Manager Julen Lopetegui is likely to name an unchanged team when Real Madrid face off against neighbours Leganes on Saturday night.
Having bagged two wins in two games, Real Madrid will be hoping to make it three in a row when Leganes come visiting to the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.
Under new manager Julen Lopetegui, Los Blancos came back from being a goal down to beat Girona 4-1 last time out, jumping to the top of the La Liga table ahead of bitter rivals Barcelona, albeit on goal difference.
Heading into Saturday’s encounter against Los Pepineros, Lopetegui will have a fully fit squad at his disposal, barring the injured centre-half Jesus Vallejo. There have been a couple of deadline day departures as well, with Borja Mayoral leaving on loan and Fabio Coentrao’s contract being terminated by the club.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is Real Madrid’s marquee signing of the summer, having arrived from Chelsea. But, the Belgian is yet to make his debut for the club, with Lopetegui sticking with incumbent No. 1 stopper Keylor Navas.
Speaking on the situation in his pre-match press conference, the manager said, “The line-up will be revealed tomorrow and we have the utmost confidence in our goalkeepers. We’ll do that as best we can, I won’t make a statement about who’s number one, we’ll assess the situation as we go”.
Going by how Navas performed last week against Girona, Courtois will have to wait for a while, to break into the starting XI for the Merengues.
The back four of Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo is expected to remain intact, despite Lopetegui withdrawing the Brazilian left-back towards the end of the last game to tighten things up at the back.
Meanwhile, the UEFA Best Player of the Year Award winner Luka Modric drew a lot of praise from the manager.
“I’m happy for Luka. He’s our player and he’s done more than enough to be worthy of this award,” Lopetegui said.
However, the Croat is likely to sit out on the bench once again, following his late return after the summer’s World Cup.
Casemiro returned to starting lineup after sitting out in the opening game against Getafe and is likely to be retained once again on Saturday night. Toni Kroos is another who is pretty much a guaranteed starter in the middle of the park for Los Blancos, while the third slot is likely to be taken up by Spanish playmaker Isco.
Gareth Bale has now scored in his last six games in the La Liga and will look to continue his streak on Saturday night, starting out on the right flank. Marco Asensio will keep his spot on the opposite wing, after a highly impressive display against Girona.
Karim Benzema is likely to continue through the middle for Real against Leganes, with new signing Mariano likely to make an appearance from the bench to mark his return to the club.
