Real Madrid face Betis at Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday evening. Los Blancos will know the score of Barcelona by then, because they travel to La Coruña to face Deportivo in the afternoon. With this pressure, Zidane’s side needs to beat Betis, a team they already thrashed in Sevilla at the beginning of the season.
The manager is thinking about making a lot of changes in the team, as he did against Eibar. The result one week ago was superb and some players shone at a great level. For this reason, James Rodríguez, Álvaro Morata, Lucas Vázquez, Isco or Marco Asensio are waiting for an opportunity on Sunday. The problem is that there won’t be room for everybody.
Gareth Bale is still suspended so he’ll miss his second straight game in La Liga. Cristiano Ronado had some physical problems last week and after the battle of San Paolo he might rest as well. Even Karim Benzema could rest, because he’s the only one the attacking line playing the most recent games.
With this absences, Álvaro Morata should start the game and Lucas Vázquez is always the chosen one in the wing. In the playmaker area, Zidane has more problems. Isco, Lucas Vázquez and Marco Asensio are fighting for one position, presumably. Kroos or Modric will have some rest and even Casemiro, who has four yellow cards, might stay on the bench. At this point even Kovacic has some options to play replacing the Brazilian stopper.
There will be some changes in the defensive line as well. Nacho might have his opportunity in the left back or as a full back. Pepe is recovered but he might stay on the bench to have some rest, whereas Danilo could give some rest to Daniel Carvajal, one of the best footballers recently for Real Madrid.
Therefore, there are plenty of interrogations about the team that Zidane can choose to face Betis. The second line of players did great against Eibar and they deserve an opportunity. However, Real Madrid squad has a lot of quality, so some of them will have to wait on the bench again.
