Real Madrid will entertain Deportivo Alaves at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Friday night hoping to stretch their four-point lead at the top of the league table. Los Blancos will head into this game after picking up a narrow 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao last weekend. In contrast, Alaves had suffered a 1-0 defeat away at Real Valladolid on Sunday, but are still out of relegation danger as they are sitting six points above the dreaded drop zone.
Zinedine Zidane will once again opt for a 4-3-3 formation but might be forced into making some changes to his first-team for this upcoming league encounter at the Spanish capital. Both Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal are suspended for this game which could open the door for Raphael Varane and Lucas Vazquez to be named in Zidane’s starting XI.
4-3-3 Real Madrid Predicted Lineup Vs Deportivo Alaves
Defence
Thibaut Courtois will continue to feature in between the sticks for Los Blancos after securing four consecutive clean sheets in his past four La Liga starts. Varane is a minor doubt for this game as he is still recovering from a concussion which has kept him out of the win versus Bilbao last weekend. The French defender will lineup alongside Eder Militao at the heart of Zidane’s defence as they look to keep things tidy at the back on Friday.
Lucas Vazquez might be asked to operate as a makeshift full-back because Carvajal (suspension) will be unavailable for this league encounter. At the same time, Nacho (thigh injury) is a significant concern as well.
Midfield
Zidane could choose to go with the same midfield that started against Bilbao. Therefore, we can expect the talented trio of Federico Valverde, Casemiro and Luka Modric to anchor the midfield and establish Madrid’s dominance at the centre of the park. They will also need to create some decent goal-scoring chances for the front players.
Toni Kroos will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the second half if required.
Attack
Rodrygo could get the nod to give a good account of himself down the left flank while Marco Asensio tries to cause a few problems for the Alaves defenders on the right. Karim Benzema will lead the line for the Spanish giants up top despite failing to score in each of his past four starts.
Eden Hazard is slowly nursing himself back from an ankle injury and will be a slight concern ahead of this game. If the Belgian is passed fit, then Zidane might name him on the bench as a precaution and introduce him if Madrid require a goal during the latter stages of the match.
