Real Madrid seeks leadership in Vallecas without Benzema or Kroos

After reacting in the Champions League with a victory against Celtic, Real Madrid is looking to regain the leadership this Monday night (9pm) with a victory in Vallecas against Rayo, who are in a good dynamic.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
07 November 2022 Monday 06:36
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Real Madrid seeks leadership in Vallecas without Benzema or Kroos

After reacting in the Champions League with a victory against Celtic, Real Madrid is looking to regain the leadership this Monday night (9pm) with a victory in Vallecas against Rayo, who are in a good dynamic. The whites go to the appointment without Karim Benzema, who misses the eighth game (six in the League) of the season or Toni Kroos, who saw the red card on Sunday against Girona in what was the first expulsion of his career. If they won, Madrid would have added the full number of victories as a visitor in the League (six of six) before the World Cup break.

In the ups and downs chapter, Carlo Ancelotti will also not be able to count on Antonio Rüdiger, off the list due to an overload, but he does have Tchouaméni available, who will form a midfield with Luka Modric and Fede Valverde. For the attack, the normal thing would be for Rodrygo Goes to continue as nine and have Vinícius and Marco Asensio on the wings. The Spaniard already played a good game on Wednesday against Celtic.

Madrid never have it easy in Vallecas, where they are seen in a scenario that they are not usually very good at: a narrow field and a rival that squeezes them a lot. Last season he won with a goal from Benzema in the final minutes.

Rayo arrives at the game after chaining four games without losing. Of the last twelve points at stake, he has added eight: four of them away with the draw against Atlético de Madrid (1-1) and the victory against Sevilla (0-1), two games against more important rivals.

With 18 points in the standings, closer to the European zone than to relegation, Rayo lives comfortably installed in the middle of the table. For this match Andoni Iraola recovers two very important players in his dressing room. One is Argentine playmaker Oscar Trejo, who did not play against Sevilla due to being suspended, and the other is Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, recovered from a muscle injury that prevented him from playing the last two games.

Of the two, the one who will surely appear in the starting eleven is Trejo. In the rest of the lines, no major developments are expected. Perhaps the only doubt lies in the midfield with three players -Santi Comesaña, Oscar Valentín and Pathé Ciss- for two positions. The decision will be made at the last minute by Iraola depending on whether he bets on a more playful and possession profile or another one with greater containment and more physicality.

Ancelotti insisted again yesterday at the press conference that he does not intend to hire anyone in the winter market, although he was more open than other times to possible exits: “The market is closed, both in terms of entries and exits. But if someone asks to leave, we will listen." In the last few hours there has been talk of a possible departure for Hazard from having a good World Cup. Totally postponed by Ancelotti, the Belgian no longer refuses to go out. Another thing is that he has a good World Cup and has offers.