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Over the years, the dominance of La Liga and European football by the duo of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid has been near total.
A huge factor in this has been the quality they possess in their respective squads. Last season, the importance of having quality players on the bench was emphasised when Real Madrid claimed the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles, with significant contributions from players like Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez, Lucas Vazquez, Marco Asensio et al. who usually came from the bench and were effective whenever Zidane needed them.
Meanwhile, FC Barcelona are unbeaten in all competitions so far this season thanks, in part, to the quality of players that coach Ernesto Valverde has been able to call from the bench; they have increased their options on the bench like Gerard Deulofeu, Paco Alcacer, Nélson Semedo, and Paulinho.
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Real Madrid also brought back players like Jesús Vallejo, Marcos Llorente, Borja Mayoral from their respective loan spells and signed Dani Ceballos and Theo Hernández to strengthen their squad.
Both these sides have players who can chip in whenever first-team regulars are injured or given a break by their managers. More often than not, they are successful in doing the job for their side.
Though, one might think that these players deserve more game time and can do better than some of their starters. Here's a look at the team made up of a combination of 11 players we've picked from both benches.
Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper
Jasper Cillessen (FC Barcelona)
The former Oranje number one signed for FC Barcelona last season, drawing out excitement in Catalonia as the fans believed he would provide great competition for Marc Andre ter-Stegen.
He only made 10 appearances for Barcelona last season (8-Copa Del Rey, 1-UEFA Champions League, 1-La Liga) and conceded 9 goals in them. In the current season of club football, he has only played a single game against Murcia in the Copa del Rey.
Cillessen would have hoped for more game time when he signed for Barcelona, and It's unlikely that Valverde would think of replacing Marc-André ter Stegen with the Dutchman, as the German has been impressive this season.
The former Borussia Mönchengladbach shot-stopper has kept 9 clean sheets in the 15 games that he has played this season, and It looks like Cillessen will have to settle for the role of reserve goalkeeper this season as well.
Defenders
Right-back - Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid)
The 19-year-old Moroccan footballer has played six fixtures this season and has impressed everybody with his performances. Especially in Real Madrid's Champions League fixture against Tottenham Hotspur at the Bernabeu, he showed that he could perform at a club of Real Madrid's stature.
The Moroccan teenager did an excellent job and kept experienced Vertonghen on his toes with his work rate.
Also, he has made five appearances for Moroccan national team. He made his international debut last year and had played as a right-back, left-back and centre-back for his side. The youngster has shown versatility for his national team and also has one international goal to his name.
The fact that he is the only backup that Zidane has for Dani Carvajal tells a lot about manager's trust in him. After the departure of Danilo to Manchester City, the club was expected to make a new signing for that vacant position.
Instead, Zidane promoted the young Achraf to the first team who only had one season at Madrid's B side, i.e. Real Madrid Castilla.
Despite some promising performances, he will be expected to struggle to find himself in Zidane's starting eleven after the return of Dani Carvajal. The defender also has to compete with Nacho for a regular role in Real Madrid's first team.
Centre-back - Jesús Vallejo Lázaro (Real Madrid)
The Spanish defender is known for his ability to read the game and many experts regard him as the future of Real Madrid defence. Currently, he is foreseen to put in a shift for Madrid captain, Sergio Ramos and Frenchman, Raphael Varane whenever needed. Just like Achraf, he also has to compete with versatile Nacho for his position in the Madrid lineup.
The 20-year-old defender from Zaragoza made his return to the Bernabeu after his successful loan spell at Bundesliga club, Eintracht Frankfurt. Vallejo played 27 matches at the German club and is also a regular member of the Spanish U-21 squad.
Vallejo also took part in 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with Spain. He was a regular member of the starting lineup named by manager, Albert Celades. Spain entered the final of the Championship, before finally being eliminated by Germany, and Vallejo was rock solid in the defence for the Spanish side.
Vallejo had to wait for 819 days to make his Real Madrid debut since Los Blancos announced his acquisition from Zaragoza in 2015. On his full debut for Real Madrid against Fuenlabrada last week, he put in a decent shift before a lunge on Luis Milla that earned him a red card. Instances like that will restrict him from getting more game time with Los Blancos' main team.
Centre-back - Thomas Vermaelen (FC Barcelona)
The former Arsenal captain is known for his strength in defence and his ability with the ball at his feet. Thomas Vermaelen became an FC Barcelona player on August 9, 2014. Signed from Arsenal, he arrived as an experienced centre-back with proven leadership skills.
The Barcelona career of the Belgian has been cut short by a series of injuries he faced at regular intervals. He has missed approximately a year (358 days) owing to these injury concerns.
The Belgian defender spent the 2016/17 season at Italian club AS Roma before returning to Barça when his loan spell was up. He only played 9 games at the Italian club, AS Roma and was hit by injuries thrice at the Italian capital.
Though this is his third season at FC Barcelona, the injury-prone defender has only featured in 11 games for his side. It took him 591 days to play his 11th club game after he featured against Malaga in March 2016. His 11th overall and first game of this season came in Copa Del Rey against Real Murcia.
He was pretty solid for the most of the game and could have scored too from a corner. Much to the defender's frustration, he is now away from the squad due to a hip injury which already has kept him out of a couple of games.
The 31-year-old defender can still be a decent performer if he can consistently stay fit.
Left-back - Lucas Digne (FC Barcelona)
The pacy defender, known for his crossing and tackling abilities, failed to outfox Jordi Alba in the Barcelona squad. The former Paris Saint-Germain defender signed for Barcelona for a reported fee of €16.5 million last season and has only played 20 games for them so far.
There were some situations last season when Jordi Alba wasn't quite at his best. Even then, former Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique, opted to stay with his experienced left back in his side's crucial clashes.
In the current season, Digne has played 368 minutes for Barcelona under his new manager Ernesto Valverde. He has looked sharp and much more confident than he was in his previous season. He already has one goal and one assist to his name, equaling his tally of last season.
His two starts in La Liga came in home games against Real Betis and Malaga, and one was in Barcelona's Copa Del Rey clash against Real Murcia. Pretty much tells that he will be used as a reinforcement to Alba by Valverde too.
Also, the Spanish left-back seems to have got his form back. Alba has provided five assists in La Liga, and Barcelona has only conceded two goals in 8 La Liga games that he has played. Hence, despite being good this season, Digne will have to settle for a role on the bench most often than not.
Midfielders
Defensive Midfielder - Marcos Llorente (Real Madrid)
Marcos Llorente is another talented player advancing from the youth system of Real Madrid. The defender was a regular member of the La Liga side - Deportivo Alavés during his loan spell in the 2016-17 season of club football. There, he excelled with his tackling and passing, which made Zidane bring him back to the Bernabeu.
Despite playing the role of holding midfielder, he only received six yellow cards in 38 games that he played for Alavés. The Spaniard just committed 56 fouls and was fouled by opposition players on 40 occasions.
Also, he contributed to the attack by giving away three assists. He was outstanding in keeping the possession of the ball and was able to replicate his club form at 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship for Spain.
So far, he has played 278 minutes of club football for Real Madrid and showed the same composure he had last season at Alavés. He started for Zidane's side on three occasions (2 in La Liga and 1 in Copa Del Rey) and hasn't put a foot wrong so far.
Despite his prowess, he will struggle to make frequent appearances in the Madrid's starting eleven due to the presence of Casemiro and Toni Kroos. There have already been many instances wherein he wasn't even present on the bench for Los Blancos.
Central Midfielder - Denis Suárez (FC Barcelona)
The midfielder returned to FC Barcelona last year after the club used its buy-back clause to bring him back to Camp Nou from Villarreal. Denis is a technically gifted player, capable of taking players on and also provides a threat from set pieces. He has made 32 appearances for the club since then, but many of them came as a substitute.
There were some displays last season when Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta weren't quite at the top of their game. Many felt that Luis Enrique should give the Spaniard a little more time on the pitch.
Still, he only had one start in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League, and that too came in the group stage of the competition. Under Luis Enrique, he scored two goals and provided three assists.
Coming to this season, current Barcelona manager, Valverde has given him some opportunities now and then. The Spaniard has been a part of 9 of Barcelona's fixtures this season and has shown his versatility by playing on the left wing in seven of those.
So far, he has scored twice while also having assisted his teammates thrice, even though he was only in the starting eleven in 3 games. Unarguably a player of his ability deserves much more game time than that.
Central Midfielder - Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)
Dani Ceballos is another young Spanish midfielder who has been impressive in the last couple of years. The 21-year-old scored twice on his full debut for Real Madrid against La Liga side, Alavés.
