Real Madrid will look to get back to winning ways after an intense 2-2 draw away at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Real, who are currently leading the La Liga standings, have to be wary of being hungover from their draining match against the German side when SD Eibar come calling on Sunday.
If the early signs are anything to go by, La Liga is going to be the most competitive one in recent years. Only 6 games into the season and we have seen FC Barcelona being upset by Alaves and Real Madrid have already dropped 4 points this early in the season. With the 3 points slowly becoming less easy to get, the big guns have to be wary of dropping any more points in the seemingly winnable matches.
Real Madrid started the season without a majority of their superstars but managed to get the results on the board which enabled them to reach the top of the table, where they believe they should be. They won 4 consecutive matches before drawing against Villarreal and Las Palmas.
One of Real’s success stories this season has been that of Casemiro, whose defensive nous has allowed the likes of Toni Kroos and Modric to thrive in midfield. And it is not a coincidence that their winning run has halted since an injury to the midfielder.
But with the overall quality in the squad far surpassing that of Eibar, a routine win for Los Blancos is on the cards.
T40’s PREDICTED REAL MADRID LINE-UP VS SD EIBAR (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
Keylor Navas is expected to take his place between the sticks and will be hoping for a better display after a nervy show in the Champions League. Carvajal will be at right-back and will look to continue his impressive performances. Pepe and Sergio Ramos are expected to form the central defensive pairing and will look to keep a clean sheet. Marcelo will miss the match with an injury and Danilo will step in again.
MIDFIELD
Casemiro is expected to miss the game which will see Toni Kroos shift back to a slightly more defensive role. Luka Modric and James Rodriguez will be the advanced midfielders and will look to feed the ball to the famed line-up consisting of the BBC.
ATTACK
Cristiano Ronaldo is likely to be on the left-wing with Gareth Bale lining up on the opposite flank. Karim Benzema is in line to lead the attack once more although Alvaro Morata does provide an option if the French forward is fatigued.
