Wednesday’s Copa del Rey nightmare for Real Madrid is still pending conclusion. While institutional problems continue, football must still be played as they face Getafe on Saturday for La Liga. With the return of most of the top players, the squad will look very different from the Cádiz night. A convincing win is a good and necessary step for Real to get past this hostile environment.
Preferred Formation: 4-2-3-1
Rafa Benítez has been losing a lot of momentum in the past month. The Copa del Rey fiasco is already making the Spanish media ask for his dismissal. The coach must protect his players and ask them to focus entirely on football. The BBC and the Kroos-Modrić duo will return to keep up with Atlético and Barcelona at the top of the league table.
GK: Keylor Navas
After resting during the cup, he has it all to come back to the starting lineup. He was able to keep a clean sheet at Eibar the previous weekend, so his form and morale could return to the pre-Clásico state.
Defense
RB: Lucas Vázquez
The most bizarre, but effective experiment so far from the manager. He surprised everyone by giving Lucas the right back and it proved to be a decent solution. Since Danilo is expected back, this idea could stick.
CB: Pepe
The Portuguese is showcasing his experience in recent times and still has something to offer to the team. As Ramos and Varane remain away in recovery, there’s no doubt he will stay as the defense leader.
CB: Nacho
Much like Pepe, the injuries are keeping him in the lineup. However, youth squad defender Philipp Lienhart made his debut versus Cádiz. Despite being so young, his similarity to Varane may earn him a spot soon if medical problems persist.
LB: Danilo
Having skipped the cup to fully recover, he should be perfectly fit for Getafe. He’s been playing the left back for a bit, so it would be natural to keep him there and use Lucas in the right as seen this week.
Midfield
RCM: Luka Modrić
He’s currently the man helping Los Blancos overcome the bad performance spell. Without him, the team isn’t only messy, but unable to be creative. Thankfully for him and his teammates, Kovačić and Casemiro are good replacements.
LCM: Toni Kroos
His form isn’t up to the level we know he can offer. Casemiro at the moment seems more of a necessity than the German. If we see his best version come back again, great things could come for the functionality of the squad.
Attack
RW: James Rodríguez
Although it will probably end up as a useless effort, the Colombian shined once again on Wednesday. Providing great assists and being the most influential figure is his thing. This should kickstart the improvement he drastically needed.
CAM: Gareth Bale
His goal at Eibar could be the start of something new. Before that, his last goal for Real was in August in the second La Liga matchday. The BBC needs his speed and clinical passing to be gain prominence and improve the attack.
LW: Cristiano Ronaldo
He’s only scored in eight of the eighteen games this season. He’s scored in the last two and this should set him up to look for more goals. His influence on the team is one of the lowest we’ve seen in his tenure at the Bernabéu.
ST: Karim Benzema
Like the rest of the BBC, he wasn’t called up for the Copa del Rey. His extracurricular situation has been overshadowed by the Cheryshev case. Nevertheless, he still has to get back to being an integral part of the attack.
(4-2-3-1)
