Projected Lineups: Real Madrid – Villarreal

Real Madrid take on Villarreal hoping to complete an incredible comeback in La Liga and lead the table after having trailed Barcelona by 12 points.

Los Blancos have shortened Barca’s lead down to one point and they hope to overtake them this week as they host Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zinedine Zidane will lineup his usual starters for such an important game. The French manager will only miss Daniel Carvajal and Gareth Bale, as they are both suffering from muscle problems, and he has decided to rest Pepe.

The right-back will be replaced by Danilo, who is expected to feature in defence alongside Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo. In midfield, Casemiro and Luka Modric will most likely return to the starting eleven after resting last weekend against Getafe.

The main doubt is who will replace Bale in the forward line. Lucas Vazquez, Isco and Jese Rodriguez are the main candidates to accompany Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

This is Real Madrid’s projected starting eleven: Navas; Danilo, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Vazquez, Benzema, Ronaldo.

This is Villarreal’s projected starting eleven: Asenjo; Gaspar, Bailly, Ruiz, Rukavina; Dos Santos, Soriano, Triguero, Suarez; Lopez, Bakambu.