Real Madrid vs Eibar: Zinedine Zidane's Best Available Blancos Lineup
Real Madrid will hope that their rollercoaster of a season will not take yet another turn as they host Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday afternoon.
A period of rare consistency following the re-appointment of club legend Zinedine Zidane of three wins in three matches was unceremoniously ended on Wednesday, as Valencia took all three points at the Mestilla, confining Real to a 2-1 defeat.
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Despite the defeat, the damage was largely done prior to Zidane's arrival, subsequently meaning that Los Blancos have been left with little to play for in the remainder of the season. They currently sit 13 points behind Barcelona with eight games remaining domestically, whilst on the continent, they were surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League by Ajax in March.
The eight matches that remain of Madrid's torrid La Liga campaign do, however, give Zidane an opportunity to shuffle his pack and determine which players deserve the opportunity to continue their career at Los Blancos as the club's rebuild begins.
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Eibar on the other hand will view the match as a terrific opportunity to make history, with the club yet to ever register victory at the Bernabeu. Not only could they potentially seal a maiden win, they could also secure a league double against Los Blancos, following a 3-0 success in the reverse fixture in November.
Here is how Zidane's team could lineup for Saturday's encounter.
Goalkeeper and Defenders
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Keylor Navas (GK) - The Costa Rican keeper could find himself with another opportunity to escape from the substitutes bench and his role as backup goalkeeper to start on Saturday. Usual first-choice Thibaut Courtois is likely to miss out through injury.
Alvaro Odriozola (RB) - The Spaniard has started the club's last four league games and has made a total of 21 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos this season. Likely to continue on the right hand side of defence with Dani Carvajal still missing through injury.
Raphael Varane (CB) - Despite exit rumours circling viciously around the World Cup winner, he is expected to make his 26th league appearance of the season against Eibar.
Sergio Ramos (CB) - The 33-year-old is a central and influential figure at the Bernabeu. The Madrid captain has only missed two La Liga games this season, both of which were enforced by suspension.
Sergio Reguilon (LB) - Due to Marcelo's poor form, Reguilon has managed to make a breakthrough into the Madrid side. He will have to continue to work hard, however, if he is to convince Zidane that he is worthy of being part of his plans for next season.
Midfielders
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Dani Ceballos (CM) - The former Betis youngster has stepped up into a more prominent role within Madrid's team this season, despite having a wealth of quality competitors around him.
Casemiro (CM) - The Brazilian midfielder has remained one of the club's first names on the team sheet this season, whether it be under the management of Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari or Zidane.
Luka Modric (CM) - The Ballon d'Or winner's form has dipped significantly since his spectacular performances at the World Cup. Three goals in 28 La Liga appearances for the Croatian this season.
Gareth Bale (RM) - Whilst Madrid's season will go down as a largely unsuccessful one for obvious reasons, Gareth Bale will be happy to have experienced a season largely untroubled by injury. The Welshman has scored eight goals in 24 matches this campaign.
Isco (LM) - The Spaniard was out-of-favour under previous regimes at the Bernabeu this season, however, he has still somehow managed to make 19 La Liga appearances. He has only started seven of those games mind you.
Forward
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Karim Benzema (ST) - Averaging a goal every other game for Los Blancos in La Liga this season. Has hit a purple patch of four goals in the four games since Zidane returned to the club's hot seat.
