Midfielders
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CDM: Mateo Kovacic
In the absence of Kroos, and Casemiro, Kovacic has filled in brilliantly in the heart of the midfield. He has not scored in the ten league games that he has played this season, but has been an ideal central midfielder for Zidane. He has a passing accuracy of 91% in the league this year and has won 87% of the duels that he has been in.
LCM: Luka Modric
Modric has been his typical consistent self all season. He has pressed well, been positionally superb and sprayed the ball around the pitch beautifully, giving Real a foothold in the games that they have played this season.
RCM: Isco
Isco had a stunning Madrid derby, with all three goals stemming from his vision and ability to pick out the perfect pass to set Real on their way in the counter-attack. James Rodriguez is also an option that Zidane has at his disposal, but there are two reasons why the Colombian should miss out. As has already been said, there is no reason to change a midfield that is performing as well. Also, James played the full game in the Copa Del Rey, meaning that the other three will physically be much fitter than he is.
There might be a temptation for Zizou to play Casemiro with the Brazilian being a defensive midfielder. That could be an option for Real to disrupt Barca’s rhythm, but there is no reason that he should disband the Croatian partnership or put Isco on the bench.
