Eibar host Real Madrid in the La Liga later tonight as Los Blancos look to keep the pace with Barcelona
Zinedine Zidane’s side have dropped to second place on the table after their draw against Las Palmas last week, a match in which Madrid had to come back in order to secure a draw but were still left disappointed with the result.
They face a tough task against Eibar later tonight as they will be missing several key men from the side due to a combination of injuries and suspensions. Cristiano Ronaldo will miss out after picking up an illness and Zinedine Zidane confirmed that Madrid’s talisman was feeling under the weather ahead of the game.
“He wasn’t feeling 100% and that is why he did not train today. All of the games are important, but the key thing is that the players do well, so now we have to see what we’re going to do with Cristiano,” he said, according to the club’s official website.
Danilo has also returned to the squad after his injury lay-off but is unlikely to start the fixture given that he has only just returned to training. The biggest point of concern for Zidane will be the loss of key men in his attack due to suspensions.
Gareth Bale was sent off in the 3-3 draw against Las Palmas and his straight red card – after already receiving a yellow card – means that the Welshman will miss the next two domestic games having only just returned from an injury layoff.
Alvaro Morata will also miss out after picking up a booking in that fixture. This means that Lucas Vazquez is likely to start in attack alongside Karim Benzema, while Isco – who has been in fine form of late – could also be handed a starting role.
Casemiro has also been included the squad after being rested during Madrid’s last fixture and is expected to start alongside Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield.
