Real Madrid, the defending La Liga champions, will return to league action on Saturday when they host Elche.
Zinedine Zidane’s side will face Elche after their 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid, and they will hope to close the gap on their arch-rivals.
Los Blancos are eight points behind the leaders, and know well that the margin for error is extremely low at this stage of the season
Real Madrid will also know that they have a Champions League tie against Atalanta next week, so Zidane will have to name his lineup accordingly.
Real Madrid Team News
Zidane is dealing with a few injury worries ahead of the match. Dani Carvajal and Mariano Diaz are not available for selection, while Sergio Ramos and Eden Hazard may not be risked.
Predicted Real Madrid Lineup vs Elche (4-3-3)
Defence
Thibaut Courtois should start for Real Madrid in goal. He has been one of the most underrated players for them this season.
We are unlikely to see any changes at the heart of the Real Madrid defence, with Raphael Varane and Nacho Fernandez lining up in central defence.
Predicted Real Madrid Lineup vs Elche
However, we think Zidane might give Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy some rest, keeping in mind that the clash against Atalanta is on the horizon. So, we could see Alvaro Odriozola and Marcelo as full-backs in the Real Madrid lineup.
Midfield
Casemiro, Toni Kroos, and Federico Valverde will start in the central midfield. Modric is likely to get some rest. However, he could get some minutes in the second half. This also depends on how the match turns out for Real Madrid.
Attack
Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior may play as the two wingers. The duo have not scored enough goals this season, and that has been a major worry for Zidane. The Frenchman will have the option of bringing on Marco Asensio in the second half.
🌟🆕 INSIDE TRAINING
⚙️ Final fine-tuning ahead of @Elche_en!
📺 https://t.co/TKDhCBw4Jv#HalaMadrid | #RealMadridElche pic.twitter.com/9h8sQ2BuJ9— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 12, 2021
Club top-scorer Karim Benzema should lead the line as Real Madrid don’t have any other reliable forwards at the moment.
Benzema played the entire 90 minutes against Atletico Madrid, scoring a late goal to salvage a point for Real Madrid, and has scored 13 goals in La Liga so far this season.