Real Madrid have had an influx of new signings this summer, but how many of them will actually make the starting eleven?
Here we have tried to predict the starting XI.
Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper: One of the toughest choices Real Madrid will have to make is to choose who will be the first choice goalkeeper at Santiago Bernaneu. They have two brilliant goalkeepers in Keylor Navas and Thibaut Courtois. While Navas is experienced and a winning member of the Galacticos, Courtois is the young, dynamic keeper who can be a star.
Real Madrid’s policy of choosing the star over a club loyalist will tilt the balance in favour of Courtois but current coach Zinedine Zidane will want to stick to his players who have given him so much success in the past, thereby making Navas a possible starter in the team. The decision will be revealed in the first few weeks of the new season but for now it seems, Courtois will be getting an undeserved nod to start.
Right-Back: Real Madrid have one of the best right backs in world football right now in Dani Carvajal. He is a brilliant modern day defender who can play at a high tempo match after match. Carvajal is amazing in defence and extremely fast and hardly gets beaten on the wings. In attack, he loves to go on the overlap and can send in dangerous crosses to create goals for the attackers.
Centre-Back: The Real Madrid defence had been lacking in depth last season but that problem seems to have been solved now with the purchase of Eder Militao. Of the two slots available in centre back, one will surely go to club captain Sergio Ramos.
The experienced campaigner was on the verge of leaving Real Madrid last season but after talks with club president Florentino Perez, he decided to stay. He has now overseen one of the most successful era in the club where they have won 4 UEFA Champions League trophies in 5 seasons. Ramos will be central to the team still as a leader in the dressing room to get the new players gelled in with the rest of the squad.
Centre-Back: The other centre-back will be a tough competition between Raphael Varane and Eder Militao. Varane is still likely to get the nod due to Militao’s young age and Zidane will want to ease in the youngster to the star studded squad. This means Varane, who is a Manchester United target, will still have more time to prove his worth at Real Madrid.
Left-Back: They have one of the best modern day full backs in Marcelo in left back and now to add depth they have added Ferland Mendy. The young left back who came from Ligue 1 will be expected to learn from Marcelo and take over sooner rather than later at the club due to the Brazilian’s growing age.
Mendy is also extremely talented and Marcelo will have to be at the top of his game to hold on to his spot at the club.
Central Holding midfielder: Real Madrid have one of the most tactically astute and aggressive midfielders in that position in Casemiro. The Brazilian loves a dirty tackle, enjoys winning the ball back for his team and places himself brilliantly in the right position to allow his teammates to charge forward in attack every time they have the ball. Casemiro in central defensive midfield allows Real Madrid to play the way they want to.
Left Central Midfielder: Another star performer in midfield, Real’s second midfielder gem is Toni Kroos. The German had a sub-par season last time out, both for club and country. The player is still relatively young and has cleared his intention to play for another 3-4 seasons. Kroos is a class act and Real Madrid after the return of their boss Zidane can expect Kroos to get back to his best.
Kroos is a pass master who can control the tempo and pull the strings from midfield. He has a brilliant vision to put his teammates through, loves to make a long pass to his attackers, is brilliant with set pieces and is a specialist from long range with his shooting.
Right Central Midfielder: The third gem and the best of the lot in that midfield is Luka Modric who will be occupying this position. Modric was so good in fact that he is currently the Ballon d’Or winner and is loved by Zidane as is evident in him wearing the number 10 jersey at a club like Madrid.
However, Modric is about to turn 34 and is getting older. He is no longer the young player who can play at Real for long and Madrid will have to look for a replacement for him. There has been rumours of Madrid looking at options like Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen and even if Real do not bring anyone this summer, they will be looking to buy one of the two options for sure next summer.
Left Winger: Madrid finally have their Kohinoor in the diamond studded team. Real have always had one played in the last decade who has stood head and shoulders above the rest of the team; the man was Cristiano Ronaldo. He scored the bulk of the goals and always dug his team out of trouble and became a serial winner.
However, after the departure of CR7 from Real, Madrid did not realize the significance of losing him They tried to replace him with younger players at the club and the move spectacularly failed. This time they have learned from their mistake and although there is no replacing Ronaldo, Madrid have done their best in the market by bringing in world beater Eden Hazard.
Hazard is in his prime and will be expected to be the spearhead at the club to lead them back to the glory days after a disappointing season. He will be occupying the famous left wing position.
Right Winger: A position of great debate as they do not have an established player in this position. There is expected to be a competition amongst number of players including the likes of Isco, Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and even Vinicius Junior. We can expect Zidane to hand it out on merit and he might even keep rotating this position depending on the significance of the match or the level of performance of the player.
Centre Forward: Another position of dilemma for Real Madrid is the one of striker. They already have a brillaint centre forward in Karim Benzema who took over much of the bulk of scoring last season after Cristiano Ronaldo left. however, Benzema is also north of 30 and Real Madrid have bought a pretty hefty replacement for him in Luka Jovic.
Jovic is young and ambitious and a lethal finisher. However, Zidane has always preferred the Frenchman and one must also remember that to let someone like Hazard shine, the teams needs a striker who can operate as a playmaker; something Benzema has done to perfection for Cristiano Ronaldo for years.
SEE MORE:Â Real Madrid Players Salaries 2019 (Weekly Wages)
