Real Madrid play host to Celta Vigo on Matchday 17 of La Liga Santander with the hosts aiming to cut short the deficit on table toppers and their noisy neighbours, Atletico de Madrid. The visiting side are placed eighth in the points table.
Zinedine Zidane would be disappointed by the result against Elche prior to the close of the year and will be wanting his side to make an immediate return to winning ways in 2021. The return of Eden Hazard from injury has made things interesting as we slowly start to approach the business end of the season.
The French gaffer will have the entire squad at his disposal for this late Saturday evening kick-off at the Alfredo de Stefano Stadium. Rodrygo will be missing from the squad due to the hamstring injury he picked up recently. Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal will have to be wary and cautious as they are both knocking on the doors of suspension with four yellow cards amassed to their name.
Here’s how the Whites could take to the field against Celta on Saturday –
Defence
Thibaut Courtois will take command in goal for Real Madrid on Saturday evening. The Belgian would be gutted with the penalty kick he was unable to save against Elche midweek. Nevertheless, the former Chelsea man has been in some mesmerising form off late and has delivered whenever it mattered for Los Blancos this season. Dani Carvajal will start at the right-back position ahead of an out of favour Alvaro Odriozola.
Not many changes are expected in defence to the side that sloppily dropped points against Elche. Ramos and Varane will be the centre back pairing for Zinedine Zidane against a Celta Vigo side that has already found the back of the net on 22 occasions this season. Marcelo could be the sole change in the back four who will be replaced by a more defensive-minded Ferland Mendy.
Midfield
Luka Modric is expected to retain his place in the starting eleven. The Croatian has been in the form of his life in recent weeks and it will be interesting to see what Modric has to offer to the side against the team from Vigo. Casemiro will be positioned just ahead of the back four to provide an ample amount of support to the defence which might be needed against a Celta side which possesses the attacking prowess in Iago Aspas and Santi Mina to name a few. It will not be very difficult to guess the third man in midfield alongside Luka Modric and Casemiro. Toni Kroos will undoubtedly start in this game as the German is the think tank of this Real Madrid side under the tutelage of Zidane.
Attack
Lucas Vasquez will start on the right-hand side with Rodrygo out injured with a hamstring injury. Vasquez displays great work rate each time Zidane entrusts him with a place in the starting line-up and that is a massive boost for the team as a whole. Karim Benzema will occupy the number nine role and it will be expected that the French striker arrives at the Valdebebas with the correct shooting boots. Vinicius Jr is expected to get the nod for this fixture despite the return of Eden Hazard from injury. The latter featured briefly against Elche but seemed to be lacking match fitness. Hazard could play some role in the fixture later on from the substitutes bench.
Predicted Line-Up
