Real Madrid host Deportivo de La Coruna in desperate need of a win after seeing their lead in La Liga reduced to one point. The painful 4-0 defeat against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid has seriously hurt Los Blancos, who are willing to prove there is no crisis at the club.
Once again, Carlo Ancelotti will have a tough job in selecting his 11 starters since six players remain on the sidelines due to injury. Fabio Coentrao, Sami Khedira, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez and Luka Modric will surely miss the game, while Pepe is a doubt having only completed one regular training session since his recovery.
Thus, Raphael Varane and Nacho Fernandez will most likely repeat as the centre-back pair, despite their poor performance against Atletico. Marcelo will return to the left-back after his one-match suspension and Alvaro Arbeloa could replace Daniel Carvajal at right-back.
Ancelotti has confirmed Asier Illarramendi will replace Khedira, although it seemed like Lucas Silva could get his first chance as a starter. There were also rumours of a possible change on goal after Iker Casillas mistake in Atletico’s first goal, but the Italian manager has revealed Keylor Navas will stay on the bench.
Los Merengues face one of the teams in better shape of the competition. They have only lost one game in 2015 and they have won their last two against Eibar and Rayo Vallecano.
Victor Fernandez will miss Sidnei, Luis Farina, Salomao and Helder Postiga due to injury. Pablo Insua is suspended and Jose Rodriguez, who is on loan from Los Blancos, will miss the match due to a clause in his loan contract.
Possible line-ups:
Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Bale, Illarramendi, Kroos, Isco; Benzema, Ronaldo.
Deportivo de La Coruna: Fabricio; Laure, Lopo, Borja Lopez, Luisinho; Juanfran, Bergantinos, Borges, Cuenca; Riera, Cavaleiro.
