Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Real Sociedad this past week, dashing hopes of a treble for the Spanish giants in the 2019-20 season. Zinedine Zidane’s men have to forget that terrible result and concentrate once again on the league, where they face Osasuna on Sunday.
They are top of La Liga, three points ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona, who also lost their Copa del Rey match. The last time Madrid faced Osasuna was in September in the Bernabéu, where they won 2-0.
We could see a much-changed Real Madrid lineup from the team that lost against Sociedad, on Sunday.
Early Team News
Marco Asensio and Mariano will miss the game, but we aren’t quite sure what the situation with Gareth Bale is. Eden Hazard could return to the Madrid squad having returned to training.
Casemiro and Lucas Vázquez missed the game against Sociedad and had missed training earlier this week. But, they should return this weekend.
PREDICTED REAL MADRID LINEUP vs OSASUNA (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Alphonse Areola played in the mid-week defeat, and after letting in four goals, he will surely return to the bench, replaced by No. 1 Thibaut Courtois in the Real Madrid lineup.
Defence
Madrid’s central defensive pairing of captain Sergio Ramos and Éder Militão were at sixes and sevens in the loss to Sociedad. It seemed like the Spanish giants missed the presence of Raphaël Varane at the back.
Varane should return for the game against Osasuna to start beside Ramos.
Marcelo scored a goal against Sociedad, but he wasn’t solid in defence, and he will be replaced by Ferland Mendy at left-back.
On the opposite side, Nacho will be most likely be replaced by Dani Carvajal at right-back.
Midfield
Casemiro missed the defeat to Real Sociedad after sustaining a knock in the win against Atletico Madrid last weekend. He should return for this weekend’s league game, replacing Federico Valverde, while Luka Modric could also start in the Real Madrid lineup.
Toni Kroos could retain his position in midfield for the game against Osasuna.
Attack
Zidane may not want to straightaway thrust Hazard back into the starting XI even if he’s fit but the Belgian could be an option from the bench.
Rodrygo should start on the right, while Isco could come back to the Real Madrid lineup on the left.
