What’s the story?
Real Madrid will miss Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal and the suspended Nacho for La Liga tie against Celta Vigo. While Gareth Bale and Dani Carvajal are injured for the tie, Nacho is suspended for picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
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Nacho picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Sevilla, however, according to the Spanish publication Marca, the Madrid giants will appeal against the card to overturn it. Real Madrid official Emilio Butragueño confirmed in the Flash Zone after the game: "Nacho did nothing at all to deserve going into the book", hinting at the appeal.
In case you didn’t know..
Dani Carvajal and Gareth Bale are both long term injuries for Real Madrid. The right-back suffered a grade 2 hamstring injury against arch rivals Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
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Zinedine Zidane seemed unsure on the fitness of Gareth Bale recently, “He's recovering and there's time for him to be ready for the final. I hope he's ready before and I hope he can be with us more than anything. We're a better team when he plays”, he said ahead of last weekend’s game against Sevilla.
The heart of the matter
Undoubtedly the player Real Madrid will really miss most is Nacho. The versatile defender has been a mainstay at the back for Real this season whether it is as a centerback or a fullback.
With the other alternative as Danilo for right-back, and given his performance against Atletico in the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane will hope that the Real Madrid academy graduate gets the rub of the green in terms of the appeal against his one-match suspension.
What’s Next?
La Liga has undoubtedly reached its business point with Real Madrid to play two games, and Barcelona to play one game. Barcelona are ahead of their arch rivals due to their superior head to head record, but the advantage is clearly with the side from Madrid given their game in hand.
Barcelona’s last game last League game is against Eibar, whereas Real will take on Málaga for their final La Liga game.
Author’s Take
Zinedine Zidane would be setting out his side to get all the three points against Celta Vigo. The Vigo side, after being knocked out by Manchester United in the Europa League semifinals will be restored to full strength and on their day can give a good game to anyone (as Jose Mourinho’s men found out).
Nacho is a very important player for Real, especially with Carvajal’s injury and Real Madrid would hope that their appeal against his suspension is successful. Watch this space.
Alternatively, you can follow me on @soumalyamoitra7 for updates on his suspension.
