Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata are battling for a starting job, but which has a brighter future at Real Madrid?
Only 10 days after their elimination at the quarterfinal stage of the Copa del Rey at the Balaidos stadium, Real Madrid return to the quaint Galician pitch to face hosts Celta Vigo, in this case for their second La Liga fixture of the season. On Sunday, Celta will have another chance to show that they have developed a smart way of confronting Real Madrid, exploiting the weaknesses of Zinedine Zidane's team and turning each match into a much more complicated matter than expected.
The pair have played each other three times this season. Real Madrid won the first contest 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, but suffered mightily to defeat Eduardo Berizzo's squad and only a very late strike by Toni Kroos gave them the three points. In their second match, in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Celta won 2-1 at the Bernabeu, after a serious, focused display that showed some cracks in Real Madrid's mental resilience. The third meeting, a draw in the ensuing second leg, ended up in a draw that in fact could have gone either way.
This third match showcased the intelligent game plan that Berizzo has developed to make life difficult for Real Madrid. Despite Zidane's statements after the tie -- "We played well, controlled the match and had enough opportunities to make the semifinals" -- what we saw was a succession of chances in both ends of the pitch and an out-of-control, two-way contest.
Berizzo used well his wingers to put pressure on Real Madrid's build-up, disconnected Kroos from the rest of the team and took advantage of Casemiro's improvised role in the centre of the defence to control the middle of the pitch for long stretches of the match. The first time in which Real Madrid managed to put together a string of passes that finished in a decent shot happened after 78 minutes had already passed.
Celta have few weapons, but they know well how to use them against Zidane's team. These three matches have given them enough knowledge of Real Madrid to feel good about themselves and able to stage another upset. Iago Aspas looks as determined as ever in his career, while the help he gets from the supporting cast improves as they get more playing time together.
However, Berizzo wants to prioritise the Copa del Rey semifinals, and has stated that he will rotate some starters to have them in the best possible shape for the second leg against Alaves, to be played on Wednesday. This could mean that players such as the veteran Giuseppe Rossi or the young Pione Sisto may have a chance, and that by no means should relax the Real Madrid faithful, as they both can trouble any defence.
Last weekend's 3-0 win over Real Sociedad had a calming effect on the Real Madrid dressing room, but their performance was far from perfect, especially in a first half that the visitors controlled without creating scoring chances.
After a nightmarish month with injuries galore, Zidane is beginning to recover some of his key players. James Rodriguez has returned to the team and could play on Sunday, while Marcelo is also close to being fully fit and will be on the bench. However, Luka Modric, Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale won't make the list and keep working to recover from their injuries. That said, the biggest question mark is who will Zidane use as the starting centre-forward:Karim Benzema or Alvaro Morata?
Zidane and his team need to take advantage of this chance to win another three points away from home and rebuild the level of intensity they had when 2016 finished. Celta will be tired from their midweek Copa del Rey tie, won't play all of their starters and should be thinking about how to get to the Copa final. The key for Real Madrid is to recover control over midfield, take their time to build their attacking moves and not to rush things like they did in previous matches against Celta.
A win in Vigo will do wonders in terms of self-confidence to face an intimidating month of February. A defeat will bring back noises of crisis and squad weaknesses.
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