Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid will be hoping to maintain their place atop the league table, as they get set to take on lowly Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday night. Zinedine Zidane’s high-flying Los Blancos team have been in a decent run of form over recent weeks.
Madrid are coming into this fixture on the back of a spectacular 4-1 comeback victory against Osasuna last weekend, and will surely be hoping to keep the winning run going. The two teams in question are separated on the league table by a whopping 32 points, which means that this is a fixture that the Los Blancos will be expecting to win, even if they don’t put up the best of performances.
Team News
One of the biggest misses for Zidane this season has been creatively-gifted Spanish attacker Marco Asensio, who continues down the road to recovery with a March return in sight. Elsewhere, Mariano Diaz and James Rodriguez are both set to return to the matchday squad for this fixture. Despite all this though, the biggest fitness boost for Zidane comes in the form of Eden Hazard, who is likely to return to the starting lineup after healing from a fractured ankle that he suffered towards the end of November.
4-3-3 Predicted Real Madrid Lineup Vs Celta Vigo
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
Former Chelsea man Thibaut Courtois displayed himself in an excellent light during the victory against Osasuna last weekend and will surely be raring to go between the sticks for this tie. In front of him, the familiar duo of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos are set to continue in the centre-halves’ roles. At the same time, Ferland Mendy and veteran star Dani Carvajal will be deployed down the flanks.
Midfield
Breakout star Federico Valverde has been one of the biggest positive points of the Galacticos’ season so far, and his performances in the heart of the Madrid midfield certainly warrant him a place in Zidane’s upcoming starting lineup. Alongside him, expect to see Brazilian destroyer Casemiro as well as former Tottenham Hotspur man Luka Modric, thereby forming the core of this Real Madrid side.
Attack
Karim Benzema has been in decent goalscoring form since the start of the current campaign and continues to look like a player reborn leading the line this time around. The return of Eden Hazard from injury could spell bad news for Gareth Bale, who is expected to drop down to the bench in order to involve the Belgian magician.
Isco could be pushed over to the right flank to allot Hazard his preferred left-sided role as well. The Spaniard looked like a man who had taken it upon himself to deliver the goods in the win against Osasuna, and he’ll do well to maintain that form going into what promises to be an important phase in the league season for Madrid.