The Spanish under-21 midfielder joined Real Madrid from Real Betis, where he scored two goals and also provided three assists in 25 games that he played.
In the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Ceballos was outstanding for Spain. The Sevilla born midfielder flourished in the midfield and bagged the 'Player of the Tournament' award too.
He was constantly linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid throughout the summer transfer window and consequently joined Los Blancos for a transfer fee of around €18 million. Many Madrid fans see him as a successor of the Croatian - Luka Modric at the club.
Ceballos has been given three starts (2 in La Liga, 1 in Copa Del Rey) by Zinedine Zidane this season. He scored twice in his first start and put in a decent performance in the other two as well. He was the crucial player in Madrid's Copa Del Rey win against Fuenlabrada when the midfield trio of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, and Casemiro were absent.
Dani Ceballos certainly will spend most of his time on the Madrid's bench as Zidane will understandably prefer Isco or Modric in his place.
Forwards
Left Wing - Arda Turan (FC Barcelona)
The former Atletico Madrid player is yet to make an appearance in the current season of club football. The Turkish international also didn't feature a lot in his preceding years at Barcelona as he had to compete with the likes of Neymar (left wing) and Andres Iniesta (attacking midfield) for his position in the squad.
In the 55 appearances that he has made for Barcelona, he was on the scoresheet on 15 occasions. The forward failed to impress his former boss, Luis Enrique and also seems to have a similar situation with Ernesto Valverde.
Injuries in regular intervals also limited his opportunities in the side. So far, he has faced ten different injuries keeping him out for 28 of Barcelona's games.
After the passage of Neymar to the Paris Saint Germain, Turan would have hoped to get more opportunities for the Blaugrana. However, the fact that Barcelona brought back Gerard Deulofeu and signed Ousmane Dembélé for club record fee of €105 million, suggests that Valverde had no plans to go forward with the Turkish captain.
The 30-year-old can still be expected to find his top form once he gets consistent opportunities to play and avoid getting injured. Although to be fair, It is unlikely that he will get regular game time at Barcelona.
Striker - Paco Alcácer (FC Barcelona)
Paco Alcácer is a Spanish player known to have a great first touch and can strike a ball cleanly. Despite not being excessively tall, his knack of scoring goals has overwhelmed many football pundits.
The 24-year-old joined Barcelona after his impressive 2015-16 season with the Spanish club, Valencia. He scored 13 times and also assisted seven times in his 34 La Liga games in that period.
The Spanish forward joined Barcelona for a reported transfer fee of €30 million in 2016, but had to wait for 11 games to score his first goal for Barcelona. He was in the starting eleven only on 12 instances in the previous season.
As expected, he played second fiddle to Luis Suarez last season. Due to the struggle of Uruguayan in front of goal this season, Valverde gave Alcácer a rare start (3rd of the season) against Sevilla, last evening. The striker scored both of his sides goals and outshone his striker partner, Luis Suarez.
Although, one might believe that the Spaniard will not be a part of Valverde's plan once the 2015-16 European Golden Shoe winner gets going. So far, the Spaniard has been given lesser game time by Ernesto Valverde than former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique had given him at this stage.
Right Wing - Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid)
Lucas Vázquez took part in 50 of Real Madrid's fixtures last season, but 30 appearances among those came as a substitute for him. He provided 10 assists last season along with 4 goals and proved to be a valuable player in the absence of Gareth Bale.
Lucas Vázquez was brought back by Rafael Benítez to Real Madrid after his successful loan spell at Espanyol. The attacker is competent in broader areas of the pitch and is known for his crossing abilities. Also, he has shown that he can defend too when his side doesn't have possession of the ball.
Irrelevant of the situation, the introduction of Lucas Vázquez is done quite regularly by Zinedine Zidane after an hour mark or so. The Spanish player is always involved in the game looks utterly determined everytime he steps onto the pitch.
Due to the emergence of Marco Asensio, he is supposed to get less game in comparison to his last season. Although he has been involved in 16 games this season due to the injuries to the Welshman, his chances of making into the Madrid squad will lower once former Tottenham attacker returns.
So, this is how final line up looks like: (4-3-3) Cillessen, Achraf, Vallejo, Vermaelen, Digne, Llorente, Suárez, Cebbalos, Turan, Alcácer, Vázquez.
How well do you think this side can perform in La Liga? Would you make any changes?
