Toni Kroos is expected to return while Eden Hazard still remains on the sidelines ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga game against Cadiz on Saturday
Real Madrid will be eager to consolidate their place atop the La Liga table when they play hosts to Cadiz at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium on Saturday evening. And, Zinedine Zidane has received a mixed bag of news ahead of his sides latest fixture.
The good news for the Real Madrid boss is that he once again has Toni Kroos at his disposal. But, the hosts will have to make do with Martin Odegaard, who has been diagnosed with a calf injury by the Real Madrid medical team. Meanwhile, Eden Hazard is still unavailable.
? Our 20-man squad for the match against @Cadiz_CFEN!#RealMadridCádiz | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/d3uxLDxMsj
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) October 16, 2020
The big concern for Zidane, though, remains the right-back slot, with Alvaro Odriozola and Dani Carvajal on the sidelines. While Odriozola is expected to return later this month, he is not a part of the Real Madrid squad for the Cadiz game, meaning Nacho should start as the right-back yet again.
On the opposite flank, Ferland Mendy should retain his spot, with Marcelo expected to come into the side in the UEFA Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk next week. At the heart of the Real Madrid defence, there is no looking past Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, while Thibaut Courtois, the hero between the sticks last time out, is an automatic pick in goal.
Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Zidane was quizzed about the possibility of rotating his troops in the coming game. And, the Real Madrid boss admitted he has to shuffle his pack in the coming games, saying, “It’s a very long season and we need to rotate. We’ve got lots of good players to be able to switch things around.”
Our players never get any rest, they never stop. They went away with their national teams and now there’s a run of 7 games coming up. After that, they’ll go away for another international break and come back to another load of games. We’ve already shown we can win things despite that but everyone has to be ready to rotate.”
The first bit of shuffling should come in midfield, with the fit-again Kroos starting in place of Federico Valverde. Luka Modric and Casemiro, though, should retain their places, starting along with Kroos in the three-man midfield.
Finally, in attack, Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio and the in-form Vinicius Jr. should keep hold of their places ahead of Rodrygo Goes and Luka Jovic. Benzema will lead the line for Real Madrid against Cadiz, with Vinicius and Asensio being the two wide men.
Real Madrid Predicted XI: Courtois; Nacho, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
