Raphael Varane is back with the team and the French defender was able to train on Thursday with the rest of the squad. Therefore, the full back will be available to play against Real Sociedad on Sunday evening. This is a piece of good news for Zinedine Zidane, who won’t have still available Pepe, Carvajal and Marcelo.
The French manager had to come up with a new defense line in Vigo. At Balaídos, Casemiro played as a full back, with Sergio Ramos and Nacho, whereas Danilo played as a right back or winger. Now, Los Blancos go back to Santiago Bernabéu and Zidane has three defenders available: Nacho, Varane and Sergio Ramos. Then, Fabio Coentrao and Danilo can also be in the line-up but both players are under heavy pressure.
Coentrao has been absent the whole year because of the injuries. When he had the opportunity to play, he did it really bad, even committing a stupid penalty against Sporting Portugal. Meanwhile, Danilo scored an own goal on Wednesday and he’s been heavily criticized for his last appearances. Zidane could relieve some pressure on them by keeping them on the bench.
Varane has been an important player in the whole season. He has played 14 games so far, all of them in the starting line-up, scoring one goal against Betis. This season, we’ve been watching the best of Varane, again playing with a lot of confidence and great speed. On Tuesday he suffered a strain in the training session that prevented him to play in Copa del Rey.
Now he is back with their team mates and the French full back should be available to start on Sunday. The question is who will occupy the right back. Lucas Vázquez could play there as he showed against Celta in the first leg of Copa del Rey against Celta. The other option is Danilo, but Zidane risks to see his supporters very angry at the Brazilian.
