It’s usually the case that a rival team will get a boost when they change their manager, especially if they’ve not been living up to expectations.
It’s strange that Real Madrid and Barca both have obvious weaknesses this year, but the arrival of Quique Setien at the Nou Camp seems to have made things worse.
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Their loss to Valencia yesterday leaves the door wide open for Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid to take a clear lead at the top of La Liga. They might be away to Real Valladolid, but this is a game you would expect them to win.
With that in mind, this is the line up from Real tonight:
? Tonight’s starting XI!#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/waAaPR9W0Q
— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) January 26, 2020
There’s some big names on the bench but the omission of Fede Valverde has upset a lot of fans. He was barely spoken about as a Real Madrid player at the start of the year, but this shows just how important he’s become.
Here’s a selection of the upset reactions on Twitter tonight:
No fede?
— just.like.Kelvin (@k_Assiamah) January 26, 2020
Valverde.?
— Saddam Said (@sir_saam2k) January 26, 2020
valverde ?! ????
— KhaLiD? (@khalid_MAGHRIB) January 26, 2020
No @fedeevalverde ? #HalaMadrid
— Neil Waworuntu (@neilwawo) January 26, 2020
Valverde???? And i dont trust Nacho which is why i though selling Odriozola to Bayern was a stupid decision!
— Saint ? ??? (@SurreptitiousV6) January 26, 2020
This game should show us just how important Valverde is to this side. He’s solid defensively but also has the ability on the ball to take the ball from the defence and link it with the forwards, so they could struggle.
Valladolid sit near the relegation zone with no wins in their last five, so Zidane needs his team to win this and take advantage of Barca’s slip.