Open Thread: October 27, 2020.

Hola Madridistas!

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, YoSnail or Oscnar.

It is match day: who will play?

After a good performance in El Clasico, should we expect the same team or will Zidane make any changes? The squad list for today’s game at 21:00 CET is:

Goalkeepers: Courtois, Lunin and Altube.

Defenders: E. Militão, Sergio Ramos, R. Varane, Marcelo, F. Mendy and Santos.

Midfielders: Kroos, Modrić, Casemiro, Valverde and Isco.

Forwards: Hazard, Benzema, Asensio, Lucas V., Jović, Vini Jr., and Rodrygo.

In his article, Lucas Navarrete predicted no rotations for this game (except for Lucas Vazquez instead of Nacho, who is injured).

Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois, Lucas Vazquez, Varane, Ramos, Mendy, Casemiro, Valverde, Modric, Vinicius, Asensio, Benzema.

Zidane’s comment about Isco.

During yesterday’s press-conference, Zidane was asked about Isco’s comments. As usual, Zidane’s response was short and didn’t generate more controversy, noting that all players want to play. He went on, saying that’s the reality at Real Madrid and that the players are always prepared, but he obviously is the one who decides who plays and who doesn’t.

Barcelona decry VAR’s ‘negative impact’ after loss to Real Madrid.

Barcelona have launched a tirade against the implication of VAR in Spain, accusing it of benefitting their “direct opponents” in a nod towards Real Madrid after Sergio Ramos’s controversial penalty in Saturday’s El Clasico.

“The board reiterates its confidence in VAR as a technology to assist referees with their work but, at the same time, expresses its absolute disagreement with regard to the criteria used for its application and interpretation in recent months,” a statement from Barca said on Monday.”

You can read the entire statement here. We’re not quite sure what they’re on about but as a great man once said ‘it is what it is’.

Kiyan Sobhani and Diego Lorijn also covered the topic on the Churros y Tácticas Podcast. Diego in particular still seems quite aggrieved. The entire podcast is pretty entertaining and we highly recommend giving it a listen.

Real Madrid lose Nacho for the next four games.

It wasn’t all good news from Camp Nou as Real Madrid lost Nacho to injury for the next four games. A report from COPE’s Miguel Angel Diaz says that the Real Madrid defender will miss games against Borussia Moenchengladbach, Huesca, Inter Milan, and Valencia. Given that Carvajal is a long term injury, It is hoped that Odriozola can return to the lineup soon. Lucas Vazquez did an admirable job filling in against Barcelona and it remains to be seen if he can keep it up in the Champions League.