1-0 defeat to CSKA Moscow in their previous European fixture. Plzen. Despite being the minnows, Viktoria Plzen would look to hit the disjointed Real Madrid side and cause another massive upset thus jeopardising Lopetegui’s future furthermore.
The Champions of Europe will be playing Plzen for the first time ever in a competitive outing. They are the first Czech opponent to lock horns with the Spanish giants since Sparta Prague (2001-02). Despite recent shambles, Real are still favourites to clinch a comprehensive victory, and this fixture might help them regain confidence ahead of Sunday’s El Classico against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Team News
Real are boosted by the return of Isco and Marcelo who featured against Levante whereas Karim Benzema, too, is back in action after a minor hamstring strain. Daniel Carvajal, however, remains the only major absentee with a calf injury.
Formation
Lopetegui has retained a 4-3-3 setup similar to Zinedine Zidane but needs to work on combinations and build-up chemistry between the players. He is yet to implement his philosophy and must do it at the earliest to turn around Real’s season before being labelled as a complete catastrophe.
Defence
Although Thibaut Courtois has been roped in from Chelsea, veteran Keylor Navas is being preferred in Europe ahead of Belgium ‘number 1’ and is expected to retain his place between the sticks.
Álvaro Odriozola, the summer recruit from Real Sociedad has been slotted in place of the injured Dani Carvajal. But the young Spaniard has not been convincing enough in early outings, and the gaffer should deploy versatile Nacho as a right-back for the midweek contest.
Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos, though considered as world’s finest central defensive duo, have been a shadow of their earlier self and need to improve their game significantly to get back to winning ways. Marcelo’s return will boost the Blancos as the Selecao international will occupy his usual left-back role.
Midfield
Toni Kroos, undergoing a rough run, was not involved against Levante. He should be reintegrated in the starting XI whereas Casemiro and Luka Modric are expected to retain their place in the centre of the pitch. Casemiro will be marshalling the ‘back four’ that has often been at sixes and sevens. Modric, on the other hand, should start showing more dominance and resilience in a box-to-box role that earned him the prestigious FIFA Mens’ Player of the Year 2018 reward.
Attack
Lopetegui is likely to change the entire frontline that failed miserably versus Levante and Karim Benzema, who had an impressive cameo on Saturday afternoon, should start the Plzen clash replacing Mariano. Gareth Bale, too, must be handed a starting role down the left flank in place of Lucas Vazquez whereas Isco should be deployed down the right wing, not in the right-hand side of their ‘midfield three’.
