Real Madrid undergoes an exam without Zinedine Zidane, infected by coronavirus at his home, and now without a net for more errors after being eliminated from two competitions and seeing how the Spanish League has been complicated, visiting a Deportivo Alavés who celebrates his centenary.
The start of 2021 could not have left worse news for Real Madrid. Extending the irregularity with which he closed the year, he was fired in six days from two of the four competitions he was competing for. Eliminated in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup by Athletic Club and the Copa del Rey, in a black chapter for its history, by Alcoyano de Segunda B.
The situation in the League does not invite optimism either. Not only because of its irregularity, a single victory in the last three days -5 points out of 9 possible-, but also because of the firmness of the leader, an Atlético de Madrid with a seven-point advantage that could be ten if he wins a postponed game for playing .
In this scenario and after not having news from the board after publicly doubting its continuity with the cup-bearer disaster, Zidane arrived at the appointment until a test was positive. The French coach will direct from a distance and it will be the French David Bettoni who will take command at a critical moment. The bad news does not come alone and the appointment does not arrive on time Sergio Ramos or Dani Carvajal in defense, Nacho Fernández is still confined to his home and the Uruguayan Fede Valverde is the last casualty due to a muscle injury.
While the Norwegian Martin Odegaard prepares the suitcases for a new loan, the Brazilian Rodrygo Goes completes the large part of casualties. But there are no excuses for Real Madrid, forced to react immediately, to beat Alavés and change the course of a bad season. And for this the demand on the Belgian Eden Hazard increases, without showing his level despite gaining filming after his last injury. Installed in insignificance.
Except for the Brazilian Casemiro and Lucas Vázquez, a large part of the starting block had a break or played a few minutes in the cup debacle. Everything indicates that it will be Lucas Vázquez who will delay his position to cover the right back and the Brazilian Militao who will have a chance in the center of the defense. He has not played in the league since October 31 and after reappearing in the Cup he will have continuity to claim.
The people of Vitoria do not arrive at this moment well in sport, although the commemoration of the centenary can encourage them to improve in a meeting in which they need to score to stay above the relegation places.
It will be the third game for Abelardo Fernández, who still does not know anything other than the defeat in his second stage on the Vitorian bench, after falling in the Copa del Rey against Almería and in the League against Sevilla, but with a staging in the one that began to see part of the Asturian coach’s seal.
Lucas Pérez is the only doubt due to some ankle discomfort and Rodrigo Ely is out due to a long-term injury, which leaves the Albiazul defense somewhat affected. The youth squad Stephane Keller could be back in the squad. The “Pitu” is shaping a team that beat Valdebebas in the first leg by 1-2, but has three consecutive defeats in the league competition for the first time this season.
The white youth squad Fernando Pacheco will be one of the fixtures in the line-up and in this match will become the player with the most First Division matches in the history of the Albiazul club, precisely against the team where he was formed. He will surely be accompanied by Ximo Navarro and Rubén Duarte on the flanks, as well as Florian Lejeune and Víctor Laguardia in the center of a defense that has not left a clean sheet since the twelfth day when they drew 0-0 against Real Sociedad. EFE. (JL).