Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane must decide between midfield control or pace on the wings as Los Blancos face Atletico in the Spanish Supercopa final in Saudi Arabia tonight.
With Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard all out, the French coach picked five central midfielders in the semi-final against Valencia on Wednesday and was rewarded with an impressive performance in Jeddah.
Toni Kroos, Isco and Luka Modric all scored as Madrid dominated possession and ran out 3-1 winners to advance to the final, where they will meet city rivals Atletico.
Zidane could opt for something similar against Atleti after the success of Wednesday’s showing, but he also has the option of bringing in fresher forwards like Rodrygo or Vinicius Junior after they were rested in midweek.
Marcelo looks set to return at left-back after featuring as a substitute against Valencia. Marco Asensio remains sidelined with a long-term injury.
For Atletico, Jan Oblak was absent from the team’s last training session ahead of the final after picking up a knock in Thursday’s 3-2 win over Barcelona, but the goalkeeper should be fit to feature.
Centre-back Jose Gimenez is expected to overcome a minor problem as well and should start on the bench.
Midfielders Koke and Marcos Llorente are also in with a chance of featuring after both impressed as substitutes in Thursday’s victory, which saw the Rojiblancos prevail thanks to two goals in the final 10 minutes.
Real Madrid vs Atletico teams: The starting XIs we expect to see in the Supercopa final
Real Madrid
Real Madrid possible XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Valverde; Modric, Isco, Kroos; Jovic.
Atletico
Atletico Madrid possible XI (4-2-2): Oblak; Trippier, Savic, Felipe, Lodi; Correa, Herrera, Thomas, Saul; Joao Felix, Morata.
