Casemiro is one yellow card away from suspension

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro is one yellow card away from being suspended for one game. That wouldn’t be all that relevant but Madrid will face Valencia and Barcelona away from the Bernabeu right after hosting Espanyol next weekend, which means that the midfielder will need to complete the matches against Espanyol and Valencia without getting booked if he wants to play El Clasico.

Coach Zinedine Zidane could always give Casemiro some rest against Espanyol but the away match in Valencia will be a very tough and intense one, so the Brazilian midfielder will be needed.

Casemiro is a crucial player for Real Madrid and doesn’t have an obvious replacement in the current roster, so his absence against either Valencia or Barcelona would be very problematic. Fede Valverde will probably be asked to replace Casemiro when Zidane decides to rotate, but he’s more comfortable as a box-to-box midfielder than as a defensive anchor.

The Brazilian midfielder should’ve probably tried to get booked during Saturday’s match against Alaves, but now he will need to play 90 minutes at Mestalla without a yellow card.