Real Valladolid vs Real Madrid: Match Preview

Real Madrid travel to Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Friday to take on Real Valladolid (9:30pm CET) in what is the first game after the World Cup for both sides.

Real Madrid updates

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has nearly his whole squad available as his team will make the short trip to Valladolid. The only player missing for ‘Los Blancos’ is Mariano Diaz who is recovering from an ankle injury. All of Real Madrid’s World Cup players have now returned, and the last three — Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni — resumed training today at Real Madrid City.

Though Modric, Camavinga, and Tchouameni have returned and are in the matchday squad, it’s likely they won’t feature in this game because they will be eased into Real Madrid’s heavy schedule gradually. Instead, expect to see more minutes from the players who didn’t go to the World Cup, or returned sooner due to their team’s early elimination.

“Hazard has been training well and I think he’s doing better now than he was before the World Cup,” Ancelotti said in the pre-game press conference. “With all the matches we have coming up, we’ll need to use the whole squad and Hazard will be one of those players who’ll play more in the second half of the season.”

Real Valladolid updates

Real Valladolid are missing several players, including Zouhair Feddal, Anuar, Jawad Al Yamiq, and Lucas Olaza; while Kenedy is doubtful. Though they did receive some good news today as Gonzalo Plata, who was initially a doubt, has recovered from a previous injury and should be available tomorrow.

“I am excited and very confident for this game,” Pacheta, Real Valladolid’s head coach said in the pre-game press conference. “Teams have already passed through here and have given us many problems, and our obligation is that they have to give their best version to beat us.

“They defend very well and recover their position very quickly. They hardly get caught in transitions. That they are Real Madrid is not going to lead me to change the plan. I think we are doing well and we believe that we can stop their attacks. We are not going to change things excessively, we are going to be brave and go with our weapons.”

Predicted Lineups

Real Valladolid (4-3-3): Masip; Rosa, Fernandez, Sanchez, Escudero; Monchu, Mesa, Aguado; Plato, Leon, Plano

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Rudiger, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Valverde, Ceballos; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius