Real Madrid hurries their options in the League tonight at Sadar against Osasuna with their sights set on their return to the Champions League on Tuesday at Anfield against Liverpool, in the first leg of the round of 16. For the match, Carlo Ancelotti has left Karim Benzema at home, who has some slight muscular discomfort, and Toni Kroos, who has just come out of a flu that affected his stomach.
The whites, who if they win would put themselves five points behind Barcelona (which would be eight again if the Catalans beat Cádiz on Sunday), they do recover Courtois, absent since the defeat in Mallorca, and Vinícius, who lost the game due to suspension. Elche’s visit to the Bernabeu last Wednesday.
El Sadar has always been a place where Madrid finds one of the most hostile environments in the League. However, the Whites have won on three of their last four visits. In fact, the rojillos have been a more uncomfortable rival at the Bernabeu itself, where they have tied for the last two seasons. In this (1-1) and the previous one without goals.
The good news for Ancelotti is that the team has taken flight since the Club World Cup played in Morocco last week. He has improved somewhat in defense but above all he has regained his punch, with thirteen goals in the last three games, where he has not dropped below four per game.
Against the whites will be an Osasuna that is doing very well this season, ninth in the League, three points behind the European positions and in the semifinals of the Copa de Rey. However, the rojillos seem to have lost some of their steam. They have not won in the league since January 14 and come from two draws, against Espanyol (1-1) and Valladolid (0-0), both away from home.
The worst news for Joseba Arrasate’s men is the absence of two pillars of their starting eleven, Chimy Ávila and Juan Cruz, who will not be there due to the accumulation of cards. The Argentine is the top scorer for the reds, with seven goals. Without him, Osasuna has a hard time scoring. His position indicates that it will be for Kike Barja or Rubén García.
At Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti revealed yesterday that both Modric and Vinícius and Rodrygo will be in the starting eleven. The question is whether the whites will play with three strikers or four midfielders. It seems likely that Tchouaméni will return to midfield once he was rested against Elche. Everything also indicates that Camavinga’s experiment as a left-back has ended.
The novelty in the Madrid list is the inclusion of Álvaro Rodríguez, a Uruguayan from Castilla who has just made a good impression in the South American Sub 20. Ancelotti defined him yesterday as “something different from what we have on the squad. Tall and good with a head “. Mariano has fallen out of the squad, to which Eden Hazard has returned, although no one remembers the Belgian anymore. It is as if he had left the club months ago.
