Casemiro is one yellow card away from missing away match against Real Sociedad

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro is just one yellow card away from being suspended for one La Liga game and would miss the trip to Anoeta to face Real Sociedad if he gets booked against Valencia this Thursday.

Casemiro is a crucial player for coach Zinedine Zidane, who can’t afford to lose him for one game at this point of the season. In fact, one could argue that the next two games are maybe the toughest ones on Madrid’s schedule, so Zidane will likely just start the Brazilian midfielder against Valencia and hope that Casemiro completes the game without seeing a yellow card.

The away match against Real Sociedad is expected to be very tough and Casemiro’s physical presence and defensive awareness will be needed. Madrid would be in a tough spot without him playing in that particular game and Fede Valverde would likely be his replacement as a defensive midfielder.

Valverde has been impressive all season long but he’s a central midfielder and his defensive instinct just isn’t as natural as Casemiro’s. All in all, Madrid have no choice here. While Zidane could decide to rest Casemiro against Valencia, their counterattacking style could be problematic without the midfielder on the pitch.

In the end, Zidane will likely have to take risks and start Casemiro on Thursday.