Lucas and Morata pressure Bale, Benzema and Cristiano, the BBC
Canary feeders
Las Palmas await Madrid in high spirits, despite the drubbing they took at the Anoeta. The team has nine points and the fans look on satisfied with their play which is very much in line with that of the best times the club has seen, and their table position could have been even better without, say, that last-minute setback in Seville. More than half of this side is made up of Canary Islanders. There is a legitimate satisfaction at the resurrection of the Canary academy, which as well as producing players for other - Silva, Vitolo and Ruben Castro – also feeds a good side in the Primera. There’s a good feeling in the camp.
"Ugly" injuries
And for Madrid their arrival comes with two ugly losses, Casemiro and Marcelo. I say “ugly” because they are the two hardest players to replace. Casemiro is the only real central midfielder in the squad who, although not possessing the quality of Kroos, knows the position better. It’s not entirely an accident that the streak of sixteen Liga victories began when he appeared in the team, following the 0-1 defeat to Atlético, and ended the other day, with him being absent, in the draw with Villarreal. Regarding Marcelo, his deputy is Coentrao who is still recovering from one of his continuous injuries. He has not even travelled with the squad. One who has is Keylor Navas, finally.
Shake up of the BBC
In all this, discussions have begun in Madrid around whether Lucas Vázquez and Morata deserve to be ahead of the BBC until the unit has regained its potency. Every time the two go out, the attack markedly improves. Bale is acceptable, less so Benzema and Cristiano is in a slump with the latter two missing pre-season due to injuries. The BBC is a great attacking formula, while they are forgiven some negligence in pressuring and coming back, but we can’t turn it into a superstition. An injustice is starting to be seen with Lucas Vázquez and Morata being always left out from the start.
