Open Thread: December 19, 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.

Upcoming Schedule

Matchday 14 sees the Royal Whites traveling to the Ipurua Stadium in the Basque region to face Eibar on Sunday December 20th at 8pm CET or 3pm EST. In their last meeting on June 14 Real Madrid handily defeated Eibar 3-1 at the Alfredo Di Stefano. Photos and video of Real Madrid training on Friday are available here: https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2020/12/18/the-team-continues-to-prepare-for-the-eibar-match

Luka Modric Named Mahou Five Star Player of November

The Real Madrid star midfielder gave thanks to the fans for voting him the honors:

“It’s always nice to win this kind of award and especially when you know that it’s voted for by the fans. I would like to thank everyone who voted for me and also thank the fans for the love and support they’ve always shown me since the day I arrived at Real Madrid.”

https://www.realmadrid.com/en/news/2020/12/18/modric-mahou-five-star-player-of-november

Toni Kroos Selected to EASPORTSFIFA’s TEAM of the Week

As reported on Real Madrid’s official Twitter:

A Look into Sunday’s Match

Points are becoming critical. At third in the table Real Madrid are even with the leaders, Atletico Madrid, at 26 points. The Mattress-makers do have a game in hand. Los Blancos have won three in a row in La Liga, looking for four, and have begun to score goals with regularity again with three netted against Athletic Club on Tuesday. Karim Benzema striking twice on Tuesday is without question an encouraging sign for the reigning champions. Meanwhile, Los Armeros sit eleventh in the table, but earned a strong point last weekend against an in-form Real Sociedad. Eibar will be without central defender Esteban Burgos due to yellow card accumulation, while three players are listed as out due to injury: Cote, Quique Gonzalez and Rober Correa. Real Madrid on the other hand see the return of four players: Martin Odegaard, Eden Hazard, Mariano Diaz, and Luka Jovic, none of whom are likely to be inserted into the lineup immediately.