Real Madrid: Vallejo out of derby, Zidane has problems for Juve
The Real Madrid boss now has only two central defenders available for the Atlético game and could be down to one for Juventus if Vallejo is ruled out.
Jesús Vallejo has been ruled out of the Madrid derby against Atlético after pulling up in training and has been omitted from Zinedine Zidane’s squad for Sunday’s game.
Everything pointed to the 21-year-old starting in central defence against Diego Simeone’s side in the Bernabéu alongside Sergio Ramos. That would have allowed Zidane to hand Raphael Varane a rest ahead of the Serie A side’s visit but the France international will now be required to play against Atlético after all with Nacho also on the sidelines with a thigh injury.
That could leave Zidane facing a serious selection headache against the Italian champions. Should Vallejo fail to recover in time for next Wednesday the Real boss will have only Varane available as a natural central defender with Ramos suspended for the return leg.
Real Madrid squad for Atlético
Keepers: Navas, Casilla, Luca.
Defenders: Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, Marcelo, Theo.
Midfielders: Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, Llorente, Asensio, Isco, Kovacic.
Forwards: Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale, Vázquez.
