Real Madrid can only think about the Copa del Rey final on May 6 in Seville and next Tuesday’s game in London against Chelsea in which they seek to qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League. La Liga, thirteen points behind Barcelona, ​​has become a mere formality for Carlo Ancelotti’s men and today the team travels to Cádiz without VinÃcius or Kroos, who finished Wednesday’s game against Chelsea with muscle problems. The Italian coach is expected to introduce numerous rotations into the eleven to give other breaks.
This will be the second game in which VinÃcius is absent after the World Cup. The other was due to obligation, due to the accumulation of cards. The absence of the Brazilian star could open the door to Eden Hazard, something that Carlo Ancelotti did not want to confirm yesterday at a press conference, who did say that the Belgian could have a few minutes. In any case, the Italian coach does not bring homegrown players to Nuevo Mirandilla. The effect of the Spanish-Uruguayan Ãlvaro RodrÃguez seems to have been short-lived.
Nor is it clear if Karim Benzema is from the game. Ancelotti said that he is one of the players who has recovered the best from Tuesday’s effort against Chelsea, but he did not want to guarantee his ownership either. The Frenchman is only three goals away from equaling the Pole Robert Lewandowski, with 17 goals, in the table of top scorers in the league competition. And Benzema has been in Ballon d’Or mode for a few weeks. The beginning of his season was heavily hampered by injuries.
The game is, without a doubt, much more important for Cádiz, who lives immersed in a tight fight for salvation and who will cling to a stadium that will reach an absolute sellout, with twenty thousand spectators. Sergio González’s team comes from beating Betis at VillamarÃn and has only lost one of its last five games, in which it has won one, one loss and three draws. They are four points above the relegation zone.
Sergio González will not be able to count on the Argentine goalkeeper Ledesma for another week, who will serve his fourth and last game of suspension, nor with the right-back Isaac Carcelén, who after playing against Betis due to a precautionary decision, will now serve his third and last penalty match. The injured Gonzalo Escalante, Brian Ocampo and Joseba Zaldúa will not be there either, although the latter has returned this week to stepping on the grass of a training camp six months after being seriously injured.
Cádiz, despite the setback suffered two days ago against Sevilla (0-2), has been solid at home. Before falling against José Luis MendilÃbar’s team, they had ten consecutive games without losing on their pitch. In the first round match played at the Bernabéu, Madrid won in a hurry (2-1). It was a very tough match and Cádiz was very close to a draw. Fali missed a resounding occasion in the final moments.
