Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Elche | La Liga MD 28 | OneFootball

Real Madrid are still flying high in the euphoria of their stellar midweek performance against Manchester City – one that will go down in history for Federico Valverde’s first-half hat-trick.

Before the reverse fixture in England next week, however, Los Blancos have another mission to complete. They play host to Elche at the Santiago Bernabeu and cannot afford to drop points in the La Liga title race.

Elche are currently in 17th place in the league standings and have fallen off after a positive start to the season. They have won just five games in the league so far, losing and drawing on 11 occasions each.

Furthermore, they are winless in their last 11 games across all competitions and have lost seven of them.

Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Elche.

Crucial intermediary

Given the course Real Madrid’s season has taken so far, not many expected half as dominant a performance from them against Manchester City as they delivered.

The Merengues, after all, have been struggling in La Liga in recent weeks and are being tormented by a massive injury crisis, one that saw them enter the UCL game as slight underdogs.

Taking to the field, however, they were dominant over Pep Guardiola’s side and took a 3-0 lead on the night, setting the stage for their progression to the UCL quarterfinal.

At the level of the Champions League and given how the Cityzens will try to push for a comeback at Etihad Stadium next week, however, it is clear that Real Madrid must be up for a gruelling clash in England.

Tomorrow’s game, thus, becomes crucial as the one intermediary between the two legs of the tie against Manchester City. Managing the squad, performance, result and optimising resources adequately, needless to say, will be easier said than done.

Alvaro Arbeloa will have pressure on his shoulders right from selecting the right XI, rotating key players, and striking the balance between the best XI and a competitive XI on the night.

An interesting stylistic clash

Eder Sarabia’s Elche will pose a tricky challenge for Real Madrid. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Real Madrid, over the years, has carved out a reputation as being one of football’s most dynamic teams that can play against any tactics. In recent times, however, that has not been the case.

Despite being a team who thrive on counter-attacks, Los Blancos are often the ones with more possession and control over proceedings especially in domestic games. They often face low blocks and are forced to break down defences.

Elche, however, bring a completely different style of football to the table as they closely mimic the Barcelona style – play high with all-out attack, a tireless press, and a high defensive line.

Taking on Elche, thus, will be challenging for Real Madrid on two fronts. First, they will not be able to dominate possession as much as they would want to. 

More importantly, Elche’s dominance may open the doors to Thibaut Courtois’ goal multiple times given how the Real Madrid defence is still shaky.

Concurrently, however, Los Blancos will also look at Elche’s high line as a potential attacking opportunity as they should be able to get behind the defenders with the right tactics.

The tactical battle on Saturday, thus, will be fascinating to witness.

Two left backs out

An unexpected injury to Alvaro Carreras kept the player out of the Celta Vigo and Manchester City games, and he was expected to be back in just a few days. As it stands, however, he appears to be out of tomorrow’s game too.

In the Spaniard’s place, Arbeloa opted to hand Ferland Mendy the start to make a statement at Real Madrid and prove fans wrong that he is now past his injury crisis.

Unfortunately, however, the inevitable has struck again and Mendy is back on the sidelines, this time with a hamstring injury that appears set to keep him out for the next week or so.

The situation at left-back, thus, demands Fran Garcia’s return to the lineup in what will be a momentous and crucial moment for the player. After all, he has steeply fallen down the manager’s pecking order in recent times.

Garcia came close to leaving Real Madrid in the winter when the club blocked his move and forced him to stay. It is unclear what will transpire around his future next summer, but tomorrow’s clash will be a massive one for him regardless.

Be it to impress the manager or potential destinations, Garcia must look to bring his A game on the night for there is too much on the line for him.