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Zinedine Zidane’s plan B used to be famous. No team changed as much as Real Madrid, and the Frenchman’s XI was always a surprise on any weekend.
But suddenly, just before a key match outside Sevilla, everything changed. It has been five games since then, four at the national level and one in the Champions League, and Zidane has barely touched his XI.
From the declaration victory in Seville to the decisive match against Borussia Monchengladbach, Sergio Ramos stepped in to replace Nacho. For the derby against Real Madrid, Dani Carvajal returned and Lucas Vázquez played in place of Rodrygo Goes.
Against Athletic Club, Casemiro was suspended and replaced by Fede Valverde. At Eibar, the last time, only Vinicius Junior left the team to be replaced by Rodrygo, while Casemiro also returned.
The reality is that not much is known about Zidane’s second team. On defense, Nacho had replaced Ramos in his forced absence due to injury, but has not reappeared in any of the last four games. The case of Eder Militao is even stranger, as he has not appeared in any of the seven games since he returned to training with the squad after having the coronavirus.
Álvaro Odriozola, likewise, has been left out of the last five games, with Carvajal’s return closing a door that had barely been opened for him. On the other flank, Marcelo has struggled to overcome Ferland Mandy, as he has not played since the loss to Alavés, in which he started.
Up front, Mariano Díaz and Luka Jovic have returned from their respective injuries, but neither of them played in Eibar. Zidane has full confidence in Karim Benzema, who seems to be enough to push Los Blancos forward.
Isco is another who hardly appears. He has only played 26 minutes, which came against Athletic. He was ruled out against Eibar, but did not play in the derby, neither against Sevilla nor against Gladbach.
Two players have fallen completely from grace, namely Marco Asensio and Rodrygo Goes, with the latter now being a backup option for Vinicius Junior.
The remarkable form of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric has made them close their positions in midfield, leaving Martin Odegaard in the dark. He was injured, but on his return to the game against Eibar he did not have a minute on the pitch.
Granada is next Wednesday, and all signs point to him making the changes to give his usual XI a well-deserved rest.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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